Advances in Anthropology
2013. Vol.3, No.3, 149-156
Published Online August 2013 in SciRes (http://www.scirp.org/journal/aa) http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/aa.2013.33020
Fertility Patterns and Reproductive Behaviours in the Lutheran
and Catholic Populations from Historical Poland*
Grażyna Liczbińska
Faculty of Biology, Institute of Anthropology, Umultowska 89, Adam Mickiewicz University,
Poznań, Poland
Received March 5th, 2013; revised April 13th, 2013; accepted May 8th, 2013
Copyright © 2013 Grażyna Liczbińska. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons
Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the
original work is properly cited.
Many variables of biological, ecological and cultural nature affect the biological dynamics of human
populations. A religious denomination was an element of the cultural system which had an impact on the
attitude towards birth control and sexuality. The aim of this paper is to show how religion shaped the fer-
tility figures in the Catholic and Lutheran populations of historical Poland. Two methods were used to
characterize fertility. One uses reconstructed individual histories of families to assess fertility figures on
the basis of the length of protogenetic and intergenetic intervals. In the second method fertility measures
were estimated from mortality and natural increase data. Using life-table parameters estimated for both
stationary and stable population models the following fertility figures were calculated: crude birth rate,
net reproductive rate R0, mean family size, mean birth interval, total fertility rate, and mean age-specific
fertility rate. It has been found that the analyzed Catholic and Protestant populations from the territory of
historical Poland were characterized by a rather high reproductive potential.
Keywords: Protogenetic and Intergenetic Intervals; Partial Fertility Rate; Relative Cumulative Number of
Births; Life Table Biometric Functions; Seasonality of Conceptions and Births
Introduction
In relation to historical populations many researchers have
emphasized the role of religion in shaping the cultural identity
of a community, as religious denomination is a central element
of social identity. A system of religious values, which was im-
plemented at the individual and communal levels, and spiritual
and religious practices defined the relationship between the
divine sphere and an individual, a group or a community. here-
fore it is likely that these were translated into a demog- raphic
behaviour (e.g.: Becker, 2008; Becker et al., 2010; Fern- gren,
1986; Galloway et al., 1994; Golde, 1975; Gugerli, 1992;
Kemkes-Grottenthaler, 2003a, 2003b; Knodel, 1979, 1988;
Knodel & Van de Walle 1979; Liczbińska, 2009a, 2009b, 2011,
2012a, 2012b; Lindberg, 1986; McQuillan, 1999, 2004;
O’Connell, 1986; Van Poppel, 1992; Van Poppel et al., 2002;
Schellekens & Poppel, 2006; Somers & Van Poppel, 2003;
Wolleswinkel-van den Bosch et al., 1998, 2000).
With regard to the populations of historical Europe resear-
chers have emphasized the impact of religion on differences in
fertility measures among the followers of the Catholic and
Protestant denominations. If such differences were present, in
their view, they resulted in a different approach to sexuality,
family size and a conscious regulation of the number of off-
spring. In the traditional doctrine of the Catholic Church mat-
rimony was closely associated with procreation, and as such a
sexual act was considered as a moral good. If, however, the
sexual intercourse was consciously not connected with the act
of procreation, this was regarded as morally wrong. A com-
pletely different approach to this issue was taken by Protestant
theologians who did not limit marriage to procreative functions,
and saw in it something more. They treated marriage as a ful-
filment of humanity, and stressed that the offspring is not the
goal, but in the first instance its consequence. Married life and
all aspects related to it was the private domain of the spouses,
and the sexual act—contrary to the beliefs of the Catholics—
was not a sin (Kuklo, 2009). The Catholics were strictly guided
by the Catholic Church doctrine, which clearly influenced the
size of the family. Therefore their families were larger com-
pared with the Protestants. As such Catholic ideology shaped
reproductive behaviour directly, as well as indirectly by deny-
ing contraception and long breastfeeding, promoting having
large numbers of children, and preaching teachings of the ap-
propriate roles for the male and female in the family (McQuil-
lan, 2004; Praz, 2009). Higher fertility measures among the
Catholics compared with the Protestants were highlighted in
Gold’s studies on Catholic and Protestant populations in
Hohenlohe-Franken (Baden-Württemberg) region from the
beginning of the 19th and the second half of 20th century
(Golde, 1975), Van Poppel and colleagues (Van Poppel & Ről-
ing, 2003; Schellekens & Van Poppel, 2006; Somers & Van
Poppel, 2003) in 19th-century Netherlands, and McQuillan’s
*Notes: This paper was presented in the form of a lecture delivered at
The Population History Seminar organized by the Max Plank Institute
for Demographic Research in Rostock, in September 2012.

G. LICZBIŃSKA
research on demographic behaviour and its various factors
among the Catholics and the Lutherans in 18th and 19th-cen-
tury Alsace (McQuillan, 1999). Generally speaking, the Protes-
tant populations often adopted their reproductive strategy to
their conditions and needs, while the Catholic communities
were less flexible in this regard (Livi-Bacci, 1979). This was
especially evident after the French Revolution and birth of the
Enlightenment movements, which included emancipation, re-
sulting in an ongoing process of secularization of societies and
therefore greater religious tolerance among the Protestants than
the Catholics (Knodel, 1979; McQuillan, 1999). The literature
makes particular mention that promotion of fertility control
differed depending on religion. For example, decreases in fer-
tility figures among the Catholics in Germany, the Netherlands,
and Switzerland were delayed compared to other religious
groups (Praz, 2003; Schellekens & Van Poppel, 2006). More-
over, the Protestant communities experienced a relatively ho-
mogeneous fertility transition compared to the more heteroge-
neous one of the Catholics (Lesthaeghe & Wilson, 1979). Spa-
tial differences in indicators related to fertility and nuptiality
were also observed in 19th-century Prussia. It is evident that the
strong East-West polarization in fertility figures observed here
was linked not only to economic factors clearly dividing East
and West Prussia, but also to the religious factor. Klüsener and
colleagues (2012) have emphasized that although the numbers
of Protestants on both sides of the border separating East Prus-
sia from the West were equal, “the population of the regions
that latterly formed the GDR had became more secularized than
western Germany as early as the late 19th and early 20th cen-
tury” (p. 85).
Meanwhile, Kemkes-Grottenthaler (2003a) studying the vil-
lages of the Land Rhineland-Palatinate in the 18th and 19th
centuries inhabited by followers of the Catholic and Protestant
denomination also pointed to the differences in fertility behav-
iour. The higher fertility measures among the Catholics versus
the Protestants were attributed by the researcher to a mainly
religious context, but it was emphasized that religion should be
regarded only as one of the factors affecting fertility. According
to Kemkes-Grottenthaler (2003a), fertility is above all a func-
tion of an individual approach to the family size, social condi-
tions and finally—biological limitations.
It is difficult to determine how religion shaped the biological
dynamics of the territories of 19th-century Poland, as the object
of the anthropological and demographic studies has been on the
Catholic populations, and initially involving but few of these:
the Czacz microregion (Borowski, 1976) and the parishes of
Szczepanowo and Dziekanowice from Greater Poland (e.g.:
Budnik & Liczbińska, 2013; Budnik et al., 2004; Dąbrowski,
2002; Domżol, 2002; Henneberg, 1977a, 1977b, 1978), Meł-
giew (Modrzewska, 1948) and Bejsce from the Russian sector
(Piasecki, 1983, 1990; Tymicki, 2004a, 2004b), the Silesian
parish of Płużnica Wielka (former Duchy of Prussia; Puch,
1993) and the Little Poland village of Wielkie Drogi (the
parish of Pobiedr, former Austrian sector; Puch, 1993). The
unsatisfactory state of research in the field of historical anthro-
pology thus makes further studies necessary.
The aim of this study was to characterize fertility patterns
and reproductive behaviours in the Lutheran and Catholic
populations from historical Poland based on the current “state-
of-the-art” concerning biological dynamics of populations of
various regions of historical Poland and author’s own re-
search.
Material and Methods
Two independent methods were used to assess fertility. First,
drawing on information from birth, marriage and death registers
the individual histories of women were reconstructed.
Table 1 shows the selected populations for which measures
of fertility calculated on the basis of the reconstructed individ-
ual histories of families were taken from the literature or esti-
mated based on literature data. The rural parishes of various
regions of the 19th and early 20th century Polish territories are
discussed in this paper. The Lutherans were represented by the
Parish of Trzebosz from the borderland between Greater Poland
and Silesia (see also Liczbińska, 2012a), and the Catholics by
the following parishes: Szczepanowo from Greater Poland
(Henneberg, 1977b, 1978; Henneberg & Kozak, 1976),
Płużnica Wielka from the Duchy of Prussia (Puch, 1993),
Wielkie Drogi from the Little Poland (Austrian sector; Puch,
1993), Krasne located in the vicinity of Rzeszów (Austrian
sector; Rejman, 2006), and Bejsce from the Russian sector
(Piasecki, 1983, 1990) (Table 1, Figure 1). Due to the nature
of the data, we were not able to show changes over time in
fertility measures. Therefore in this study we were limited to a
discussion of differences in fertility figures for two periods: 1)
the 19th century, and 2) the combined 19th and early 20th cen-
tury. Fertility was assessed based on the length of protogenetic
and intergenetic intervals. The protogenetic interval is an inter-
val between the date of marriage, and thus the time of the onset
of the regular sexual intercourse, and the date of birth of the
Figure 1.
Map of the studied localities as against territory of contemporary Po-
land.
Table 1.
Populations under study (fertility measures obtained from reconstructed
individual histories of families).
Population N Religion Author
Trzebosz 132 Lutheran Liczbińska, 2012a
Bejsce 2020Catholic Piasecki, 1983, 1990
Krasne 1165Catholic Rejman, 2006
Płużnica Wielka 262 Catholic Puch, 1993
Wielkie Drogi 300 Catholic Puch, 1993
Szczepanowo 1128Catholic Henneberg, 1977b, 1978
150

G. LICZBIŃSKA
first child. Intergenetic intervals are defined as the periods be-
tween the successive births. From the length of the intergenetic
interval the partial fertility rate by the age of women can be
calculated. This ratio reflects the number of births during the
year by 1000 women aged x and is calculated by the formula: fx
= 1000/ix, where fx is the fertility rate of women aged x years,
and ix is the average length of the intergenetic interval (in years)
in women aged x. In the populations with a very uneven level
of fertility, a better measure of fertility than the partial fertility
rate is the relative cumulative number of births Ux/Uc. It is de-
fined as the ratio of the number of births given by women aged
x years (Ux) to the total number of births by women who sur-
vived to at least 45 years (Uc). This measure is the percentage
of the total number of children born to women aged x in the
studied population.
Where it was too difficult to reconstruct the individual histo-
ries of families, measures of fertility were estimated from mor-
tality figures and natural increase data (Weiss, 1973; Table 2).
Fertility in these cases was characterized for: 1) the second half
of the 19th century, and 2) the combined second half of the
19th and early 20th century. With regard to the second half of
the 19th century use was made of the populations according to
the size of their place of residence. The Catholic parish of St.
Mary Magdalene and the Lutheran parish of the Holy Cross
were from the Poznań agglomeration. Small towns included are
Kalisz (the Catholic parish of St. Joseph), Leszno (the Lutheran
parish of the Holy Cross) and Bielsko (the Lutheran community
of the Christ the Saviour’s), while two parishes were from the
rural areas: Jastrzębsko Stare and Trzebosz (both of the Lu-
theran denomination). The material for the second half of the
19th century and early 20th century was poorer than that for the
first period and did not allow for dividing the populations ac-
cording to the size of the place of residence. The Catholics are
represented by the villages of Kuźnica and Jastarnia from the
Hel peninsula and by the rural population from the Sierakowice
county, while for the Lutherans by the rural parish of Trzebosz
and the town community from Bielsko (Table 2; Figure 1). For
the above-mentioned populations fertility figures were esti-
mated from the life table parameters constructed for both sta-
tionary and stable population models. The following fertility
measures were calculated:
1) crude birth rate defined as the ratio of live births to the to-
tal number of the living population in a given period and calcu-
lated according to the formla
1
ω
0
x
rx
x
x
CBRe L
−
=
−
=

=

,
where Lx is the number of years which will be survived by in-
dividuals aged x,
x
is a the middle of the age class, ω—age of
the oldest individuals, r—the value of the natural increase;
2) net reproductive rate R0, which describes the replacement
of generations and indicates how many individuals from a child
generation will replace one adult from a parents’ generation. It
is calculated according to the formula: R0 = erT. Here r is the
value of the natural increase, and T is the duration of a genera-
tion (in years); in this case it is calculated as the average age of
the individuals aged 15 - 50 years,
3) mean family size defined as an average number of chil-
dren born to a woman from a given population and calculated
by the formula: MFS = 2R0/l15, in other words MFS = 2erT/l15,
where l15 is a life table parameter idicating the fraction of indi-
viduals surviving to 15 years of age; other symbols are as
above.
4) mean birth interval defined as a period between successive
births expressed in months: A = 12ef/MFS. The term ef is the
number of years survived by an adult during the reproductive
period.
5) total fertility rate defined as the average number of chil-
dren born to a woman during her whole reproductive period,
which is between 15 and 49 years and expressed as follows:
TFR = 30MFS/ef, ef as above
6) mean age-specific fertility rate f—the ratio of the number
of living deliveries by all women aged x and calculated from
the length of intergenetic intervals according to the formula: f =
12/A.
Results and Discussion
Fertility Figures Estimated on Reconstructed
Histories of Families
Calculated fertility measures based on the reconstructed indi-
vidual histories of families are presented in Tables 3-5. In the
located on the borderland between Greater Poland and Silesia
19th-century Lutheran parish of Trzebosz the age of women
giving birth to the first child was 25 years. This figure was over
a year more than in the Catholic rural parish of Bejsce from the
Russian sector (Piasecki, 1983, 1990) and 3 years more than in
the Catholic parish of Krasne located in the vicinity of Rzeszów
(territory of the Austrian sector; Rejman, 2006) (Table 3). The
age of women giving birth to the last child ranged from 38
years (the Catholic parish of Krasne; Rejman, 2006) to almost
40 years (the Lutheran parish of Trzebosz), and even slightly
exceeded this value (the Catholic parish of Bejsce; Piasecki,
1983, 1990). The age of women giving birth to the first and the
last child calculated for the second half of the 19th and early
20th century practically did not change in Trzebosz (Liczbiń-
Table 2.
Populations under study (fertility measures obtained from mortality figures and natural increase growth).
Population N Religion Author
Poznań—St. Mary Magdalene Parish 6577 Catholic Author’s calculation
Kalisz—St. Joseph Parish 4348 Catholic Author’s calculation
Poznań—Holy Cross Parish 7157 Lutheran Author’s calculation
Leszno—Holy Cross Parish 2561 Lutheran Author’s calculation
Bielsko—Christ the Saviour’s Parish 6501 Lutheran Wrębiak, 2011
Trzebosz 312 Lutheran Author’s calculation
Jastrzębsko Stare 878 Lutheran Author’s calculation
Sierakowice county 3826 Catholic Budnik, 2005

G. LICZBIŃSKA
Table 3.
Average age at first birth and last birth (women with completed repro-
duction cycle) in the Catholic and Lutheran populations from historical
Poland.
Period Population Religion Age—at-first
birth
Age—at-last
birth
Trzebosz1 Lutheran 25.32 39.84
Krasne2 Catholic 22.01 38.49
I
Bejsce3 Catholic 23.80 40.30
Trzebosz4 Lutheran 25.50 39.60
II
Bejsce3 Catholic 24.10 37.07
I: 19th century; II: the second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the
20th century; 1after: Liczbińska, unpublished date; 2after: Rejman, 2006; 3after:
Piasecki, 1990; Tymicki, 2004a; 4after: Liczbińska, 2012a.
Table 4.
Number of offspring (women with completed reproduction cycle) in the
Catholic and Lutheran populations from historical Poland.
Period Population Religion Number of offspring
Trzebosz1 Lutheran 6.4
Bejsce2 Catholic 6.1
Krasne3 Catholic 6.6
I
Szczepanowo4 Catholic 5.4
Trzebosz5 Lutheran 6.7
II
Bejsce6 Catholic 5.9
I: 19th century; II: the second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the
20th century; 1after: Liczbińska, unpublished date; 2after: Piasecki, 1990; 3after:
Rejman, 2006; 4after: Henneberg, 1978; 5after: Liczbińska, 2012a; 6author’s
calculation after: Piasecki, 1990.
ska, 2012a), while in the Catholic Bejsce the average age of
women at the last child birth was reduced by three years, sug-
gesting that at the beginning of the 20th century the Bejsce
women gave birth to the last child earlier than in the 19th cen-
tury (Piasecki, 1983, 1990) (Table 3).
Statistically significant differences between the Catholics and
the Protestants were not recorded in the number of children
born to a woman during her reproductive cycle (Table 4). In
the 19th century, the average number of children per woman
with the completed reproductive cycle ranged from 5.4 (the
Catholic parish of Szczepanowo; Henneberg, 1977b) to 6.6
children (the Catholic parish of Krasne; Rejman, 2006). The
Lutheran parish of Trzebosz is placed between them. Here, in
the second half of the 19th century a woman bore on average
6.4 children. The same is true in the second period (the second
half of the 19th and early 20th century): in Trzebosz the Lu-
theran woman gave birth to on average 6.7 children (Liczbińska,
2012a), and in Bejsce a Catholic woman bore an average of 6
children (Piasecki, 1983, 1990) (Table 4). Knowing the age at
the first and the last birth among the women with completed
reproductive cycle, allows calculation of how much time from
the whole reproductive period amounting to 34 years was de-
voted to reproductive functions. In the case of the Lutheran
women from Trzebosz the reproduction period in the 19th cen-
tury amounted to 14 years, which corresponds to 43% of their
reproductive capacity. In the Catholic parishes of Krasne and
Bejsce women devoted to reproductive functions 47% of the
entire reproductive period (Piasecki, 1990; Rejman, 2006) (Ta-
ble 5).
Table 5.
Length of reproductive span and percentage of reproductive capacity in
the Catholic and Lutheran populations from historical Poland.
Period PopulationReligionReproductive
span (in years)
Reproductive
capacity (in %)
Trzebosz1Lutheran14 43
Krasne2 Catholic16 47*
I
Bejsce3 Catholic16 47*
Trzebosz4Lutheran14 43
II
Bejsce3 Catholic13 38*
I: 19th century; II: the second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the
20th century; 1after: Liczbińska unpublished data; 2after: Rejman, 2006; 3after:
Piasecki, 1990; 4after: Liczbińska, 20012a; *author’s calculation based on repro-
ductive span in years.
In Trzebosz similar values were obtained for the second half
of the 19th and early 20th century, which confirms that at the
beginning of the 20th century, the age at birth of the first and
the last child did not change in comparison to the 19th century
(see Table 3) and nor did the related length of the repro- duc-
tion period (Liczbińska, 2012a). In Bejsce the reproduction
capacity calculated for the second half of the 19th and early
20th century was lower than that in the 19th century, which
confirms that at the beginning of the 20th century the length of
the reproductive period of women was reduced (Piasecki, 1990;
Rejman, 2006) (Table 5).
Figure 2 shows the length of intergenetic intervals by age of
women. As can be seen the shortest intervals characterized
women in the age category 20 - 24 years and amounted to 26
months (the Catholic parishes of Płużnica Wielka and Wielkie
Drogi; Puch, 1993), and 20 - 29 years (the Lutheran parish of
Trzebosz and the Catholic parish of Szczepanowo; Henneberg,
1977b; Liczbińska, 2012a). The high fertility of women by the
end of 29 years was confirmed by the value of the partial fertil-
ity rates fx presented in this paper in the form of fertility curves
(Figure 3). In Płużnica Wielka and Wielkie Drogi the highest
values of fx rates were noted in the category of 20 - 24 years,
after which the values of fx decreased (Puch, 1993). In the Lu-
theran parish of Trzebosz and the Catholic parishes of Szcze-
panowo and Bejsce the fx values were the highest in women
aged 20 - 29 years, and from this age category they show a slow
decrease (Henneberg, 1977b; Liczbińska, 2012a). All fertility
curves presented in Figure 3 have the shape of a parabola,
which indicates that the analyzed populations represent a model
of fertility characteristic of non-Malthusian populations. The
presented high fertility parameters among the Lutherans and the
Catholics were finally confirmed by an analysis of the relative
cumulative number of births (Ux/Uc). In all cases women prior
to reaching the age of 25 years gave birth to more than 30% of
the total number of children possible to achieve in their parishes,
and by the end of age 29 years—to more than a half of off-
spring in the total number of children possible to achieve in
their populations (Figure 4).
Although the populations discussed in the above-mentioned
paper differed in their cultural and social traditions and were
influenced by various partition legalities, their fertility figures
confirmed a rather high fertility potential. High mortality rates
of infants and young children may be one of the reasons of high
reproduction capacity in the studied populations. Fertility after
a child’s death may have increased in order to replace a lost
152

G. LICZBIŃSKA
Figure 2.
Length of successive intergenetic intervals (in months) by age of
women at the moment of birth in the parishes from historical Poland.
Trzebosz—after: Liczbińska, 2012a; Szczepanowo—after: Henneberg,
1977b; Płużnica Wielka and Wielkie Drogi—after: Puch, 1993.
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-3940-x
years
f
x
(per 1,000 birth
s
Trzebosz-Lutherans Szczepanowo-Catholics Płużnica Wielka-Catholics
Wielkie Drogi-CatholicsBejsce- C atholics
Figure 3.
Partial fertility rates in the parishes from historical Poland Trzebosz—
after: Liczbińska, 2012a; Szczepanowo—after: Henneberg, 1977b;
Bejsce—after: Piasecki, 1990; Płużnica Wielka and Wielkie Drogi—
after: Puch, 1993.
child. This fact has already been pointed to by many research-
ers (e.g.: Gallowey et al., 1994; Knodel, 1979; Lesthaeghe &
Wilson, 1979; Livi-Bacci, 1979; McQuillan, 1999; Piasecki,
1990). Despite the differences in the level of medical care and
the standards of living conditions in the Polish territories in the
Prussian, Austrian and Russian sectors, the studied populations
were characterized by high infant and young children mortality
rates (Henneberg, 1977a; Liczbińska, 2010; Piasecki, 1990;
Puch, 1993; Rejman, 2006).
It also seems evident that the high fertility in the presented
parishes resulted from prevailing ecological and cultural condi-
tions. Analysis of the annual rhythm of births (Figure 5) and
the annual rhythm of conceptions as reconstructed from the
former (Figure 6) shows that the pace and the time of repro-
duction was regulated by religious norms governing sexual
intercourse. Spouses abstained from sexual intercourse during
Figure 4.
Relative cumulative number of births in the parishes from historical
Poland. Trzebosz—after: Liczbińska, 2012a; Szczepanowo—after:
Henneberg, 1977b; Bejsce—author’s calculations after: Piasecki, 1990;
Płużnica Wielka and Wielkie Drogi—author’s calculations after: Puch,
1993.
Figure 5.
Seasonality of births in the parishes from historical Poland. Trzebosz—
after: Liczbińska, 2012a; Szczepanowo—after: Henneberg & Kozak,
1976; Bejsce—author’s calculations after: Piasecki, 1990; Płużnica
Wielka and Wielkie Drogi—after: Puch,1993.
Lent and Advent, and additionally—in rural agricultural popu-
lations—in the period of intensive field works (Borowski, 1976;
Budnik, 2005; Górna, 1984; Gralla, 1974; Henneberg & Kozak,
1976; Kuklo, 2009; Liczbińska, 2012a; Piasecki, 1990; Puch,
1993; Rejman, 2006). In the studied parishes the highest num-
ber of conceptions was observed in the spring months (April-
June) and in late autumn and winter (Figure 6). Therefore in
spring, summer and early autumn, during the intensive field
activities such as mowing, harvesting, lifting, ploughing and
sowing, the smallest number of births was noted (Figure 5).
In regard to the historical Polish territories, many researchers
have pointed to coitus interruptus and sexual abstinence as the
methods employed to prevent pregnancy. The inhibition of

G. LICZBIŃSKA
Figure 6.
Seasonality of conceptions in the parishes from historical Poland.
Trzebosz-author’s calculations after: Liczbińska, 2012a; Szczepanowo
—author’s calculations after: Henneberg & Kozak, 1976; Bejsce—
author’s calculations after: Piasecki, 1990; Płużnica Wielka and Wiel-
kie Drogi—author’s calculations after: Puch, 1993.
ovulation and therefore postponement of the next pregnancy
could also have been the result of prolonged breast-feeding.
Induced abortion or even infanticides have also been stressed in
the literature (Kuklo, 2009; Liczbińska, 2012a; Makowski,
1992; Piasecki, 1990). However, as the pace of reproduction of
women in the 19th and the turn of the 19th and early 20th cen-
tury was regulated, it remains doubtful that the rural communi-
ties analyzed in this paper planned the number of children in
their families in advance.
Fertility Figures Based on Mortality Figures and
Population Growth Rate
The values of fertility measures based on the life table para-
meters are presented in Tables 6-9. A picture of a population
with a high potential of development emerges from them. In the
second half of the 19th century the number of children per
woman ranged from 4.5 to 5.5 (Table 6).The highest values of
partial fertility rates (f) were recorded in the Lutheran parishes
from Poznań and Bielsko, in the Catholic parish of St. Joseph in
Kalisz and the rural parish of Jastrzębsko Stare. The conse-
quences of the high value of TFR in the above-mentioned
populations were the shortest intergenetic intervals obtained.
The values of crude birth rate CBR were also very high (Table
6). The high fertility of women from the Lutheran parishes
from Poznań and Bielsko, and from the Catholic parish of St.
Joseph in Kalisz could have resulted of the fact that these par-
ishes encompassed not only the city centre but also the subur-
ban settlements and villages (Liczbińska, 2009a, 2009b, 2010,
2011; Rynkowska, 1979). The rural populations, likely more
than the urban ones, adhered to the tradition of having a large
number of children in the family (Liczbińska, 2009a), which is
typical also for modern times (Budnik et al., 2003).
The high reproductive potential of the Lutherans from the
rural parish of Jastrzębsko Stare is not surprising (Table 6).
After the introduction of the rate of natural increase to the sta-
tionary population model, the fertility figures estimated on the
basis of the biometric life table functions continue to indicate a
Table 6.
Fertility figures in the Catholic and Lutheran populations from histori-
cal Poland in the second half of the 19th century (stationary population
model).
Population Religionf A MFS TFRCBR
Poznań1 Catholic 0.2547.15 3.61 4.4937.72
Poznań1 Lutheran0.4129.55 4.63 5.6744.07
Kalisz1 Catholic 0.3831.66 4.35 5.5943.18
Leszno1 Lutheran0.2842.73 4.01 4.6435.34
Bielsko2 Lutheran0.3831.80 4.57 5.50-
Trzebosz1 Lutheran0.2743.78 4.05 4.5633.95
Jastrzębsko1Lutheran0.4029.94 4.84 5.5640.21
1author’s calculation; 2after: Wrębiak, 2011.
Table 7.
Fertility figures in the Catholic and Lutheran populations from histori-
cal Poland in the second half of the 19th century (stable population
model).
Population Religionf A MFS TFR CBRR0
Poznań1 Catholic0.2547.73 3.21 4.09 33.991.02
Poznań1 Lutheran0.3435.69 4.84 5.72 43.381.26
Kalisz1 Catholic0.3435.29 4.53 5.65 42.921.00
Leszno1 Lutheran0.2548.85 4.18 4.72 35.991.20
Bielsko2 Lutheran0.3831.47 4.57 5.50 - -
Trzebosz1 Lutheran0.2548.68 4.14 4.60 34.431.14
Jastrzębsko1Lutheran0.2734.67 5.08 5.54 40.551.54
1author’s calculation; 2after: Wrębiak, 2011.
high reproductive potential in the studied groups. The only
difference observed is the decrease in the value of fertility rates
f and the increase of the length of intergenetic intervals A (Ta-
ble 7). These changes probably resulted from the fact that the
introduction of the rate of natural increase into the stationary
population model changed the distribution of the fraction of the
deceases in various age categories. In each of the analyzed
parishes, however, the net reproduction rate (R0) exceeded the
value of 1, which indicates that in the future the mothers’ gen-
eration would be replaced by the daughters’ generation. In other
words, there was more than one daughter per a statistical
woman (Tables 6 and 7).
The second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the
20th century is represented in this study by the Kashubian
populations (the Catholics from the Sierakowice County; Bud-
nik, 2005) and Lutheran parishes from Trzebosz and Bielsko
(Wrębiak, 2011). A high reproductive potential, reflected by
high values of the crude birth rates CBR and fertility rates f, and
short intervals between successive births A, was noted in the
villages of the Sierakowice county (Budnik, 2005) (Tables 8
and 9). Only in the Lutheran community of the Bielitzer Zion
(Wrębiak, 2011) and in the Lutheran parish of Trzebosz was an
increase noted in length of intergenetic intervals compared to
that in the second half of the 19th century. Longer intervals
between successive pregnancies in these regions were a result
of the decrease of the number of children in families in the
early 20th century. Wrębiak (2011) in examining the Bielitzer
154

G. LICZBIŃSKA
Table 8.
Fertility figures in the Catholic and Lutheran populations from histori-
cal Poland in the second half of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th
century (stationary population model).
Population Religion f A MFS TFRCBR
Sierakowice1 Catholic 0.49 24.56 5.20 6.2643.50
Jastarnia1 Catholic 0.31 39.21 4.21 4.9432.53
Kuźnica1 Catholic 0.37 32.23 4.41 5.5738.46
Trzebosz2 Lutheran 0.29 41.14 4.26 4.6633.66
Bielsko3 Lutheran 0.23 60.11 3.45 4.12-
1after: Budnik, 2005; 2author’s calculation; 3author’s calculation based on: Wrę-
biak, 2011.
Table 9.
Fertility figures in the Catholic and Lutheran populations from histori-
cal Poland in the second half of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th
century (stable population model).
Population Religion f A MFS TFR CBRR0
Sierakowice1 Catholic 0.31 38.12 5.34 6.00 41.831.51
Jastarnia1 Catholic 0.22 55.32 4.50 4.94 35.131.49
Kuźnica1 Catholic 0.25 47.20 4.93 5.63 40.601.62
Trzebosz2 Lutheran 0.24 50.62 4.38 4.68 34.451.26
Bielsko3 Lutheran 0.21 61.15 3.51 4.10 - -
1after: Budnik, 2005; 2author’s calculation; 3author’s calculation based on: Wrę-
biak, 2011.
Zion has pointed out that the explanation for this be sought “in
the ageing structure of the population and in the decline in the
number of young women” (p. 301) rather than from conscious
efforts for family planning in advance. A slow pace of ageing
of the Lutheran populations was also observed in the parish of
Trzebosz in the borderland between Greater Poland and Silesia.
The landed estates belonging to the Lutheran parish fell in the
early 20th century into Polish hands, which resulted in an out-
flow of certain groups of parishioners, especially young people
(Liczbińska, 2012b). In Trzebosz the elderly parishioners, set-
tled here for a generation, were the only people remaining in
the parish (Evangelishes Konsistorium, Position Number 6782;
Liczbińska, 2012b). Thus, as in Bielsko, the fertility figures
obtained are the result of the cultural context of this community
rather than from the conscious planning of the number of chil-
dren in relation to the religious factor.
Conclusion
1) The analyzed Catholic and Protestant populations of Po-
lish historical territories were characterized by a high reproduc-
tion potential. This was confirmed by the high values of fertility
figures calculated from the reconstructed individual histories of
women and on the basis of the life table biometrics functions.
2) Even if the pace of reproduction of women from the stu-
died populations was regulated, it remains doubtful that the
number of children in their families was consciously planned in
advance.
It seems most likely that fertility in the analyzed groups was
a result of environmental and cultural conditions, and not nec-
essarily associated with the parents’ conscious needs of having
the number of offspring planned in advance.
Acknowledgements
Special thanks are accorded to Barbara Zuber Goldstein,
Siegfried Gruber, Sebastian Klűsener and Mikołaj Szołtysek,
for many helpful comments, suggestions and discussions.
Thanks are also extended to the Dean of the Faculty of Biology
of the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań for the financing
of the article processing charges.
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