Population Review

Abstract:

The academic and non-academic literature on the Druze emphasize their uniqueness. This rests on many components, the main one being the fact that they continue to live in closed communities; they maintain the confidentiality of their religion; the religion is closed to outsiders; and marriage outside the community is almost non-existent. None of the research on the Israeli-Druze, however, deals with their fertility patterns. The aim of this research is two-fold: first, to sketch the major trends of fertility patterns of the Israeli-Druze since the establishment of the state of Israel. The second aim is to explore the causes for the uniqueness of the Israeli-Druze fertility decline which occurred despite the absence of the major pre-conditions for sub replacement-level fertility rate in line with the Second Demographic Transition theory.