Only 20 years ago in Portugal, only one in five babies were born outside of marriage: these days it is one in two. The sociologist Pedro Moura Ferreira says you can blame it on the "secularisation of society."
"Sexual relations continue, but outside of marriage," said the researcher from the Institute of Social Sciences, who blames a reduction in the stigma attached to unmarried mothers for boosting the rate.
In Portugal, the percentage of 49.3% of children born to unmarried mothers is marginally higher than the European average or 40%.
The Eurostat birth figures relate to 2012, the most up-to-date available, and show that in most cases the parents live together but more recent figures show a steadily increasing number of parents living apart, from 7.9% in 2009 to 15.8% in 2014.
The Alentejo and the Algarve lead the trend in unmarried mothers with the north of the country preferring the stability of marriage within which to bring up children.
"There's a cultural contrast. The most important fact is religion. The south of the country has always been more secular compared to the more conservative north," according to Ferreira.
Comments
And that when she settles to raise a family it is with a lower status husband.
That she thought she would somehow benefit by coupling with the 'high and mighty'. But sadly he was just shooting through. Or is it Droit du Seigneur still operates here ?
A lot easier for a woman to check out - asking Portuguese mothers about the fathers of their first born.
Ed: In this context - what exactly does secular mean ? More muslim / arabic in origin .... further north being more catholic ?
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Secularity, from Latin saecularis meaning "worldly" or "temporal" is the state of being separate from religion, or not being exclusively allied with or against any particular religion.
Ed, (well... Wikipedia actually...)