The relationship between sociology and demography
I N ONE of my other articles, I have mentioned overpopulation and congestion as passive Philippine problems. I considered them passive in the sense that though they are considered social problems, they seem to earn less response from the government these days. They may not see it as an urgent problem that needs to be solved but I fear the days that we wake up in the basement and too many levels of buildings are on top of us, or instead of dreaming for more trees, we will not be able to see anything anymore.
As a refresher, sociology is the study of human social relationships and institutions.
Its subject matter is diverse, ranging from crime to religion, from the family to the state, from the divisions of race and social class to the shared beliefs of a common culture, and from social stability to radical change in whole societies.
Sociology i s an exciting and illuminating field of study that analyzes and explains important matters in our personal lives, our communities, and the world.
Demography, on t he other hand, is the science of populations. Demographers seek to understand population dynamics by investigating three main demographic processes: birth, migration, and aging (including death).
Today, there is growing interest among the public in demography, as “demographic change” has become the subject of political debates in many developed countries.
Most of these countries have birth rates below the replacement level of 2.1 children per woman and, at the same time, life expectancy has been rising considerably and continues to rise – a development sometimes called “the aging of societies.”
Sociology studies society as a whole system while demography studies it as a type. The demographic study is statistical while the sociological study is theoretical as well as qualitative.
The intimate relationship between sociology and demography does not mean that both are the same.
Kingsley Davis, however, has given the following points of relationship between demography and sociology:
(1) Fertility is connected with the attitudes and social institutions.
(2) Population changes are related to social and economic changes
( 3) The labor force is concerned with the population structure and social organization.
( 4) The family i s related to demographic behavior.
He discussed two other areas of study where sociology and demography are combined. These are internal migration and international migration.
Demography is a principle element of sociology for the discussion of family, city, minorities and, industrial sociology. It also study the culture, socialization, social stratification, primary groups and collective behavior, combined, population not only depends upon birth rate and death rate but it is also influenced by socialization, education and social system.
Population is the group of social beings whereas sociology is the study of society, formed of population. Population growth is dependent on the relationship between birth rate and death rate. Birth rate depends upon sexual intercourse between male and female, which in turn is determined by customs, traditions and social norms. Therefore, population growth is not merely biological phenomena but also a social one. ( Paid article)