Women's schooling and religious affiliation in Malawi at the end of the twentieth century

This paper examines the association between religious affiliation and women's schooling in Malawi. Using data from the nationally representative 2000 Demographic and Health Survey, results show that there are substantial differences in the acquisition of schooling by religious affiliation. More nonreligious and Muslim women reported that they had never been to school compared with women from Church of Central African Presbyterian and Catholic denominations. Further, our findings suggest that a woman's schooling is strongly influenced by her urban childhood residence and an increase in age at first marriage. These findings are related to the association of Christian groups with Western societies and religions that emphasize evangelization and recourse to schooling. Recommendations for further direction in research are discussed.