I think your dissertation thesis sounds pretty valid. I don't know of any academic materials to back it up, but it did bring to mind a couple of experiences from my own life, as someone who has chosen not to have children. First is that my mother has always insisted that women can't really "have it all" and that they did have to choose between children and a career. Yet she quickly changed her tune when I chose the career, insisting that I could find a way to have a family, too. I'm pretty sure that she would not have insisted so strongly on my ability to have a career too if I had chosen children over a career. By the way, I don't agree with her "one or the other but never both" assessment. The other experience is that my Mom once accused me of being selfish for not having children. I fail to see what is selfish about not having children that I don't feel I would be willing or able to adequately parent.
As for the 10 commandments question, I always have a somewhat cranky urge to turn the question around. For example, how about posting the Buddhist five precepts? It covers some of the same ground as the 10 commandments (not killing, not stealing, etc.). If it's the morals/ethics that are the important point, it shouldn't matter which religion they come from (or if they come from any).
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As for the 10 commandments question, I always have a somewhat cranky urge to turn the question around. For example, how about posting the Buddhist five precepts? It covers some of the same ground as the 10 commandments (not killing, not stealing, etc.). If it's the morals/ethics that are the important point, it shouldn't matter which religion they come from (or if they come from any).