Catholic and Protestant Positions on Birth Control
Catholic and Protestant Positions on Birth Control
Catholic and Protestant Positions on Birth Control
Since Pope Paul VI wrote Humanae Vitae in 1968, Catholic and Protestant positions on birth control have diverged. The Catholic position remained based in the natural law tradition. However, the Protestant position became mired in American class and ethnic politics. Mainline Protestantism generally accepts both birth control and abortion, but plenty of exceptions exist. This paper will detail the Catholic position on the issue and contrast it to the Protestant point of view and its origins. Modernity has created several new aspects of the problem unknown to earlier ages: first, newer methods of birth control are less damaging than chemically-based ancient methods; a widely expanding population; an ideology of permissiveness that requires abortion as a needed failsafe; and a conception of reality that separates the object from its purpose. In the Catholic view, it is this latter that is the main cause for alarm. The Church of Rome is well known for its opposition to birth-control. It is also opposed, at least officially, to the modern ideology of individualism and relativism that both encourages and justifies sexual activity without regard to its real purpose. Pope Paul VI, liberal on many issues and a central figure in implementing the reforms of Vatican II, stated in his (1968) Humanae Vitae, his encyclical on birth control:
Marriage, then, is far from being the effect of chance or the result of the blind evolution of natural forces. It is in reality the wise and provident institution of God the Creator, whose purpose was to affect in man his loving design. As a consequence, husband and wife, through that mutual gift of themselves, which is specific and exclusive to them alone, develop that union of two persons in which they perfect one another, cooperating with God in the generation and rearing of new lives
Catholic and Protestant Positions on Birth Control
Since Pope Paul VI wrote Humanae Vitae in 1968, Catholic and Protestant positions on birth control have diverged. The Catholic position remained based in the natural law tradition. However, the Protestant position became mired in American class and ethnic politics. Mainline Protestantism generally accepts both birth control and abortion, but plenty of exceptions exist. This paper will detail the Catholic position on the issue and contrast it to the Protestant point of view and its origins. Modernity has created several new aspects of the problem unknown to earlier ages: first, newer methods of birth control are less damaging than chemically-based ancient methods; a widely expanding population; an ideology of permissiveness that requires abortion as a needed failsafe; and a conception of reality that separates the object from its purpose. In the Catholic view, it is this latter that is the main cause for alarm. The Church of Rome is well known for its opposition to birth-control. It is also opposed, at least officially, to the modern ideology of individualism and relativism that both encourages and justifies sexual activity without regard to its real purpose. Pope Paul VI, liberal on many issues and a central figure in implementing the reforms of Vatican II, stated in his (1968) Humanae Vitae, his encyclical on birth control:
Marriage, then, is far from being the effect of chance or the result of the blind evolution of natural forces. It is in reality the wise and provident institution of God the Creator, whose purpose was to affect in man his loving design. As a consequence, husband and wife, through that mutual gift of themselves, which is specific and exclusive to them alone, develop that union of two persons in which they perfect one another, cooperating with God in the generation and rearing of new lives
Cited: Paul IV, Pope. Humanae Vitae. 1968. Vatican Encyclicals http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-vi_enc_25071968_humanae-vitae_en.html John Paul II, Pope. Evangelium Vitae, 1995. Vatican Encyclicals http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_25031995_evangelium-vitae_en.html Price, GL. Birth Control—The Biblical And Historic Protestant Position. John Knox Press, 2009 Graebner, A Focus on the Family (2005). Position Statement: Birth Control Pills and Other Hormonal Contraception. Focus on the Family http://media.focusonthefamily.com/topicinfo/position_statement-birth_control_pills_and_other_hormonal_contraception.pdf Jones, E. Michael. Libido Dominandi: Sexual Liberation as Political Control. South Bend, IN: St. Augustine’s Press, 2000 Jones, E Connelly, Matthew. Fatal Misconception: The Struggle to Control World Population. By Matthew Harvard University Press, 2010 Provan, Charles Carlson, Allan. Godly Seed: American Evangelicals Confront Birth Control. Transaction, 2012