Catholic Answers, a lay-run site focusing on “Catholic apologetics and evangelization,” summarizes the Catholic Church’s teaching on birth control:
In 1968, Pope Paul VI issued his landmark encyclical letter Humanae Vitae (Latin, “Human Life”), which reemphasized the Church’s constant teaching that it is always intrinsically wrong to use contraception to prevent new human beings from coming into existence.
Contraception is “any action which, either in anticipation of the conjugal act [sexual intercourse], or in its accomplishment, or in the development of its natural consequences, proposes, whether as an end or as a means, to render procreation impossible” (Humanae Vitae 14). This includes sterilization, condoms and other barrier methods, spermicides, coitus interruptus (withdrawal method), the Pill, and all other such methods.
The actual experiences of American Catholic women of reproductive age contradicts those teachings according to recent research by the Guttmacher Institute, an organization committed to advancing “sexual and reproductive health through an interrelated program of social science research, policy analysis and public education designed to generate new ideas, encourage enlightened public debate and promote sound policy and program development.” More specifically, they found:
- Only 2% of Catholic women rely on natural family planning; even among Catholic women who attend once a month or more, only 2% rely on this method. Sixty-eight percent of Catholic women use highly effective methods: sterilization (32%, including 24% using female sterilization,) the pill or another hormonal method (31%) and the IUD (5%).
- Only 3% of married Catholic women who do not want to become pregnant rely on natural family planning.
So What?
It is rare to find a religion that officially teaches one thing, yet 97-98% of its adherents practice something radically different. Most American Catholic women of reproductive age are not influenced by the official teachings and expectations of their religion. One must wonder what other teachings they ignore.
- What does your denomination or religious tradition teach (if anything) about the proper role of birth control?
- How do your own beliefs and practices compare to these standards?