New Study About Catholic Women and Contraception
Mary Rice Hasson, J.D., a Fellow in the Catholic Studies Program at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, Washington, D.C., and director of the Women, Faith, and Culture project together with Michele M. Hill who has been active in lay ministries within the Archdiocese of Baltimore have issued a preliminary report, What Catholic Women Think About Faith, Conscience, and Contraception, in which 824 church-going Catholic women ages 18-54 were surveyed.
While the data indicates that most Catholic women do not fully support the Church’s teachings on contraception, the results also do not show the sweeping rejection of Church teaching the media portrays either. This first report provides some useful insight.
The report shows that about one-third of church-going Catholic women incorrectly believe that couples have the right to decide for themselves the moral acceptability of contraception regardless of Church teaching. When Church teaching was explained, 44% were receptive to learning more. These results suggest the problem is in part catechetical, and that women want more instruction.
When the women were asked to list their primary sources for learning the teaching of the Church, an overwhelming 72% of all women named the homily at Mass. Yet when asked about ways they’d like to learn more about Church teaching, only 16% said from a homily. They mostly prefer to hear testimonies from couples about the health and relationship benefits.
Priests and parishioners potentially have a great deal of influence in the lives of Catholic women confused by a cultural mindset that divorces sex from procreation. Almost all (90%) of those surveyed said that faith was an important part of their daily lives. What do we do then?
Well, these results mirror my own experience. I did, and still do, highly value the advice from men of God, but my full conversion away from secular contraceptive mindset to full acceptance of Catholic teaching wasn’t based on one homily or one conversation about obedience. What opened my eyes and heart was the greater open-to-life attitude of my parish home, inspired by our priest who had an enthusiastic, fatherly love of children. I saw the words of the Catechism — that children are gifts — lived out and I understood, and embraced, the high importance of accepting these gifts and raising them in the Sacraments. And that is consistent with the conclusion of the report.
Priests and parishioners must present the teaching “frequently, positively, and without apology, from the pulpit and through Church ministries.” We can’t stop at catechesis, we need to discuss and demonstrate by example how to properly form the conscience too.
More here. And more coming! There is much more in this report that I want to discuss and promote. This is what studies are supposed to do — provide information so that solutions can be found.
Category: Catholic Free Press, Parenting
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Sites That Link to this Post
- Some Statistics: What Catholic Women Think : Accepting Abundance | September 5, 2012
- Timely New Report on Catholic Women and Contraception | The American Catholic | September 7, 2012
- Catholic Women and Contraception – 33% think the Church says “yes” to contraception « Fr. Orthohippo | September 9, 2012
- Men and Contraception: Loving and Laying Down Our Lives : IgnitumToday | September 12, 2012
Thanks for this, Stacy! In my years of teaching TOB, one of the most remarkable things I’ve noticed is the wholehearted response of women–even women bitter towards the Church and her teachings–one they truly get a chance to hear the beauty of the Church’s teachings. Keep the info coming, yeah?
Thanks Nic! This is just the start. There’s a LOT in this preliminary report. Check it out, and if you have more to say about any of it, please present it to the Ignitum Today audience.
The survey shows that there is hope for Catholic women to fully and truly embrace Catholic teachings on morality and reproduction to the fullest if given the right information. Thanks for sharing.
GADEL,
Does this report mirror what you see in Ghana? Do women seem to be open to more information too, or do most Catholic women already accept Church teaching on contraception? I’d love to know if you see any similarities or differences.
I was just reading an article discussing attitudes about contraception in the Philippines, which is a RC country. It seems poor women in particular want to learn more about controlling conception, regardless of the Church’s teaching. They don’t care if their view is “wrong”, they care about feeding and caring for their children. It is *seemingly* a clear disconnect between what the Church teaches and what is needed for healthy families in these poor regions.
But, as a former Catholic, I think the deeper issue is really this:
We tell married couples they do not have the right to control conception through artificial means. Only NFP is allowed. To women that struggle feeding the children they continuously have, this appears to be a heartless view. Much more emphasis is placed on what the Church sees as a problem (artificial contraception) instead of the actual problem (married couples having more children than they can care for).
Almost never, except from you and a select others, do I hear a word about the respect a man should have for his wife and reverence she should have for her husband. In many of these Catholic nations, women are treated like chattel. They are taught their role is to submit, but men are not taught their role. It was many years AFTER I left the RCC that I read these verses:
(1 Peter 3:7)Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.
(Ephesians 5:25) For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her
Since men in many of these countries do not honor their wives, they do not consult with them in matters of sex, reproduction and family. In many countries dominated by RCC, woman are taught they cannot refuse a husband her body, because it is her duty to submit. NFP requires two willing parties. If one party is unwilling to follow the method because he feels he should not be denied, it will fail.
If we stressed 1 Peter 3:7 and Ephesians 5:25 as strongly as we stress Colossians 3:18, I feel things would be different. Even here in the US.
Why are women so unwilling to submit to men? I had to ask myself this. Why am I unwilling to follow behind a man, to trust him to make decisions for my future? It is more than being capable of managing my own future. The unwillingness, for me, comes from the lack of respect men tend to have for women; for her input, counsel and advice.
Men KNOW a woman is supposed to submit, but do men KNOW they are supposed to be worthy leaders? Are women supposed to be so blind they are to follow those unfit to lead? Why are they unfit? Because what is required of them to be good leaders is not stressed a fraction as much as is what is required of woman.
If I had a man I could trust to lead, that I could trust enough to relinquish full control, that I could trust to listen when my counsel is good…then submission would not be an issue.
In turn, even issues like contraception would not be as big of an issue in RCC-dominated countries…and eventually, even more secular countries.
JMHO
Chris,
It seems like it would be great just to have people comment who agree with everything I believe and high-five my thoughts. While that affirmation is appreciated, what you took the time to write and the perspective you share is so valuable.
I think a lot of women like me want to know what you think. Even though I converted, I still forget what it was like before (for some things anyway).
You have a way of peering right past all the rhetoric and seeing the heart of the problem. Let me digest what you’ve written and get back to you.
Thank you for this.
Sincerely,
Stacy
Did you respond, Stacy? The website says there are 9 comments, but I only see 6.
Not yet, Chris. The other 3 comments are links to the post.
This stuff takes a lot out of me, but it is important.
They don’t care if their view is “wrong”, they care about feeding and caring for their children.
I get this, but at the same time, I don’t. I’ve lived through some rough times where I was afraid to have any more children, and the solution was simple — don’t have sex. I mean, I don’t get the notion that anyone is such a slave to passions that they’d starve their children over it.
If it’s an issue of a man not caring about his family and forcing sex, that’s different. But contraception doesn’t fix that.
We tell married couples they do not have the right to control conception through artificial means. Only NFP is allowed. To women that struggle feeding the children they continuously have, this appears to be a heartless view.
That assumes 1) they can’t control themselves sexually, or 2) contraception works dependably. It doesn’t, and there are all kinds of health issues with it. Plus, if it’s the man using the woman and causing her to have more babies than he can help her support, where’s the sense in telling her to use contraception and just keep letting the man use her that way? That seems like the least desirable solution.
In many of these Catholic nations, women are treated like chattel.
I don’t know if that’s true, my husband is from Cuba. However, assuming it is true, how does contraception help? It changes a woman, supposedly, from a child-bearing spouse to exactly what you say the man wants — an object to satisfy his desires without any responsibilities. That’s the wrong direction. Wouldn’t it be better to teach men and women what the Church teaches? To love and respect each other?
In many countries dominated by RCC, woman are taught they cannot refuse a husband her body, because it is her duty to submit.
If that’s true, it’s not Catholic teaching. It’s cultural.
Why are women so unwilling to submit to men? I had to ask myself this. Why am I unwilling to follow behind a man, to trust him to make decisions for my future? It is more than being capable of managing my own future. The unwillingness, for me, comes from the lack of respect men tend to have for women; for her input, counsel and advice.
I used to think that too. Heck, many people probably do assume my husband is domineering, but that is so untrue. He’s a manly man, but he’d give his life for me. He completes me in ways I couldn’t do myself. Our marriage is an entity bigger than either of us alone.
Men KNOW a woman is supposed to submit, but do men KNOW they are supposed to be worthy leaders?
Women are supposed to tell them this, and insist on it.
What makes a woman blinder? Using contraception and giving him her body like an object? Or insisting he treat her like a woman?
Why are they unfit? Because what is required of them to be good leaders is not stressed a fraction as much as is what is required of woman.
Then why encourage women to give into that? Why not encourage them to stand up and demand that men be men, and then to appreciate them for rising up to that standard. Most men just want to know they can make their woman happy. It’s demoralizing for them to be constantly told they fail. It takes a strong woman to encourage and constructively criticize in love though.
If I had a man I could trust to lead, that I could trust enough to relinquish full control, that I could trust to listen when my counsel is good…then submission would not be an issue.
Why would you relinquish full control even if he were a trustworthy man? I think of it more as a give and take. A partnership.
It seems to me that contraception does exactly what women should resist: It objectifies them.
Stacy,
I know running this blog takes quite a bit of time. I confused as to why it seemed to be more responses than appreared. I thought my computer was acting up.
I don’t have time to address this all now, but I want to mention that I think you may have misunderstood my point.
I am not making an arguement for artifical contraception. I am expressing that sometimes the stance of the Church, mixed with how scripture is unevenly stressed and applied and culture (as you mentioned), can create a *perceived* need for artifical contraception. Again, stress on PERCEIVED. I am not saying it is or is not needed.
Artificial contraception is a symptom of a much larger problem. Until the inequity is addressed, you’ll still have issues from El Salvador to the US.
I’ll get into details later.
Sorry for the delay. Life is hectic, as you well know.
They don’t care if their view is “wrong”, they care about feeding and caring for their children.
I get this, but at the same time, I don’t. I’ve lived through some rough times where I was afraid to have any more children, and the solution was simple — don’t have sex. I mean, I don’t get the notion that anyone is such a slave to passions that they’d starve their children over it.
If it’s an issue of a man not caring about his family and forcing sex, that’s different. But contraception doesn’t fix that.
Again, I am not arguing contraception will “fix” the problem. In countries where the problem exists, the people are trying to do what they can to have immediate impact on high infant mortality rates and poverty rates. Contraceptives help the problem on the surface, but do not address the cause of the problem. It does not make a man actually respect his wife or her opinions or her role. It does not make his role more apparent.
Neither does the Church’s (and I use this loosely, as this is not a feature exclusive to Catholicism) lack of focus on the role of husbands and opposed to the role of wives.
In the Industrialized world, delaying copulation is perhaps what many folks fight the most. That has more to do with our culture of instant gratification/selfishness. I also think our times of extended hardship have something to do with it.
We tell married couples they do not have the right to control conception through artificial means. Only NFP is allowed. To women that struggle feeding the children they continuously have, this appears to be a heartless view.
That assumes 1) they can’t control themselves sexually, or 2) contraception works dependably. It doesn’t, and there are all kinds of health issues with it. Plus, if it’s the man using the woman and causing her to have more babies than he can help her support, where’s the sense in telling her to use contraception and just keep letting the man use her that way? That seems like the least desirable solution.
In the countries I was referring to (Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, poor regions of Mexico, the Philippines, etc) many women, especially poor women, are not allowed to control themselves sexually. They simply want to feel their families. Again, contraceptives provide relief from continuous child-bearing…but does nothing to change attitudes and the very root of the problem…treating wives as partners and not objects.
The clergy plays a huge role in changing attitudes, especially in the role of women. If women aren’t valued as outlined in the Bible, sadly, she can’t just say “HEY, RESPECT ME!” any more than she can say “Hey, not tonight, I’m fertile!” The men are going to look for guidance on the issue elsewhere, and it will have to come from the community and the church.
In many countries dominated by RCC, woman are taught they cannot refuse a husband her body, because it is her duty to submit.
If that’s true, it’s not Catholic teaching. It’s cultural.
I partially agree. It is perhaps a cultural belief based of off Biblical scripture and thus, Church teaching. Or, you can say the Biblical scriptures are abused to justify cultural practices. But, the two are hand in hand when the Church holds a position of power in said country and does nothing to change these cultural attitudes.
Men KNOW a woman is supposed to submit, but do men KNOW they are supposed to be worthy leaders?
Women are supposed to tell them this, and insist on it.
Here’s the trouble I’ve run into with insisting without the support of the community or church.
Man: You know, you are supposed to submit to me. I am the man.
Me: And why is that?
Man: The Bible says it (and gives verse).
Me: Well, did you also know the Bible says you are supposed to love me as Christ loves man (gives verse)?
Man: (blank stare) I’ve never heard that before. It can’t be as important.
I’m not saying stay with the guy above, but otherwise good guys do not know their role, because it is not explained to them and indoctrinated into them the way a woman’s role is. Mind you, I didn’t find the verses until well after I left the RCC. And many people, men and women, haven’t heard these verses, either. Sadly, many people are unwilling to listen to a single person quoting verses they’ve never heard before. If it were important, Pastor would have brought it up. That’s how many, not all, feel. The clergy must spend as much time on the role of husband and on the role of wife for there to be any wise-spread change.
Why are they unfit? Because what is required of them to be good leaders is not stressed a fraction as much as is what is required of woman.
Then why encourage women to give into that? Why not encourage them to stand up and demand that men be men, and then to appreciate them for rising up to that standard. Most men just want to know they can make their woman happy. It’s demoralizing for them to be constantly told they fail. It takes a strong woman to encourage and constructively criticize in love though.
I agree with you. It is my opinion that the Church at large does not foster this view, however. The partnership is not stressed. If they did, it would go a long way in changing people’s view of the Church. and truly rectifying some pressing issues…instead of us using bandaid fixes that do not address the problem.
Chris,
You know, I think we are saying much of the same thing.
Church teaching about women’s dignity, men’s roles, and families is good.
However, the teaching isn’t being taught or received.
Thus, the root problem is not being solved.
That’s consistent with the results of the report, in part, as well.
Did you leave the Church because of its teaching, or because the teaching wasn’t being taught in a convincing way? What would convince you? I mean, your own decision belongs to you, but I’m curious about better ways to communicate.
Well, there are many reasons I left the Church…even though I think I would be Excommunicated for some of my views even if I still identified with being Catholic. I don’t think these differences can be reconciled.
As you know, I am very inquisitive and I am always seeking answers, especially when something doesn’t quite make sense to me. Now, imagine that nature in a child. I remember being in Sunday school and asking questions, and getting ignored or reprimanded nine times out of ten. I wasn’t being disrespectful; I simply wanted to understand better. As I got older, the Church’s unwillingness to answer questions and the disdain of those that dared to ask them as a sign that the organization did not value free thought.
Granted, some of the questions I asked at eight may have been deep. I remember asking if the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are three different beings, yet the same entity; wouldn’t the Son be his own Father? Oh, and asking if we were cannibals if we were actually drinking the blood and flesh of the Son. That one caused an uproar ^_^
Instead of explaining, I was given stern looks by the instructor and mumblings of faith instead of perhaps referring me to the pastor with questions she didn’t quite know how to answer. Looking back, I realized that I couldn’t have been the first to ask these things. Or, is it that they were so used to shutting down those that questioned that they didn’t bother trying to make sure they had answers?
Being more open, being more willing to answer and address questions wouldn’t be enough to get me to come back…but it may have been enough when I was young to get me to try to stick with it. It may also help others in the same boat with inquisitive minds but seemingly no outlet.