text:
Faith, Religion, Culture, and Population
December 18, 2014
Religion Index
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Desmond Tutu, Former Anglican Archbishop of CapeTown
...Ayatollah Ali Khomenei
It Shouldn't Be a Sin to Plan Your Family
August 09 , 2012, This is Kent
The Christian church's record on teaching sexual morality is patchy.
While Jesus taught the indissolubility and exclusivity of marriage, quite early in Christian history some Church leaders began to show a distaste for sexual intercourse which has had damaging results. They taught that celibacy was a higher way of life than marriage, and that sexual intercourse should be undertaken solely and exclusively for the procreation of children. They excluded the possibility that sexual union might be undertaken simply as an expression of affection and intimacy.
While few people today would argue that celibacy is superior to marriage, but there is still some disagreement over the place of sexual intercourse.
Nearly all Christian denominations teach that sexual union within marriage has a wider function that the production of children, but the official teaching of the Roman Catholic church adds that nothing artificial must be done to prevent conception.
Anything beyond planning a family by "natural" means - such as avoiding intercourse at times when the woman is most fertile - is sinful.
Very few Roman Catholics in western countries feel bound by their church's teaching in this respect; and they use artificial contraceptives, but in the developing world the teaching has what many would see as a damaging effect.
An initiative recently begun by the British government and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to provide family planning facilities for many millions of women who were previously denied them was intended to prevent unwanted pregnancies which often endanger the mother's health or produce another mouth which it will prove hard to feed.
But official Roman Catholic church strenuously resists initiatives of this kind, both on grounds of doctrine and by arguing that the money involved could be better spent in other ways.
Many Christians take another view, saying that it has been conceded that sexual intercourse has a wider purpose than procreation it is hard to see why artificial contraception within marriage should be forbidden.
Jesus All About ToleranceSeptember 2010, Sacremento Bee LTE by Margaret Loehr
Once again, fear and hatred mask themselves as religion and loudly encourages intolerance in the name of Jesus.
Jesus never mentioned homosexuality or abortion.
Nor did he ever suggest that there was a "right" religion or that the purpose of religion was to judge others and get them to do what we want them to do.
Rather, he taught tolerance for the divinity in all.
He railed against hypocrisy. He realized that the reason we condemn others is to distract ourselves from clearly seeing our own improprieties.
If we sincerely want to heal the woes of humanity, we cannot do it through hatred and intolerance. Our hope lies in our ability to move into acceptance of our own humanity and the humanity of others. Buddha, Lao Tzu, Confucius, Socrates, Gandhi, Jesus and many others all emphasized this simple message.
2000, New York Times*
Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and most of Judaism and Christianity see responsible parenthood in marriage, including the use of contraception, as a moral good. Highly respected religious leaders, including two Nobel laureates, have opened the door to admit abortion in some circumstances. Anglican Bishop Desmond Tutu supported the South African constitutional provision legalizing abortion. And the Dalai Lama, while generally opposed to abortion, said in a New York Times Sunday Magazine profile, "I think abortion should be approved or disapproved according to the circumstances." Indeed, in mainline Christianity, fairly widespread support exists for population stabilization (not a women's-rights issue) and for family planning and even abortion, as necessary, to save the planet.
January 2006, Bruce Sandquist
We Must Balance Our Population Growth and ResourcesMay 11 , 2014 By: Khaled Almaeena
The population boom in Gulf countries in recent years is alarming. In order to meet the challenge to improve services for citizens, we must have balanced population growth.
We have to ask ourselves: Do we want more children just for the numbers? Do we have the mental, physical and the material capability to raise them? Do we have time for all of them? Are we able to cater to their emotional needs? With the rising number of handicapped children, many due to intermarriage between close relatives, are our educational and health services capable of providing them with the basic services they require?
As Muslims, we do believe that God provides for all. But God also expects us to use our reason and logic. I see in supermarkets, airports and public places the tired faces of women, some in their early 30s, dragging seven or eight screaming children along, snapping at them and occasionally slapping one of them. Last week, I saw a father twist the arm of his seven-year-old son as three younger siblings cowered in fear.
In a region where water scarcity is a major concern, our top priority should be to preserve our resources and balance our population in order to enhance the quality of life and ensure a better future for the younger generation.
World Contraception Day: Crossing the Borders of Tradition and ReligionSeptember 19, 2012, Women Deliver By: Dr. Shibilu Shamsudeen
The topics of contraception and sexual education are largely avoided in many Muslim countries. And many countries in the Middle East have laws against the purchase of oral contraceptive pills.
However, the Holy Quran does permit contraception as long as both partners consent, it's not permanent, and it doesn't cause bodily harm. Education is needed in order to change the perception of policy makers, and this education needs to be respectful of their traditional values while reassuring them of the benefits of making contraception available to young people.
Middle Eastern traditions and Shariah (Islamic) law dictate that pre-marital sex (even between consenting adults above the age of 18) is punishable by law. This often brands all contraceptive methods as instruments for having sex out of marriage. The uses, risks, and contraindications are not discussed and are unknown to adult women. The general view is that these topics promote sexual behavior among unmarried men and women.
Doctors are an exception and can provide contraceptive advice to married couples. Unmarried men and women have no access to contraceptive knowledge and are at risk of unwanted pregnancies and STDs. Unmarried pregnant women may even attempt suicide when they feel they have no options.
Also, emergency contraception is not widely available, which has led to an alarming rise in cases of fake and often dangerous pills that are purchased online.
Progress in introducing the topics of contraception and sex education may be slow, but every step forward is significant.The significance of providing contraception and improving overall healthcare must be linked. Experts will impart knowledge and train peer educators, to construct policies and to negotiate with government agencies.
Basic awareness-raising can begin through the Friday Islamic congregational prayer and the sermons, while keeping the Islamic law according to the Quran and Hadith in the forefront.
Peer educators also need to be selected on the basis of sex, nationality, language, and communication skills so they can be specifically tailored for specific groups, particularly with the men and women separately.
Feedback from participants is also important to help educators improve their teaching, answer the relevant questions, and dispel the common myths and misconceptions about contraception. Social media and the internet can also serve this purpose.
Information must be freely available to empower youth about making responsible decisions to avoid unwanted pregnancies.
Family's 20 Kids Highlight Pakistan's Population ExplosionJuly 06, 2012, CNN.com
In Pakistan it is not uncommon for a man to have more than one wife and as many as 20 children, even though 70% of the country is largely illiterate and resides in rural areas lacking the most basic services, says the UN and even though 60% of Pakistanis living on just $2 per day, says the World Bank.
Akbar Laghari of Pakistan's Department of Population Welfare says large families are fueling a population explosion that is fast becoming the country's most dangerous crisis, having grown from around 33 million in 1947 to more than 180 million people in 2012, making it the sixth most populous country in the world.
Only 20% of Pakistani women use modern birth control and the UN estimates the country will become the world's third most populous country after China and India by 2050.
"I consider the population problem the biggest problem of this country," Laghari said. "The future is bleak because of this." He said the government has not done enough to offer effective family planning services and teach people about birth control. The government is not giving it top priority because of the political upheavals in the country and frequent changes in government.
With widespread poverty, an energy crisis, woeful public services, and a bloody, resource-draining insurgency, Pakistan can ill afford to see this rapid growth continue, Laghari warned.
Zeba Sathar, Pakistan country director for the Population Council, a non-profit organization that specializes in public health research in developing countries says many people are unable to make informed decisions because support services such as family planning are lacking. "The poor end up with many children because they don't have access to right kind of information." she said.
"We're doing a lot of research where women say 'we didn't want that many children,' or they wanted to have them later but they just didn't find the services. ... The philosophy is we're not into controlling the number of children. If you can bring up a healthy family with 20 children, kudos to you. It's a question of running out of resources. It's when the 15th one suffers."
In the case of the family with 20 children, the family can only afford to send four of their offspring to school, the rest have to work to support the family.
While Pakistan is a deeply conservative country where many view birth control as un-Islamic and some say "The process of reproduction will go on until God stops it. Why should a Muslim worry about the increase in population when God has taken responsibility for everyone's care?" - and women are deprived of the right to make important decisions such as whether to have a child - one the other hand, other Muslim countries with similar problems to Pakistan, including Bangladesh and Iran, have introduced measures to curb their growing populations. Those countries started with the political will to do something and spent a lot of time and resources on family planning efforts.
According to WHO Government field workers and satellite clinics were the two crucial elements in the campaign in Bangladesh - which saw its population grow from 75 million when it gained independence in 1971, to more than 142 million currently. There Family Welfare Assistants provide door-to-door visits giving millions of couples family planning support and sexual health education.
Karen Gaia says: There is hope in that birth spacing is often allowed. Apparently the Prophet himself did not want his wife to get pregnant when she was on a long journey.
The Word on Women - Niger Starts to Tackle Soaring Population - with Help of ImamsAlterNet
Until recently the subject of family planning in Niger was taboo, but commissioner Kristalina Georgieva, the European Union's top humanitarian-aid official, was pleasantly surprised this time to see a project teaching women about contraception and the importance of spacing births.
The local Imam where she visited "was quoting the Koran saying there's a verse that says there has to be time between the birth of children so the children and mother can recover and be strong."
The support of the local religious leaders at the health centre she visited in Bambey, in western Niger, was crucial for bringing down the high rate of population growth, she said. The growth was putting a strain on a country that is among the poorest in the world, that struggles with a harsh climate and is vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
Since independence in 1960, Niger's population has risen from less than 2 million to 15 million plus.
Now there is "remarkable openness to address family planning". "At the level of the president, prime minister, ministers and cabinet there's an openness to discussing family planning. There's an openness that 3.3-percent population growth is not sustainable," she added.
"There are already activities on the ground (for) family planning in a very community-based and respectful manner … The topic is not taboo anymore."
Mothers need to space their children to avoid back-to-back pregnancies which contribute to malnutrition and keep mothers weak. "That's where there is potential to work hand in hand with community leaders and religious leaders. It has to be culturally acceptable to work."
The annual hungry season in Africa's Sahel countries is expected to begin in late February or early March - several months earlier than usual. Aid agencies say between five and nine million people are at risk.
Talking about population growth in relation to food shortages is a sensitive issue, partly because large families are considered important in many cultures, particularly where people rely on their children to help on the land and to support them in old age.
Many argue that the real causes of food shortages are political and economic. Georgieva says a food crisis is looming in the Sahel due to poor rains, bad harvests, food-price hikes and the return of migrants from Libya, among other factors.
But she also argues more generally that it is time for the world to pay more attention to managing population growth in fragile environments. When she visited Kenya last year she realised that in 1963 it had more or less the same population as her own country Bulgaria - well below 10 million. Today Bulgaria is at 7.5 million whereas Kenya's has soared to 40 million.
The populations of other affected countries had also grown five times and this meant that when there were droughts the impact was all the more severe.
For a very readable look at some of the arguments on why population growth is not the cause of famine, take a look at this article published by Al Jazeera: Famine in the Horn of Africa: Malthus beware. http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2011/08/20118178844125460.html
Karen Gaia said: I looked at the Al Jazeera article and it kept comparing the Horn of Africa to the state of Oklahoma. Oklahoma, as most Americans recall, in the 1930s had huge desertification and a resulting 'dust bowl' that drove farmers out of the state. This was a time when Oklahoma's population was far less than today, and it lost 7% of its population due to the Dust Bowl.
Islam and Family PlanningNovember 25, 2011, Population Media Center
by Asghar Ali Engineer of Mumbai, Islamic scholar
Many people ask if family planning is permissible in Islam, saying the imams and ulama say Qur'an prohibits family planning and quoting a verse which says, "And kill not your children for fear of poverty - We provide for them and for you. Surely the killing of them is a great wrong." (17:31). .... This does not refer to family planning because you can only kill one who exists.
Some people suggest that it refers to the practice of burying the girl child alive when they cannot provide for them, but as Imam Razi suggests, it refers to both male and female children being kept ignorant. Not killing the body but killing the mind which is as bad as killing the body. The word used here is 'awlad' i.e. children which include both male as well as female and not only female.
In fact a large family means children cannot be properly educated by poor parents and hence parents kill them mentally by keeping them ignorant. They cannot even clothe them properly. In such circumstances one cannot have good quality Muslims and better quality is more desirable than mere quantity.
In early days the problem of family planning did not exist. It is a modern problem. Most of the nation states in third world do not have economic means to support a large population, including feeding them, educating them and also providing proper health services. These are basic duties of modern nation states.
The paucity of resources require the adoption of family planning. When Qur'an was being revealed there was neither any properly organized state nor education or health services being provided by any state agency. It is important to note that Qur'an which shows eight ways to spend zakat, does not include education or health which is so essential for the state to provide today. Thus what Imam Razi suggests is not only very correct and also enhances importance of family planning in the modern times as small family can support better education and health services.
Verse 4:3 is usually interpreted: do not marry more than one so that you may not do injustice. But Imam Shafi'I renders it as 'so that you do not have large family'.
In understanding the Qur'an, even very eminent imams and great scholars differed from each other. One should not impose one single meaning of a verse on all Muslims. It could be interpreted differently by different people in their own context and circumstances. Family planning being a modern need one should not reject it out of hand and quote Qur'anic verses out of context.
The Qur'an also suggests that a child be suckled at least for two years and it is well known that as long as mother suckles she would not conceive. Thus indirectly the Qur'an also suggests spacing of a child.
Even in hadith literature we find that the Prophet (PBUH) permitted prevention of conceiving in certain circumstances. When a person asked Prophet for permission for 'azl (coitus interrupts) as he was going for a long journey along with his wife and he did not want his wife to conceive while travelling the Messenger of Allah allowed him. In those days 'azl was the only known method for planning of birth of a child. Today there are several methods available like use of condoms.
Imam Ghazzali, a very eminent theologian and philosopher allows termination of pregnancy if mother's life is in danger and shows several methods for termination. He even allows termination of pregnancy on health grounds or if mother's beauty is in danger provided it is in consultation with her husband.. Some scholars say that verse 23:14 concludes that one can terminate pregnancy up to three months as this verse describes stages of development of sperm planted in mother's womb and it takes three months for life to begin.
However, many ulama oppose termination of pregnancy. Whatever the case one cannot declare family planning as prohibited in Islam as it in no way amounts to killing a child already born.
In Pakistan, Birth Control and Religion ClashAugust 10, 2011, NPR
Nearly 4 million babies are born in Pakistan every year, and most are born into poverty. The World Bank says 60% of Pakistanis live on less than $2 a day, according to a new government survey,
Yet clerics in religiously conservative Pakistan tell the Muslim majority that the Quran instructs women to keep bearing as many babies as possible and say that modern family planning is a Western convention that offends Islam.
But a woman can temporarily put off becoming pregnant. The mufti says the Quran encourages mothers to space their pregnancies and to breast-feed their babies for prolonged periods. During that time the man may also use condoms and the rhythm method.
The mufti Zakaria says being poor should in no way limit having babies. Referencing the Quran, he says, "God will provide the resources and no one will starve." The Quran also instructs that children must not be deprived of a proper upbringing. However, in Pakistan 38% of all children under 5 are underweight, and according to government data, malnutrition is widespread among mothers.
The mufti answers: "Every society has its own value system. You should not judge us by yours. Children in the West lead a luxurious life. Earth is their heaven. Our children should not be compared with them," the mufti says. "Muslims don't pay much heed to the mundane pleasures of this world. Our reward will come in the next life."
The mufti adds that the West has taken modern contraception too far by removing the fear of getting pregnant and therefore removing women's sexual inhibitions. In Pakistan, "if a woman's fear is removed," says the mufti, she will stray into bad behavior "and offend God."
70% of married women use no birth control method at all. While the government is ineffectual in promoting family planning, Dr. Yasmin Raashid, a leader in obstetrics and gynecology in Pakistan says if properly followed, the Quran's teachings about spacing pregnancies would automatically mean smaller families. She says more than anything else illiteracy undermines family planning in Pakistan.
"Educated mothers limit their families," she says. "The tragedy in our country has been that the majority of women in Pakistan are not educated." She says educating young girls is the single best policy for reducing the country's high fertility rate and for achieving smaller, healthier families.
In Sri Lanka the literacy rate is 91%. and the fertility rate is 2.3, compared with Pakistan, where it is 3.9. In Pakistan, infant mortality is nearly six times as high as in Sri Lanka - a smaller, poorer country.
"And the only thing that you see different there is that women are educated there," Raashid says. "They know about their rights. They know what has to be done where their children are concerned. They know what to do where their own health is concerned.
In Pakistan, less than 1% of GDP is spent on health care. 12,000 mothers die in childbirth in Pakistan each year. Pakistan must invest in more midwives. Only 25% of women being delivered by skilled birth attendants.
Islamic law prevalent in Pakistan says the soul is deemed to come into the fetus at four months, and so up to four months, abortion may be induced for "good cause." But abortion has become a dangerous form of birth control as women submit themselves to unskilled practitioners. It's the fifth-leading cause of maternal death in Pakistan because of the infections related to incomplete abortions and septic abortions.
On woman the interviewer met said she was already ill and overburdened with seven children. But she's pregnant again. She wants to stop having babies, and told her husband so. But her husband wanted a second daughter.
Iran's Family Planning Success StoryMay 2011
In just one decade Iran dropped its near-record population growth rate to one of the lowest in the developing world.
In 1979 Ayatollah Khomeini assumed leadership in Iran and launched the Islamic revolution. He dismantled the well-established family planning programs and instead advocated large families wanting to increase the ranks of soldiers for Islam in the war against Iraq.
Fertility levels climbed, pushing Iran's annual population growth to 4.2% in the early 1980s, probably the biological maximum. This enormous growth began to burden the economy and the environment, the country's leaders realized that overcrowding, environmental degradation, and unemployment were undermining Iran's future.
In 1989 the government restored its family planning program. In May 1993, a national family planning law was passed, encouraging smaller families. Iran Broadcasting raised awareness of population issues and of the availability of family planning services. 70% of rural households had TV sets. Religious leaders crusaded for smaller families. 15,000 health clinics were established to provide rural populations with health and family planning services.
Iran introduced a variety of contraceptive measures, including vasectomy and sterilization, all free of charge. Couples were required to take a course on modern contraception before receiving a marriage license. In addition Iran launched an effort to raise female literacy, raising it from 25% in 1970 to over 70% in 2000. Female school enrollment increased from 60% to 90%. Women and girls with more schooling are likely to have fewer children.
Family size in Iran dropped from seven children to fewer than three. From 1987 to 1994, Iran cut its population growth rate by half.
The bad news is that in July 2010 Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared the country's family planning program ungodly and announced a new pronatalist policy. The government would pay couples to have children, depositing money in each child's bank account until age 18.
Today Iran's fertility rate is 1.88, according to the CIA Factbook - https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ir.html
The Vatican
Most Catholics Reject Teachings on Birth Control Sex Says Vatican
The Vatican blamed its own priests for much of the problemJune 26, 2014, Toronto Star By: Nicole Winfield
In June this year, the Vatican conceded that most Catholics reject its teachings on sex and contraception as intrusive and irrelevant. This October a debate will be opened on the topic of marriage, sexuality, abortion, and divorce, but core church doctrine isn't expected to change.
The Vatican sent out a 39-point questionnaire seeking input from ordinary Catholics around the world about their understanding of, and adherence to, the church's teaching on sexuality, homosexuality, contraception, marriage and divorce. Thousands of ordinary Catholics, clergy and academics responded.
A working document for the October synod discussions said "A vast majority" of responses stressed that "the moral evaluation of the different methods of birth control is commonly perceived today as an intrusion in the intimate life of the couple and an encroachment on the autonomy of conscience."
"Many responses recommend that for many Catholics the concept of 'responsible parenthood' encompasses the shared responsibility in conscience to choose the most appropriate method of birth control."
Pope Francis is seeking to redirect his ministers to offer families, and even gays in civil unions, a "new language" that is welcoming and responds to their needs.
The document laments that the media and its own priests have failed to communicate the "positive" aspects of the Vatican's key document banning artificial contraception, the 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae. And it stresses that what is needed is better pastoral outreach and a "new language" to communicate the complete vision of marriage and family life that the church espouses.
"Some observations inferred that the clergy sometimes feel so unsuited and ill-prepared to treat issues regarding sexuality, fertility and procreation that they often choose to remain silent," the document said.
The document also acknowledged that the church had a credibility problem. "Responses from almost every part of the world frequently refer to the sexual scandals within the church (pedophilia in particular)," it said. "Sex scandals significantly weaken the church's moral credibility."
Hefty Global Goals From a Vatican Meeting: Stabilizing the Climate, Energy for All and An Inclusive EconomyMay 15 , 2014, New York Times By: Andrew C. Revkin
A group statement from the Vatican meeting of scientists, economists, theologians and others divides humanity's task into the technical and scientific enterprise of nurturing human societies with sustainable sources of clean energy and food -- which the participants deemed "available or within reach," and the much greater challenge of building the moral commitment and governmental and financial structures that can reduce inequity, profiteering and other social ills.
Human action which is not respectful of nature becomes a boomerang for human beings that creates inequality and extends what Pope Francis has termed "the globalization of indifference" and the "economy of exclusion" (Evangelii Gaudium), which themselves endanger solidarity with present and future generations.
Extreme poverty can be ended through targeted investments in sustainable energy access, education, health, housing, social infrastructure and livelihoods for the poor. Social inequalities can be reduced through the defense of human rights, the rule of law, participatory democracy, universal access to public services, the recognition of personal dignity, a significant improvement in the effectiveness of fiscal and social policies, an ethical finance reform, large scale decent work creation policies, integration of the informal and popular economic sectors, and national and international collaboration to eradicate the new forms of slavery such as forced labor and sexual exploitation. Energy systems can be made much more efficient and much less dependent on coal, petrol and natural gas to avoid climate change, protect the oceans, and clean the air of coal-based pollutants. Food production can be made far more fruitful and less wasteful of land and water, more respectful of peasants and indigenous people and less polluting. Food wastage can be cut significantly, with both social and ecological benefits.
Our economies, our democracies, our societies and our cultures pay a high price for the growing gap between the rich and the poor within and between nations. And perhaps the most deleterious aspect of the widening income and wealth gap in so many countries is that it is deepening inequality of opportunity. Most importantly, inequality, global injustice, and corruption are undermining our ethical values, personal dignity and human rights.
A line about "redistribution of wealth" will surely raise hackles in some circles. And there was no mention of the words population or fertility, even though there were long discussions of demographics at the meeting demonstrating that both population and consumption growth matter.
Thank Heaven for Pope Francis
Francis is like a breath of fresh air in the Vatican. I hope that he continues to shake up the status quo, including the doctrines affecting women's access to contraception and abortion.April 26 , 2014, Durango Herald By: Richard Grossman
Originally posted in the Durango Herald
Roman Catholic nuns and priests were a substantial proportion of the populace in past centuries. Their celibacy acted to slow population growth.
Starting in the 12th century priests and nuns had to take vows of chastity in order to be considered pure. For some, however, abstinence is a goal that is difficult to achieve.
Today there are far fewer nuns and priests. Many places have imported clergy from other countries, and some churches have shut their doors due to lack of a priest. This decrease in clergy has increased population growth, although probably only slightly. There is a more important factor. In 1968, Pope Paul VI issued his landmark encyclical letter Humanae Vitae ("Human Life"), which reemphasized the Church's constant teaching that it is intrinsically wrong to use contraception to prevent new human beings from coming into existence. In many parts of the world this is largely ignored. Catholic women in the USA and most western European countries use artificial birth control about as often as Protestant women.
In poorer parts of the world, where most Catholics live, people are more obedient to Church doctrine; as a consequence their birth rate is much higher. Since Roman Catholicism is one of the most numerous world religions (numbering about 1.2 billion adherents), avoidance of the most effective family planning methods leads to many unwanted pregnancies and high growth rates.
The Philippines provides a good example. Women there bear an average of more than 3 children, while the average for all of Southeast Asia is just 2.4. The country boasts that it is the only Christian country in Asia, and over 80% Filipinos are Catholic. The Church has a strong hold on politics: abortion is essentially totally outlawed—but common, nonetheless. The Church opposes the Filipino Reproductive Health Law because it would increase the availability of contraception, even though it stands to prevent hundreds of pregnancy-related deaths. Fortunately the Filipino Supreme Court just approved the Law earlier this month despite strong pressure from the Church. Although currently fewer than 40% of Filipino women use a reliable, modern method of contraception, the Law will make birth control available to all.
The following appeared last month in the British "Catholic Herald": 'Responding to the question of whether the Church should revisit the issue of birth control, Pope Francis replied: "It all depends on how the text of Humanae Vitae is interpreted. Paul VI himself, towards the end, recommended that confessors show great kindness and attention to specific situations.
"His genius proved prophetic: he had the courage to stand against the majority, to defend moral discipline, to exercise a 'brake' on the culture, to oppose present and future neo-Malthusianism. The question is not that of changing doctrine, but to go into the depths, and ensuring that pastoral take into account people's situations, and that, which it is possible for people to do."'
(I do not agree with the comment about neo-Malthusianism, but will not debate that here.)
Francis did something that no other Pope has done before—survey his flock. The Global Survey of Roman Catholics asked 12,000 people in 12 countries throughout the world a variety of questions. It is not surprising that his ratings were extremely high—Catholics and non-Catholics alike appreciate him.
There is discontent among his flock, however. Quoting the first point under the heading "Findings" in the executive summary:
"n Alarming Trend for the Vatican"
The majority of Catholics worldwide disagree with Catholic doctrine on divorce, abortion, and contraceptives. Additionally, the majority of Catholics in Europe, Latin America and the United States disagree with established doctrine on the marriage of priests as well as on women entering the priesthood. Taken together, these findings suggest an extraordinary disconnect between the church's basic teachings on the fundamental issues of family and pastoral responsibilities and the viewpoints currently held by many of the world's more than 1 Billion Catholics. Perhaps more alarming, are the generational divides found in the analysis of the data which show that younger Catholics are even more likely to hold views contrary to church teachings than Catholics as a whole."
Pope Francis' openness, modesty and integrity are a breath of fresh air. He is following in the footsteps of his namesake, St. Francis of Assisi—the patron saint of ecology. Let us hope that Francis will recognize that the press of the growing human population not only harms humans but also damages Creation, and that Pope Francis will allow more of his flock to use effective contraception.
National Coalition of American Nuns Announces Support for Contraception Access Via ObamacareMarch 20, 2014 By: Eliza Thompson
In a petition addressed to the U.S. Supreme Court, the National Coalition of American Nuns recently came out in support of the Affordable Care Act's provision for contraception coverage. The Court will hear oral arguments in Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood v. Sebelius, next week. Both involve for-profit companies refusing to provide their employees with mandated coverage because the companies' owners do not believe in birth control. In the petition, which has nearly reached its goal of 5,000 signatures, the nuns wrote, "We want to make clear that the sin is not a person using birth control. The sin is denying women the right and the means to plan their families."
Sister Donna Quinn, the head of NCAN, told ReligionDispatches.org that "it isn't faith and freedom when a woman can be held hostage by the owner of a business." The petition also says: "We know that religious freedom means that each person has the right to exercise their own religious beliefs." It "cannot mean that an individual or a corporation gets to impose their religious beliefs on their employees."
Health Experts Condemn Bishops' Anti-Contraception Stance
Opposition to Philippines' RH law may add to HIV cases, they claimFebruary 07 , 2014, UCAnews.com By: Joe Torre
Philippine Catholic bishops have been stalling implementation of the Reproductive Health (RH) Law, which the Congress passed in December 2012 after more than 13 years of heated debate. One provision of the RH Law allows state funding for contraception. It passed despite pressure from religious groups and other sectors. Church leaders say that provisions promoting artificial contraceptives make the law "anti-life."
Last week, leaders of the Philippine Senate and House of Representatives called on the Supreme Court to uphold the law's constitutionality, saying that an adverse ruling would veto the will of the majority. But, to date, various groups opposed to the law have filed 15 petitions before the court. The bishops say the Supreme Court should go slow on making its decision. Bishop Leonardo Medroso of Tagbilaran advised the court not to be pressured by Congress. He said, the decision "cannot be hurried up."
The Philippines has the highest teen pregnancy rate in Southeast Asia. According to government figures, about 5,300 mothers die from child birth every year. Stalling the law will also worsen the growing number of HIV cases. The Philippines remains one of three Asian countries where HIV is worsening, with an increase of 820% from 2001 to 2010. Congresswomen Luzviminda Ilagan, of the women's party Gabriela, attributes this rise to an "utter lack of education about its nature and modes of transmission. This ignorance begets irresponsible sexual behavior. The unequal relationship between men and women prevents women from demanding the use of condoms." She believes the RH Law can help a lot.
Some legislators from the House of Representatives expect the court to declare the law unconstitutional. "I hope [the judges] are really weighing and studying this issue because the moment they declare [the law] constitutional or unconstitutional will be a defining moment for our Supreme Court," said Fr Melvin Castro, Executive Secretary of the Episcopal Commission on Family and Life.
Dr. Ruben Siapno, Assistant Regional Director of the health department in Manila, said family planning services can still be provided even if the law is declared unconstitutional. "We will still provide maternal health care and other services and also the parents how to care for their children, parenting and all these things," he said, adding that funding for contraceptives and instruction of young people on sexual health is a necessary requirement.
Art says: The Philippines fertility rate is 3.1 children born per woman (CIA World Factbook 2013 est.)
Pope Francis Faces Church Divided Over Doctrine, Global Poll of Catholics FindsFebruary 09, 2014 By: Michelle Boortein and Peyton M. Craighill
Reveallng a church dramatically divided, a poll showed that most Catholics worldwide disagree with church teachings on divorce, abortion and contraception and are split on whether women and married men should become priests. The poll of 12,000 Catholics in 12 countries was commissioned by the U.S. Spanish-language network Univision.
Countries in the developing world - mostly in Africa and Asia - keep close to Church doctrine on these issues, while Western countries in Europe, North America and parts of Latin America, strongly support practices that the church teaches are immoral.
The widespread disagreement with Catholic doctrine on abortion and contraception and the hemispheric chasm lay bare the challenge for Pope Francis's year-old papacy and the unity it has engendered.
* 19% of Catholics in the European countries and 30% in the Latin American countries surveyed agree with church teaching that divorcees who remarry outside the church should not receive Communion, compared with 75% in the most Catholic African countries.
* 30% of Catholics in the European countries and 36% in the U.S. agree with the church ban on female priests, compared with 80% in Africa and 76% in the Philippines, the country with the largest Catholic population in Asia.
The poll focused on 12 countries across the continents with some of the world's largest Catholic populations. The countries are home to more than 60% of Catholics globally.
Ronald Inglehart, founding president of the World Values Survey, said: "Right now, the less-developed world is staying true to the old world values, but it's gradually eroding even there." Pope Francis "doesn't want to lose the legitimacy of the more educated people."
Pope Francis has played down the importance of following the hierarchy and has warned against the church locking itself up "in small-minded rules." He appears particularly eager to engage with divisions around sex, marriage and gender and has called a synod this fall on "The Pastoral Challenges of the Family." For that, he has asked bishops to survey Catholics about their views of cohabitation, same-sex parenting and contraception, among other things.
Of the seven questions pollsters asked about hot-button issues, there appeared to be the greatest global agreement on contraception (opposing church teachings) and gay marriage (supporting the church's stance).
Seventy-eight percent of Catholics across all countries surveyed support the use of contraceptives, which violate the church's teaching that sex should always be had with an openness toward procreation. The church teaches natural family planning, which Catholics can use to plan sex and attempt to avoid getting pregnant.
More than 90% of Catholics in Argentina, Colombia, Brazil, Spain and France support the use of contraception. Those less inclined to support it were in the Philippines (68%), Congo (44%) and Uganda (43%). In the United States, 79% of Catholics support using contraception.
Jose Casanova, a leading sociologist of religion at Georgetown University. noted that a papal commission in the 1960s recommended approving the use of birth control pills (it was later rejected) and said dramatic recent medical advances have challenged theologians.
Disagreements around sex and pregnancy have built to "a crisis in the church with women," Casanova said. The church can neither accept the idea that sex has nothing to do with religion — nor can it continue insisting on practices that are being completely ignored. "Unless they face it, the church will be in trouble."
The poll suggests that in his first year, Pope Francis has proved apt at navigating this diverse flock. Eighty-seven percent of Catholics around the world said the Argentine pastor is doing an excellent or good job. Catholics in Mexico were least likely to approve of his performance, at 70%.
Overall, 65% of Catholics said abortions should be allowed: 8% in all cases and 57% in some, such as when the mother's life is in danger. The highest support for abortion rights is in European countries, then in Brazil and Argentina, then in the United States, where 76% of Catholics said it should be allowed in some or all cases. In the Philippines 27% of Catholics said abortion should be allowed under certain circumstances. In Uganda, 35% said so.
At Any Cost: How Catholic Bishops Pushed for a Shutdown - and Even a Default - Over Birth ControlOctober 6, 2013, RH Reality Check By: Adele M. Stan
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) consider themselves champions of health care for the masses, food for the hungry, and shelter for the homeless -- things the government, when operational, helps to provide. But they also want to block women of all faiths, on the whim of an employer, from receiving prescription birth control as part of the preventive care benefit in the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
Apparently they wouldn't mind seeing the global economy brought to its knees for the sake of making the most effective forms of contraception more difficult for women to obtain.
In a letter dated September 26, Archbishop Seán Cardinal O'Malley of Boston and Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore prevailed upon members of Congress to attach to the next version of the continuing resolution measures that would allow private employers, as well as large church-affiliated institutions such as hospitals and universities, to be exempted from a part of the Affordable Care Act that requires that all insurance plans cover prescription contraception without a co-pay. (Houses of worship are exempt from this regulation, but church-affiliated institutions that serve a secular purpose are not.) A continuing resolution (CR) is a means of funding the government in the absence of a budget.
"As Congress considers a Continuing Resolution and a debt ceiling bill in the days to come, we reaffirm the vital importance of incorporating the policy of this bill into such "must-pass" legislation," wrote Lori and O'Malley.
The lobbyists of the USCCB knew that such a maneuver would likely bring about a government shutdown. If poor babies went hungry because the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) closed down, so be it. If poor children were locked out of their Head Start classrooms, that was apparently deemed a small price to pay to make a stand against allowing people to plan their families.
As the Affordable Care Act took shape in March 2010, the government planned to grant subsidies to lower-income people who sought insurance through government exchanges, the anti-choice forces contended that any policies that covered abortion -- even if women chose to pay extra for such coverage out of their own pockets -- amounted to a violation of the Hyde amendment. But states were granted the right to opt out of offering abortion coverage on their ACA exchanges, and so far, 25 have placed severe restrictions on (or banned all) abortion coverage. So insurance coverage for abortion -- once a fairly standard insurance provision -- is becoming more rare.
As the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) began crafting the regulations for implementing the Affordable Care Act in 2011, the USCCB adopted a counter-initiative. No longer was the emphasis on the alleged moral evil of contraception; it was now on an ostensible threat the bishops claimed was being made to the religious liberty of Catholics by the Obama administration -- even though this campaign was a dud among regular Catholics. The USCCB injected the bishops' anti-Obama message into the 2012 election. Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney made an ad showing Pope John Paul II accusing Obama of "waging war on religion."
More than 70 lawsuits, launched by religious institutions and private businesses, have been filed challenging the contraception mandate under much the same logic as that employed by the bishops.
In 2012 and early 2013, the Obama administration made an accommodation in the regulations for Catholic-affiliated institutions, and similar institutions affiliated with other religions, that mandates insurance companies to pay for the contraception benefit, which is not subject to a deductible or a patient co-payment, rather than the employer offering the plan. When the regulations were finalized earlier this year, the bishops were livid.
In September the House attached to a revised continuing resolution an amendment that would have delayed by a year the implementation of the contraception mandate -- as well as a number of other preventative care benefits for women, such as screenings for human papillomavirus (HPV), counseling for domestic violence victims, and breastfeeding supplies.
Two days later, the bishops' lobby sent members of Congress another letter calling on Congress to pass a just budget and an immigration bill. They expressed concern for the future of health care. Then they added: "s Cardinal O'Malley and Archbishop Lori explain in their September 26 letter, access to health care may also be compromised by recent threats to conscience rights in health care."
In essence: Drop the contraception benefit mandate, and nobody gets hurt. But if you don't, don't blame us for what happens next.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid stripped out the amendment, sent the bill back to the House, and, with the deadline having passed for the enactment of a continuing resolution by both chambers, the government shut down, which took effect on October 1, 2013.
The Pope Who Promoted Birth ControlMarch 22, 2013, Huffington Post By: Michael Zimmerman, Ph.D. Founder, the Clergy Letter Project
Virtually every discussion of the Roman Catholic Church's position on contraception stresses that the position has remained unchanged throughout history.
One story that was revealed in the recent transition of popes to Pope Francis: in 1276 Pedro Julião, the Cardinal-Bishop of Frascati, was elected pope following the death of Pope Adrian V, and became John XXI. He was a well-respected physician and he served as Pope Gregory X's personal doctor. No other pope has had such medical expertise. While serving Gregory X, he wrote popular handbook entitled Thesaurus Pauperum ("Treasure of the Poor") which listed herbal remedies for people who could not afford formal medical attention. The Catholic Encyclopedia notes that the book "gives a remedy for the diseases of every part of the body" and mentions that the "book was widely used."
In his book, Pedro Julião offered numerous recipes for both pre- and post-coital contraception. For women he offered numerous recipes to induce menstruation, a long-term euphemism for abortion. For men, among other things, he suggested applying a plaster of hemlock to the testicles before coitus.
Despite the work of John XXI, this is written in Catholic Answers: "The Church has always maintained the historic Christian teaching that deliberate acts of contraception are always gravely sinful, which means that it is mortally sinful if done with full knowledge and deliberate consent (CCC 1857). This teaching cannot be changed and has been taught by the Church infallibly."
A recent Gallup poll in the U.S found that 82% of Catholics felt that birth control was morally acceptable.
There is plenty of research that shows that living conditions improve dramatically when women are able to take control of their reproductive decisions. With the world's population already exceeding 7 billion and expected to reach 9 billion by 2050, we are experiencing catastrophic levels of environmental pollution and frightening levels of starvation; estimates indicate that currently 15 million children die from starvation each year. We also know that condom use will significantly slow the spread of AIDS.
Sadly, I'm not optimistic that Pope Francis will encourage his followers to care for the living and to plan for the future rather than worry about the spilling of seed.
U.S.: Religious Voices Support Access to AbortionJune 30, 2011, The Hill
Capitol Hill should be a reflection of the needs and values of all Americans -- not just those with the loudest voices or the strongest lobby. Often, religious voices are used to impose or support the most conservative policies, despite the diversity that exists among people of faith.
The Catholic Declaration on Religious Freedom declares "the right of all citizens and religious communities to religious freedom." Though we come from different backgrounds, all of us share the belief that women should have the right to make their own choice about abortion, in particular, and reproductive health choices in general.
These choices are under fire in Congress. Even though Catholics disagree fundamentally with positions that the bishops have taken on these matters, the U.S. bishops have been the greatest obstacle to women exercising these choices.
For Catholics, the preferential option for the poor calls us to protect the least among us. The 'No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act' (S. 906/H.R. 3) would permanently bar any federal money from being spent on abortion, thereby singling out those women who depend upon Medicaid, Medicare, or the Indian Health service, or are in the military or receive healthcare from other federal healthcare programs.
U.S.: Utah May Be One of Fastest-Growing StatesMay 15, 2005,
The Census Bureau said that Utah's population is expected to increase 56%, or 1.2 million people, between 2000 and 2030. Nevada and Arizona are expected to double in population, and a gain of 80% is projected in Florida and almost 60% in Texas. In Utah at least 70% of the 2.2 million residents are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the church's emphasis is on big families. Utah's fertility rate is 2.56 - the highest in the nation. The state also has the nation's highest average of people per household, 3.13, and the lowest median age, 27.5. Its 65-and-older population has climbed 27% in the past 10 years, and will rise another 28% in the next decade. Retiring baby boomers are moving to Utah, often drawn by the red-rock beauty of the southern part of the state. Benefits include: outdoor activities, five national parks within short driving distance, theater, concerts, a new hospital, and attractive housing prices. New subdivisions astride Utah's Wasatch mountain range are creeping closer to the hills framing the Salt Lake Valley. Florida, California and Texas will account for 46% of the nation's growth between 2000 and 2030, with each gaining more than 12 million residents. The highest population growth - 88 percent - is projected in the South and West, according to the Census.
Mormon Reasons for Pill AvoidanceNovember 1, 2000, First Things
Utra Conservative Christians
The president of American Life League, Ms. Judie Brown concerning the Educate Bill Gates Web Site at www.billgateseducate.com, a site that is full of misinformation in an attempt to convince Bill Gates not to spend $17 billion on third world family planning and health. American Life League seems to think that family planning cannot be accomplished without abortions and doesn't realize or denies that family planning prevents abortions. Bill Gates says he does not pay for abortions.
American Life League: USAID Responsible for AIDS Epidemic, AIDS Orphans; Genocide Hidden in AIDS Relief Package2000, PR Newswire
[Can you believe this?] "For the past few decades, funding for condom distribution abroad has fueled the spread of the HIV/AIDS virus," said the American Life League, attacking Clinton's $54 million HIV/AIDS relief program for Africa-a program titled "Leadership and Investment in Fighting an Epidemic," or LIFE.
"AIDS mortality has skyrocketed over the past decade and a half, concomitant with USAID's massive condom distribution campaign. ... by occasioning promiscuity under the false guise of 'safe sex,' condom distribution has created genocide in the name of AIDS relief. .. By USAID's own admission, over one billion condoms have been provided to men, women and adolescents throughout the developing world over the past few decades."
Dear Ms. Brown1999, Todd Daniel
Great website! You do the pro-life cause a great service by putting babies ahead of the environment. Unfortunately, babies need the environment to live as well. You seem to have all the answers about global warming, species extinction, and population growth. Are you willing to bet your children on the fact that you've got it right? I'm not.
If you don't believe that population growth is a problem, would you like to ride around with me here in Atlanta where urban sprawl reaches 100 miles wide? Or, would you rather go with me to Tanzania where everyone is dirt poor and many kids are starving? Are you going to blame that on bad distribution of resources?
Is it honorable to force women to have unwanted children, just so the babies can starve in the streets? Does that make you a better Christian for supporting such a cruel way to die?
From all your research, you must know that the issue isn't about space or food supply -- it's about carrying capacity. It's about our ability to live on this planet without diminishing the quality of life for the next generation. It's about good stewardship, and it's about responsibility.
In your zeal to push your pro-life cause, I'm afraid you've forgotten about everything else. I'm glad you have Julian Simon featured on your web site, as it immediately removes all credibility to your cause.
I hope you will reconsider what it means to be alive in this world. You have a warm house and plenty to eat, so for you it's easy to judge. For millions of other humans, it's not so easy. So, tell them to keep having lots of children, and we'll see what happens.
Birth-Control Opponents Greenwash Their MessageMay 13, 2010, Grist online magazine
Opponents of birth control are "going green" these days. "Study after study has shown how the chemicals from the pill discharge into our waterways and wreak havoc on the fish," says the campaign site.
What the "Pill Kills" site doesn't make clear is that the American Life League opposes all contraception of any kind. If the group cared about the environment, it would acknowledge that unplanned births lead to more environmental degradation than the Pill.
The League wants you to protest on June 5, to mourn the anniversary of the 1965 Supreme Court ruling that affirmed the right of married couples to use birth control.
Evangelical's Focus on Climate Draws Fire of Christian RightMarch 06, 2007, Washington Post
Leaders of Christian groups have sent a letter urging the National Association of Evangelicals to force its director in Washington to stop speaking out on global warming.
They are not convinced that global warming is human-induced or that human intervention can prevent it. They accuse the director of diverting the evangelical movement from more important issues, like abortion and homosexuality.
This underlines a struggle between conservative Christian leaders, whose priority has long been sexual morality, and challengers who are pushing to expand the evangelical agenda to include issues like climate change and human rights.
The letter says, "that Cizik and others are using the global warming controversy to shift the emphasis away from the great moral issues of our time."
Those issues, are a need to campaign against abortion and same-sex marriage and to promote the teaching of sexual abstinence and morality to our children.
Mr. Cizik has long served as one of the evangelical movement's agenda-setters. He said last year that he experienced a profound "conversion" on the global warming issue after listening to scientists at a retreat. Evangelicals have recently become a significant voice in the chorus on global warming. In interviews, some signers of this latest letter said they were wary of the global warming issue because they associated it with leftists, limits on free enterprise and population control, which they oppose.
What is being done here, is a concerted effort to shift the focus of evangelical Christians to these issues that draw warm and fuzzies from liberal crusaders.
Karen Gaia says: it's time to stop calling it population control, because there is no 'control' about it. It is all supposed to be voluntary, which works much better than 'control'.
More Than Nine Out of 10 Americans, Men and Women Alike, Have Had Premarital SexDecember 19, 2006, Xinhua General News Service
More than 9 of 10 American men and women have had premarital sex. This is normal behavior for the majority of Americans, and has been for decades.
The study, examining how sexual behavior before marriage has changed over time, was based on interviews with more than 38,000 people in 1982, 1988, 1995 and 2002: 99% had sex by age 44, and 95% had done so before marriage.
Even of those who abstained from sex until 20, four-fifths had had premarital sex by 44.
The likelihood of Americans having sex before marriage has remained stable since the 1950s.
The study found women as likely as men to engage in premarital sex. Among women born between 1950 and 1978, at least 91% had premarital sex by age 30, while among those born in the 1940s, 88% had done so by age 44.
This calls into question the government's funding of abstinence-only- until- marriage programs. It would be more effective to provide young people with the information they need to be safe once they become sexually active.
A conservative group which strongly supports abstinence-only education was skeptical of the findings. "The numbers are too pat."
An organization promoting abstinence-only education contended that increasing numbers of young people were open to remaining chaste until marriage.
Karen Gaia says: It should not be anyone's business if sex is conducted between two consenting adults. Yes, we should encourage our young people to save sex until they are emotionally mature and ready for a loving, long-lasting relationship. But we should not withhold comprehensive sex education, health care, and disease prevention, and contraception based on some antiquated religion's attempts to impose their morals on the rest of us. Most of these moralistic conservative religions are based on the concept of sin and guilt instead of instilling self responsibility.
India;: Church Steps in to Advocate Safe SexDecember 23, 2006, Statesman
With the state reeling under drug use and HIV, a church in Manipur has taken a decision to step in and advocate safe sex, condom use and harm reduction behaviour, a move expected to make HIV interventions reachable for high risk groups. The Evangelist Baptist Convention Church (EBC), has decided to use the pulpit to talk about safe sex, HIV and drug use. The decision has been left to the pastors of individual churches with 15-16 agreeing to talk about HIV every Sunday.
The organisation has so far not been talking about condoms and needle exchange among drug users. Use of condoms and syringes is not permitted, but we have to check on reality. The EBC has introduced a module on HIV training in Grace Bible College for those aspiring to be pastors. Under EBC initiatives, the last Sunday of every November is celebrated as AIDS Awareness Day. The Church caters to spiritual aspects but cannot neglect drugs and HIV. Almost three families out of four are affected by drug use and HIV. The state has been adversely impacted by drug use, ethnic conflict, insurgency and poverty. About 24% of the IDUs (intravenous drug users) and 11.4% female sex workers in Manipur are HIV positive. However, 50-60% of IDUs tested positive for HIV. A high prevalence of HIV in IDUs has led to its spread to the general population through the sexual route. An IDU may have multiple sexual partners.
Pimentel's Answer to Judy BrownDecember 08, 1999, David Pimentel, Professor of Agricultural Sciences, Cor
Judie Brown reported an impending population implosion, and implied that the world population was stabilizing to the point that we do not have too many people in the world. Unfortunately, Brown presents less than half the story. It will take about 70 years before the global population stabilizes, even if we adopt a plan of only 2.1 children per couple starting tomorrow. The total number of people will more than double before it stabilizes, because of population momentum, or the young age structure.
Religious Reproductionists (not just Pro-Life, but Anti-Contraception)
Yes, Half of America Believes That the End Times Are Causing Natural DisastersNovember 21 , 2014, Washington Post By: Alexandra Petri
While those who think that climate change is causing the weather are trying to do something about it, there are others who think that end times are causing the weather and are just sitting back, waiting for the Antichrist to show up. They believe that once the Antichrist comes it is only a matter of time before the Rapture, at which point the true believers will be lifted up into the heavens and the hole in the ozone will cease to be anyone's primary concern.
According to the Public Religion Research Institute 49% of Americans think that, if we are dealing with lots of severe natural disasters, it is because we are living in the end times.
The end times is a period of exceptional wickedness. And this climate of exceptional wickedness can only be said to be the product of human activity. As GotQuestions.org put it, "The list of things people will be in the last days -- lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power (2 Timothy 3:1-2) -- seems to fit our modern age exactly." It's all these high emissions of slander and ungodliness that have put us in this fix!
Karen Gaia says: Could this explain why such a big resistance to contraception because it is one of the signs of 'wickedness', i.e. having sex for pleasure?
Vaginas Are Like "Little Hoover Vacuums," and Other Things Abstinence Lecturers Get Paid to Tell TeensNovember 14, 2013, Mother Jones
At least once a year we were shuffled into the gymnasium at high school for lectures from abstinence-only educational speakers on how to make "good choices." Young adult mentors would dance around the auditorium playing Christian rock and trying to convince us that having sex wasn't cool. In between all the jokes and music,
Justin Lookadoo, one such mentor, gave a presentation for teenagers in Texas in which he said: "Girls, the reason it's so hard for you to succeed these days is not because of guys…You're doing it to yourselves," He has an online dating service which advises: "Men of God are wild…They keep women covered up" and "dateable girls know how to shut up."
Jason Evert, another advisor says: "Girls...only lift the veil over your body to the spouse who is worthy to see the glory of that unveiled mystery." In this 2008 YouTube video, he says: "A culture of immodest women will necessarily be a culture of uncommitted men." .. Evert also maintains that birth control pills cause abortions. (In reality, they prevent conception, and if an egg is fertilized, they make the uterine lining inhospitable for implantation. The Code of Federal Regulations and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists define pregnancy as beginning at implantation.)
Pam Stenzel, who claims to make $4000-$6000 for each appearance, says: "If you take birth control, your mother probably hates you." At one public school in Virginia, she allegedly made some female students cry by "slut-shaming" them. Stenzel asserts that the HPV vaccine "only works on virgins," and that chlamydia—even when treated—is likely to make women infertile, with a 25% chance of infertility the first time it's contracted and a 50% chance the second time. . (Of women with chlamydia who go untreated, about 10% will develop pelvic inflammatory disease, which in some cases may cause infertility.)
The speakers claimed that condoms have holes in them and a failure rate of 14% (it's actually less than 3 percent); that first-trimester abortions can cause infertility (the National Abortion Federation says they're one of the "safest" medical procedures); and that the morning-after pill is a "chemical abortion" (nope, it delays and prevents ovulation). They also ssay that " life begins at conception.
U.S.: Faith, Fear, and Family PlanningOctober 22, 2012, Huffington Post By: Robert Walker
In the past year, the religious right has dominated the political discourse, making it appear that the broader electorate has taken a sharp turn to the right on contraception. But polls shown that most people of faith, like their secular counterparts, believe that women should be able to prevent an unplanned pregnancy. And that is true of practicing Catholics and Protestants alike.
It was refreshing recently to see evangelical leaders at the National Press Club issue a statement warning that the association and the confusion of family planning with abortion has caused intense religious opposition by Christians and others with the result that opposition has extended not just to abortion, but to family planning as a whole.
This confused opposition to family planning is an international phenomenon, and has hindered funding and support of desperately needed family planning services both in the United States and around the world.
The statement also issued a special call to "pro-life" Christians, urging them to back off their opposition to the funding of organizations that provide both contraception and abortion services. Citing the crucial role contraception plays in preventing abortions, the statement called upon pro-life advocates to "consider how a deeply moral commitment, focusing on the flourishing of all human beings made in God's image, actually ought to lead to support for family planning."
Unless more people of faith dare to speak out publicly, the religious right will continue to gain ground in their efforts to shut down family planning clinics. The U.S. House of Representatives wants to cut all funding for Title X, the federal program that helps to provide low-income women with access to birth control. So do Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, and spurred on by the religious right, several governors and legislatures have slashed state funding for clinics serving low-income women.
When social conservatives win against family planning, women and their families will lose. Maternal health will suffer, and it will lead to more abortions, not fewer.
Tennessee Commission Gives Family Planning Contract to Religious Health GroupOctober 20, 2011, Care2
The Shelby County commission has voted 9 to 4 to take their Title X funding away from Planned Parenthood Greater Memphis Region and instead give it to Christ Community Health Services, which promises "high-quality health care to the underserved in the context of distinctively Christian service."
At the clinic sermons may accompany health screenings and birth control pickups. One Christ Community patient testified at the commission that,she was told: 'If only my relationships with people and God were right, I would have fewer health problems.'"
Emergency Contraception will be offered through a "third party," which will delay the amount of time it will take for a woman to get the medication, making it much more likely she will miss the window of the few days that the preventative drug can work. Even though EC is not an abortifacient, it will not be available on site due to "religious objections."
No abortion referrals will be made. Christ Community Health Services' lead physician made it clear that "staffers will not direct patients to abortion clinics or make formal referrals to providers who terminate pregnancies."
Nigeria: State Outlaws Condom AdvocacyApril 07, 2008, UN Integrated Regional Information Network
It is now illegal to encourage the use of condoms in Nigeria's Anambra State. The state government has also banned the advocacy and distribution of other forms of contraceptives. "Instead of teaching children how to use condoms they should be taught total abstinence," the state commissioner for health, Amobi Ilika said. Many sociologists, family planning and AIDS support groups disagree. More than 3 million people, 3.9% of the adult population, are living with AIDS in Nigeria. The rate is rising by 300,000 people a year, according to a joint UN program.
Condoms are available throughout Nigeria because the federal government, in partnership with family health organisations, has programmes to distribute and sell them.
Many religious groups back condom use, having recognised that abstinence has failed to yield the desired results.
Anambra State has a history of political instability and violence and is now making "a desperate attempt to uphold morals".
Commissioner Ilika also railed against abortion. He said. "All fetuses must be allowed to live no matter the circumstances that led to the pregnancy, even rape."
He added that medical practitioners in the state will face stiff penalties if they are caught carrying out any 'anti-life' activities. "The state government will withdraw the license of any medical personnel who flouts this directive".
U.S.;: The Quiet Campaign Against Birth ControlAugust 21, 2007, The Baltimore Sun
Mitt Romney set out to convince anti-abortion leaders he was their candidate. He wants to overturn Roe v. Wade and supports teaching only abstinence.
But Mr. Romney was acknowledging something more. He implied an opposition to the birth control pill and a willingness to scale back access to contraception. He defines life as beginning at conception. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists defines pregnancy as starting at implantation. Anti-abortion advocates want pregnancy to start at the moment sperm and egg meet. They'd like you to believe that the birth control pill prevents that fertilized egg from implanting in the womb.
Romnwy told the crowd he had some practice redefining contraception and had vetoed a bill that gave young girls abortive drugs without prescription or parental consent.
To the anti-abortion movement, contraception is the ultimate corruptor. And so candidates seeking the support of anti-abortion groups must offer proof they are anti-contraception too.
Brownback, Republican of Kansas, co-sponsored a bill to de-fund the largest contraception provider, Planned Parenthood. John McCain has voted against taxpayer-funded contraception programs and reports that his adviser on sexual-health matters is Sen. Tom Coburn, who leads campaigns claiming condoms are unsafe and opposing emergency contraception.
Another candidate, Rep. Tom Tancredo, says emergency contraception uses a woman's body to dispose of the child instead of a doctor.
The new wave of anti-contraception activism makes it much easier for politicians to appease the anti-contraception base. The candidates for the Right to Life endorsement are doing their best to avoid directly answering mainstream voters simple questions on the subject.
US Agrees Not to Fund Abstinence ProgrammeFebruary 27, 2006, Push Journal
In response to a claim that government funds were used for Christian proselytizing, the government agreed to stop funding The Silver Ring Thing programme which won't be eligible for more funding unless it ensures the money won't be used for religious purposes. The programme, related to a Christian ministry based in Pittsburgh has received more than $1 million in federal funding during the past three years. In The ACLU complained that the ring given to teenagers was inscribed with a Biblical verse exhorting Christians to refrain from sexual sin and group members testified how accepting Jesus improved their lives. The organization said teenagers can chose between religious or secular programmes.
Ban Family Planning, Abortion: Puri SankaracharyaJanuary 23, 2006, Press Trust of India
Sankaracharya of Puri Swami Nischalananda Saraswati advocated a ban on abortion and family planning. He alleged that family planning measures were proving to be the bane of Hindus who would 'become a minority quite soon if these practices continue'. The Sankaracharya said that 'self-control' was the best process and 'not abortion or family planning measures'. He demanded that Ganga Sagar, a place of Hindu pilgrimage, be declared a holy place like Haridwar, and that the Left Front government in West Bengal should respect the sentiments of the Hindus and take steps to ban non-vegetarian food at the holy site.
Karen Gaia says: I guess he thinks India's rapid population growth is sustainable and does not lead to povery and depletion of resources.
Religious Leaders Speak Out on Sexual and Reproductive Health
Faith Groups Tackle Malawi Population GrowthJanuary 2014, Nyasa Times
Faith groups in Malawi are leading a campaign to tackle the issue of population growth. The country's population is expected triple by 2040 from the 2013 estimate of 16,407,000 million. This is primarily due the fact that on average women in Malawi will bear six children during their life time.
The Malawi Council of Churches, Episcopal Conference of Malawi through the Catholic Health Commission, the Evangelical Association of Malawi, the Muslim Association of Malawi, the Quadria Muslim Association of Malawi, and the Seventh Day Adventist Association have partnered the government through the sanctioned Health Population Project (HPP). The groups organized an event last year, called the Population Weekend, which promoted the family planning community mobilization component of the Safe Motherhood Initiative.
"Malawi's population is made up of 97% religious followers and faith groups are a vital tool in delivering population and development related messages to the masses", explained Laston Mteka of HPP.
"Religious leaders will talk about population and family planning in their teachings. The weekends will engage individuals and communities to generate suggestions for addressing the problem of rapid population growth; demonstrate the commitment of religious leaders to support population management efforts; and promote collaboration amount religious bodies on issues of common concern" said a representative of HPP.
The project's efforts are complementing government efforts to meet women's current needs for family planning, by making contraception readily available and building on the momentum of World Population Day 2013.
Religious leaders are also taking action to sensitize their congregations to family planning, an important challenge of rapid population growth. With 97% of Malawians belonging to a religious body or group, religious leaders have a critical role to play in addressing these issues.
"We should have a number of children only that we can be able to be responsible for as God wishes. This is the same Malawi, the same land and it is not enlarging. Resources now are becoming limited and we need to think critically about such issues and undertake to glorify God by responsible bearing of children" explained Bishop Gilford Matonga.
The initiative is supported by the USAID-funded HPP in collaboration with the University of North Carolina (UNC) through support from the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation.
U.S.: Evangelical Leader Says We Need Family Planning to Help Fight Climate ChangeDecember 10, 2012, Grist
Richard Cizik, an evangelical, was a key leader of an evangelical Christian movement calling for climate action and "creation care" a few years ago, and he also endorsed gay civil unions. Cizik recently founded the New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good, which advocates for social-justice causes including human rights, health-care access, and an end to war, and has put out a 13-page "Call to Christian Common Ground on Family Planning and Maternal and Children's Health." The document focuses on moral rather than environmental arguments, making the case that family planning reduces abortions, improves women's health, and saves women's lives.
Cizik believes he can convince open-minded evangelicals and other Christians of the rightness of his cause.
Worldwide, about 125 million women face social, emotional, and spiritual trauma -- and for some, the life-threatening risk -- of not having access to family planning. As a result, 25% births worldwide is unplanned, leading to 42 million abortions each year (half of them clandestine) and 68,000 women's deaths. Death in childbirth takes one woman's life per minute … and 99% of these deaths occur in poor countries. Many more women survive but have their health permanently ruined by repeated childbearing.
Here in the United States, lack of access to affordable health insurance results in an estimated 40% of poor women of reproductive age without family planning services. Contraception is credited with preventing an estimated 112 million abortions worldwide each year.
"The choice of not having a baby is always best made before pregnancy. About this there is broad common ground." he said. "Please do not block family planning efforts, globally or domestically, because of your opposition to groups that provide both contraception and abortion. Instead, consider how a deeply pro-life moral commitment, focusing on the flourishing of all human beings made in God's image, actually ought to lead to support for family planning without entangling it in the often partisan, politically motivated abortion controversy."
"Voluntary, non-compulsory family planning is a lot less expensive than most other ways of reducing CO2 emissions," he said. "It's one of the wedges, so to speak, among many that are needed" — a reference to a landmark 2004 paper that proposed using a number of different, currently available strategies to fight climate change, all represented as "wedges" on a graph that can help us ramp up to steep cuts in carbon emissions. Research published in 2010 found that slowing population growth could be a key wedge, providing 16 to 29% of emissions reductions needed by 2050.
Cizik argues that evangelical Christians can make a real difference by supporting funding for domestic and international family-planning programs. "Republican congressmen are not going to be persuaded that they need to change their views from wanting to defund Planned Parenthood, Title X, and all these programs by having liberals approach them," he said. "The only way you do it is by having conservatives, particularly evangelical conservatives, appeal to them on the basis that this is simply common sense."
"I do believe that good ideas drive out bad ideas, that ultimately evangelicals will themselves be persuaded by the evidence of the argument, and people change their minds. I changed my mind, and I used to be part of the group of people that are advocating for cutting Title X funding. I changed my mind because the evidence indicated that I needed to change my mind."
Opting Out of Parenthood
eZine for Jewish Women Talks of the Advantages and Disadvantages of Being ChildfreeDecember 05, 2012, 614::HBI eZINE
About 20% of the U.S. female population have chosen to be childfree, with this percentage having doubled in the last three decades. Women who choose to be childfree have to contend with being cast as social pariahs: "selfish," "self-centered," "baby-haters." "Given the rapid growth of this trend, we sought out a variety of perspectives on how this specifically impacts Jewish women".
Evangelical Coalition Rallies Behind Family PlanningOctober 15, 2012, Washington Post By: Adelle M. Banks
The centrist New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good recently released a document calling for "common ground" support of family planning.
Rev. Jennifer Crumpton, adviser to the group said: "We affirm that the use of contraceptives is a responsible and morally acceptable means to greater control over the number and timing of births, and to improve the overall developing and flourishing of women and children."
Abortion is not included in the document's definition of "family planning." It emphasized that access to contraception prevents unintended pregnancies and reduces abortion, and stressed the need to avoid "confusion of family planning with abortion" that has led some religious groups to oppose both.
"It is urgent, urgent and imperative, that this issue be discussed and cleared up," said Crumpton, a Disciples of Christ minister.
The Rev. Richard Cizik, president of the two-year-old organization, said family planning used to be considered a "third rail" topic of discussion but his organization is now calling on churches to address it.
Cizik also worked as vice president for The National Association of Evangelicals, which has urged frank talk about the vast majority of young evangelicals engaged in premarital sex and briefly mentions family planning in its online "Theology of Sex" document.
U.S.: Diverse Religious Leaders Affirm Contraceptive Access as 'Moral Imperative'September 13, 2012, Huffington Post By: Rev. Debra Haffner
A picture on the Internet shows an elderly woman holding a sign that says, "I can't believe I'm still protesting for birth control." 50 years since the Griswold decision, who could have predicted that contraception would once again be controversial?
90% of heterosexually active women use family planning, 90% of Americans believe that birth control use is morally acceptable, and 75% of voters in 2012 agree that "we should do everything we can to make sure that people who want to use prescription birth control have affordable access to it."
Yet, in the last two years, there have been efforts to pass so called "Personhood Amendments" that would criminalize hormonal methods of birth control, there was an attempt to defund Planned Parenthood, and contraceptive coverage in health care reform is being challenged by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops - they say its inclusion as a preventive health service an attack on "religious liberty." In addition, there have been increased restrictions on abortion and absurd statements by politicians' on how pregnancy does and doesn't occur,. With all this, the idea of a "war on women" seems all too true.
38 nationally recognized and theologically diverse religious leaders have joined together to affirm safe, affordable, accessible and comprehensive family planning services. They include current and past heads of the United Church of Christ, the Reformed Church in America, the Unitarian Universalist Association, and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)); presidents of seminaries such as the Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary, the Union Theological Seminary and Episcopal Divinity School; organizational heads of the New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good, the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice and Catholics for Choice); and nationally recognized theologians such as the Rev. Dr. Tony Campolo, the Rev. Dr. Larry Greenfield and Dr. Mary Hunt. They have all endorsed the Religious Institute's new Open Letter to Religious Leaders on Family Planning.
Earlier this spring a dozen Christian (mainline, Evangelical and Roman Catholic), Jewish and Muslim theologians created the Open Letter affirming that, "in a just world, all people would have equal access to contraception. The denial of family planning services effectively translates into coercive childbearing is an insult to human dignity." They called on hospitals and health services, regardless of religious affiliation, to provide or refer to contraceptive services, and reminded those who would oppose such services, that "no single faith can claim final moral authority in domestic or international discourse." They urged religious leaders to "advocate for increased U.S. financial support for domestic and global family planning services." .. "Contraception allows for a fulfilling sexual life while reducing maternal and infant mortality, unintended pregnancies, abortions, and sexually transmitted diseases."
The Central Conference of American Rabbis (Reform Judaism) and the Lambeth Conference of the Anglican Communion passed the first religious organization policies supporting contraception in 1929 and 1930, respectively. Today, at least 14 major denominations, including the Church of the Latter Day Saints (Mormons), the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America and the Seventh Day Adventist Church have policies supporting contraception.
United Methodist Church - World's Population and the Church's Response2004
We affirm God to be the Creator, the one who grants us freedom, and the one to whom we are responsible.
The imperative for the individual Christian and the Christian community is to seek patterns of life, shape the structures of society, and foster those values that will dignify human life for all.
These issues are closely interrelated: hunger, poverty, disease, lack of potable water, denial of human rights, economic and environmental exploitation, overconsumption, technologies that are inadequate or inappropriate, rapid depletion of resources, and continuing growth of population. None can be addressed in isolation.
Nor can hunger, poverty, disease, injustice, and violence in the world be simplistically blamed on population growth. The rapidly swelling numbers of people, however, makes addressing these issues more challenging. The world's population is estimated to reach 9.2 billion by 2050, with the least developed countries having the highest fertility and population growth. The populations of those nations are expected to triple in the next 50 years, from 600 million to 1.8 billion. With each passing day we are discovering more and more connections between population and with sustainable development. As the population grows, it has an obvious impact on land use, water consumption, and air quality. Communities are called to be responsible stewards of all these resources. How can we protect God's gift of the natural environment and at the same time provide a place of sustainability for humans?
We call on all United Methodists to:
*access educational opportunities that focus on the issue of population and its inter-relatedness to other critical issues such as poverty, disease, hunger, environment, injustice, and violence, and to promote these opportunities in the local church;
*urge that the United Methodist medical and mission facilities and programs provide a full range of reproductive health and family planning information;
*take the lead in upgrading the status of women in societies and include women in all development planning and processes. One such action would be advocating for the United States to ratify the United Nations Convention for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and to adopt the Equal Rights Amendment;
*implement programs within The United Methodist Church that provide and/or enhance educational opportunities for girls and women, making it possible for them to achieve levels of self-sufficiency and well-being;
*call upon governments to give high priority to addressing the malaria crisis and HIV/AIDS pandemic and urge adequate funding to eradicate and prevent these diseases;
*call on the U.S. Congress and legislative bodies of the developed nations to recognize the crucial nature of population growth and to give maximum feasible funding to programs of population, environment, health, agriculture, and other technological-assistance programs for developing nations. International assistance programs should be based on mutual cooperation, should recognize the diversities of culture, should encourage self-development and not dependency, and should not require "effective population programs" as a prerequisite for other developmental assistance;
*call on governments and private organizations to place a high priority on research aimed at developing a range of safe, inexpensive contraceptives that can be used in a variety of societies and medical situations. Promote greater understanding of attitudes, motivations, and social and economic factors affecting childbearing; and
*call on governments to implement systems of social insurance and support for older persons to ensure adequate economic sustenance and housing, and quality health care and nutrition."
"Each couple has the right and the duty prayerfully and responsibly to control conception according to their circumstances. They are, in our view, free to use those means of birth control considered medically safe. As developing technologies have moved conception and reproduction more and more out of the category of a chance happening and more closely to the realm of responsible choice, the decision whether or not to give birth to children must include acceptance of the responsibility to provide for their mental, physical, and spiritual growth, as well as consideration of the possible effect on quality of life for family and society.
To support the sacred dimensions of personhood, all possible efforts should be made by parents and the community to ensure that each child enters the world with a healthy body and is born into an environment conducive to the realization of his or her full potential."
In addition, the resolution encourages churches and society to "make information and materials available so all can exercise responsible choice in the area of conception controls. We support the free flow of information about reputable, efficient, and safe nonprescription contraceptive techniques through educational programs and through periodicals, radio, television, and other advertising media. We support adequate public funding and increased participation in family planning services by public and private agencies, including church-related institutions, with the goal of making such services available to all, regardless of economic status or geographic location."
Australia: Anglicans: We Have to Acknowledge and Respond to Population Issues in Order to Care for LifeOctober 15, 2010, Chair of the Anglican General Synod Public Affairs Commission
At a time when the Catholic church is so often in the news for appalling attitudes to population, it is heartening to see the Anglicans making informed and moral observations about the need to reign in population growth.
The General Synod has now endorsed the viewpoint of its Public Affairs Committee. We have to acknowledge and respond to population issues in order to care for life. The Anglican General Synod of Australia recently held its three-yearly meeting, at which a motion about the need to acknowledge and respond to population issues in order to care for life on our planet was warmly supported.
The Lambeth conference of bishops from the world-wide Anglican communion reaffirmed a decade ago that the divine Spirit is in Creation and human beings have a responsibility to make sacrifices for the common good of all life.
This year the Public Affairs Commission of the Australian Anglican Church presented a discussion paper on population issues which formed the basis for the attached motion recently passed by the national Synod.
The Synod has called on Anglicans to grow in understanding of global and national environmental challenges and the fundamental role of human population growth and consumption in contributing to them. It has encouraged individuals and the church to reduce their levels of consumption, and to contribute thoughtfully and prayerfully to public debate about how to achieve justice for future as well as current Australians and to nurture life on this fragile land with all its beauty and diversity. It emphasized the need to share in a world of finite resources, showing concern particularly for neighbours who live in the poorest two-thirds of the world.
The Synod called on the Australian Government to avoid any reliance on population growth to maintain economic growth; to determine a sustainable population policy for Australia; to consider carefully any incentive aimed specifically and primarily at increasing Australia's population, while continuing to support low-income families; and to contribute more generously to improving the welfare of people in the least developed nations, and other life in their environments, in particular by including support for family planning and women's reproductive health programs with aid for development.
Anglican Church Says Overpopulation May Break Eighth CommandmentJune 08, 2010, Mongabay.com
Australia's Anglican Church has linked overpopulation to the eighth commandment 'Thou shall not steal'. The governing body of Australia's Anglican Church has released a discussion paper that states "out of care for the whole of creation, particularly the poorest of humanity and the life forms who cannot speak for themselves, it is not responsible to stand by and remain silent [on the issue of overpopulation]."
The paper adds that "unless we take account of the needs of future life on Earth, there is a case that we break the eighth commandment—'thou shall not steal'."
The General Synod recommends that the federal government should no longer encourage population growth with financial incentives, such as the controversial 'baby bonus' whereby the Australian government pays a mother 4,000 Australian dollars every time she has a new baby. The bonus, which was put into effect beginning in 2004, has been linked to Australia's ongoing baby boom, the largest since the 1970s.
"In the context of unsustainable global population growth it is inconsistent and arguably irresponsible to provide financial incentives for population increase," the Australian Anglican Church says.
Currently some 6.8 billion people inhabit the Earth. Scientists estimate that by 2050 that number will rise to 9 billion before leveling out. Environmentalists say that overpopulation is leading to worsening climate change, unsustainable resource use, mass extinction, deforestation, pollution, and food and water shortages.
Religion News
Catholics for Choice
Being Religious and Concerned About Population: Are We Outgrowing Our Planet?October 29, 2011, The Rev. Robert F. Murphy
by The Rev. Robert F. Murphy, Unitarian Universalist minister in Falmouth, Massachusetts
When in Genesis God says repeatedly, "Be fruitful and multiply," the same instructions are delivered to humans and to others. The Bible tells us that God is concerned about the whole of nature. Later, after God had rescued Noah and his animal companions, God placed a rainbow in the sky as a sign of the Deity's covenant with all living creatures. The world doesn't exist for the sole benefit of one race, one nation, one gender, or even one species.
The Day of Seven Billion is day when religious reflection on population issues will be appropriate. Individuals who are concerned about social responsibility are encouraged to address the issue. Religious leaders have discussed family planning and sex education programs, marriage and adoption rights, the prevention of teenage pregnancies, and a long list of other concerns. While all of these matters are relevant, important and need immediate attention, the fact that the human population is still growing is seldom mentioned.
In 1930, the size of the world's human population was close to two billion. It was four billion as recently as 1974, and now it's 7 billion. Even though worldwide rate of population growth has declined during recent years, there could be 10 billion people in the year 2050.
Rapid population growth coupled with high levels of consumption will lead much of the world to economic ruin. The gap between rich and poor is widening in some nations. When you discuss population growth, note the inequities that exist in the world and acknowledge the influence of technology and human consumption on environmental quality. Then, at some point, ask the question, "Are there too many people in the world?"
While we don't know if the world can support a human population of 10 or 15 billion, it's apparent the supply of many natural resources is limited. Understand concepts like "carrying capacity." If the worldwide supply of oil continues to decline, while the human population is expanding and the developing nations are industrializing, the results may be catastrophic. As arable lands and fresh water become scarce, nations will compete with each other, and, in some places, the competition may become violent.
38% of pregnancies in the world are unwanted, according to the Alan Guttmacher Institute. Unwanted pregnancies often produce unwanted children, and, in the poorest regions of the world, children are often abandoned and easily exploited and abused. There are tens of millions of these children on the planet. Without adequate protection and care, many will become criminals, many will be exploited in sweatshops and on plantations, and many will become child prostitutes and child soldiers. Will religious leaders and social workers discuss family planning and the need for social services?
The increase in the human population is caused, in part, by the increase in life expectancy in many nations. Which leads to more questions about the future of families, the economy and the environment. Some Americans who are now past the age of 60 will retire to a life of comfort. Others will be pushed out of the workforce and into a life of poverty and neglect. Ask, "What, if anything, does our society owe to its senior citizens?" Raise that question in the population growth discussion.
The great religions remind us that the world does not exist for our species alone. Cormorants and turtles have their place in the community of life. As human beings demand more and more, more species will become endangered. Ask the religious question, "What moral responsibility, if any, do human beings have to protect biodiversity?"
At some point, religious leaders, in all of the faith traditions, need to put their differences aside in order to think and to think again about population growth. The quick and simple answers that have been suggested in the past are inadequate. Something new is needed.
Pray that we get it right.
The Rev. Murphy received a Special Service Award from the national Sierra Club in recognition of his ministry. Last year, he represented the Sierra Club in Ethiopia, studying family planning and environmental justice issues.
U.S.: Evangelical Use of Contraception is High, Family Planning Funding Reflects Needs and Desires of Most WomenApril 17, 2011, The Colorado Independent
In refusing to defund Planned Parenthood, US senators voted to protect family planning services that are important to some of the same people who so vehemently oppose abortion: Christians, and Evangelicals in particular, according to a new report by the Guttmacher Institute . The study shows that 99% of all women who have had sex have at one point used a contraceptive method other than natural family planning (such as periodic abstinence, temperature rhythm and cervical mucus tests).
Only 2% of Catholic women use naturally family planning and over 40% of Evangelicals rely on male or female sterilization, a figure higher than that of other religious groups.
This is the breakdown of religious women who are sexually active but do not want to get pregnant and, therefore, use a highly effective method of birth control, such as sterilization, hormonal birth control pills or the IUD : 69% of all denominations, 68% of Catholics, 73% of Mainline Protestants, 74% of Evangelicals.
Among all women who have had sex, 99% have ever used a contraceptive method other than natural family planning. This figure is virtually the same, 98%, among sexually experienced Catholic women.
Guttmacher based religious beliefs on womens admitted attendance to religious services and questions about their religiosity. 83% of women reported a religious affiliation: 48% identified as Protestant, among whom 53% said they are Evangelical and 47% who claim to be Mainline Protestant (including Methodists, Presbyterians and other groups); 25% are Catholic; and 11% identify with another religion such as Buddhism, Islam or Judaism.
Gutthmacher concluded that contraceptive use by Catholics and Evangelicals, including those who frequently attend religious services, is the widespread norm, not the exception. The implications for policymakers are clear: Policies that make contraceptives more affordable and easier to use are not just sound public health policy, they also reflect the needs and desires of the vast majority of American women and their partners, regardless of their religious affiliation.
Opinion: the Elephant in the RoomApril 12, 2010, WOA
All this about Global Warming and Climategate (from both sides) seems a bit pitiful while we ignore the elephant in the room.
The Earth's population is increasing inexorably, and this trumps every effort to save resources and the environment. Without population control, the environment is literally doomed.
Catholics are among the biggest offenders, but Pagans, Muslims, and some protestant sects also participate.
I hate anecdotal examples, but here I go with one anyway. I use it because it illustrates in microcosm the problem in much of the world.
One of Ben's and my wards is a Maasai, the star student in a school far from the beaten path on the edge of the Serengeti. The Maasai culture is traditionally pastoral and (in hard times) nomadic, but development and national boundaries have made them more sessile.
They have religious taboos against eating wild animals, bless them! - although killing a lion with a spear has been a rite of passage. But the lion does have a chance. When we visited, the weather had been kind of dry and the cattle were skinny, but people were getting along.
The drought has continued and worsened. The cattle are starving and the people will follow suit. In the old days, the village might have picked up stakes and moved to greener pastures. Or if the famine were widespread, many would have perished, reducing the overpopulation for a generation or two.
We are facing a dilemma. Our ward emailed us recently asking us to support his family in the crisis. How many? Well, there are his mom and dad. And five brothers and sisters. And 24 half-brothers and sisters and five other wives. (Maasai are polygamous. Don't even mention family planning.)
Get the picture? About five kids per mom, a massive generational increase in an already stressed resource base. Some could move to the City ... and do what? Beg?
So. We or the Tanzanian government could provide food to bring them through the current famine. That leaves everyone poised on the edge of the Serengeti, in an area already defoliated and overgrazed.
Or we and the government could ignore the issue. Some would move to Arusha and Dar es Salaam, abandoning their families and culture. Imagine the Amish being forced to move to the slums of Philadelphia and Baltimore. The rest would remain at the traditional homeland, and some would starve.
Wouldn't birth control have been a better solution? Why don't people talk about this?
U.S. Religions Quietly Launch a Sexual RevolutionFebruary 24, 2010, Women's Enews
A think tank, The Religious Institute, in a a 46-page manifesto on the state of sexuality in religious communities has said that silence should be broken about a host of sexuality issues. The manifesto is titled: "Sexuality and Religion 2020: Goals for the Next Decade."
Goals include improved pastoral care of marital relationships, domestic abuse and infertility, and training for prospective clergy in sexuality-related matters.
According to the manifesto, religious leaders should provide lifelong age-appropriate education for youth and adults and to become more effective advocates for comprehensive sexuality education and sexual and reproductive health in society.
Clergymen who are often first responders in matters of domestic violence and potential (and actual) suicides by young people struggling with sexual identity have usually received little to no training for the job.
The document offers an uncompromised progressive vision that does not seek "common ground" with conservative evangelicals and Catholics.
It calls for full access to reproductive health care, including abortion, marriage equality, full inclusion of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in the life of religious communities.
The report as generated only a little media attention but progress is already being made.
The president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary saw it as "evidence of the continued subversion of biblical authority and confessional integrity that characterizes the revolt against orthodoxy in so many churches."
But he acknowledged: "Our pews are filled with people worried about their sexuality, wondering how to understand these things, struggling with same-sex attractions, tempted to stray from their marriages, enticed by Internet pornography and wondering how to bring their sexuality under submission to Christ." And evangelicals "should not avoid its urgency in calling pastors and Christian leaders to teach and preach about sex and sexuality."
The Religious Institute is a national network of more than 5,000 clergy and religious leaders from 50 religious traditions. Its founder Rev. Debra Haffner, is a former executive director of SIECUS (Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States), the nation's leading association of sex educators.
Advances have been made in the last 10 years, with female clergy taking leadership roles in major denominations; a woman is presiding bishop of The Episcopal Church; Lesbian, gay, transgendered and bisexual people gaining acceptance; and marriage equality being recognized by the United Church of Christ, the Union for Reform Judaism, Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association and the Unitarian Universalist Association.
One Church recently announced that clergy will now be required to be "competent" to address matters of sexuality in the lives of their parishioners.
The manifesto said that 75% of progressive clergy had not addressed sex education and 40% had not preached about sexual orientation over a two year period. 70% had never preached on reproductive justice.
Issues that parishoners have where they need the help of clergy are: sexual abuse, marriages breaking up, and infertility.
When matters of sexuality are avoided, it shows up in clergy sex-abuse scandals. "And it's not just the Catholics." When you can't talk about it in your churches, where can you talk about it. Silence contributes to people's alienation and aloneness.
Five mainstream denominations are working on mandatory sexual competence for clergy and 15 denominations on matters that affect everyone. a number of denominations have focused on issues of domestic violence. All would benefit from clergy training and open discussion of matters of sexuality, including the teaching of young people and strategies for keeping children safe from sexual predators.
Dr. Martin Marty, the eminent historian of religion at the University of Chicago compared sexuality to religion. "If you get it right, it's beautiful. But if you get it wrong, it really messes you up."
Fertility Rate, Religion, and ConflictJanuary 12, 2010, Bruce Sundquist
The 15 nations of the world with the lowest total fertility rates are predominantly Catholic countries. In addition, the data indicates that the outlook of Muslims is changing toward contraception. Imans and Mullas are more willing to put forth favorable fatawas on that issue.
All the non-Muslim nations that border on the Muslim world will be delighted, since that interface is where many of the armed conflicts are taking place, or have taken place in recent decades. Elsewhere on the website is data that shows armed conflict increases markedly with total fertility rate.
Indonesia: Discrimination Over Access to Reproductive HealthJuly 25, 2009, Jakarta Post
Unmarried women have been discriminated against by lawmakers in a health bill with religious overtones. This bill, which precludes them from reproductive health treatments, and which requires a recommendation from a religious panelas a requirement for approving abortions in life-threatening pregnancies or for rape victims - will replace the 1992 Health Law, which does not regulate reproductive health.
"The bill is a step backwards from the current Health Law."
In Jakarta, many sexually active unmarried women have found it difficult to get professional advice about reproductive health without having to face judgmental medical workers.
There is concern that there would be more bureaucratic procedures in hospitals to access reproductive health.
The legislation would increase the psychological trauma rape victims suffer. Especially as the provided period only allows for abortions in the first six weeks of pregnancy, which is basically unrealistic because in this period, women are often not aware of their pregnancy.
In Mahayana teachings, abortion is considered murder.
One woman said: "For me, giving birth to a human without being able to be fully responsible for them is also a sin."
Religious Group Attacks Religion in U.S. Health CareApril 24, 2007, Reuters
A coalition of religious leaders took on the Catholic Church, the U.S. Supreme Court and the administration with a plea to take religion out of health care in the US.
Last week's Supreme Court decision outlawing a certain type of abortion demonstrated that religious belief was interfering with personal rights and the U.S. health care system in general.
The group said it planned to submit its proposals to other church groups and lobby Congress and state legislators.
Concerns are being raised in religious communities about the ethics of denying services.
The group also complained about Catholic-owned hospitals that refuse to sterilize women, refuse to let doctors perform abortions and do not provide contraception.
Doctors, pharmacists and nurses are also increasingly refusing to provide essential services on moral or religious grounds. The government is codifying these refusals, through legislation and the recent Supreme Court decision, where five Catholic men decided that they could better determine what was moral and good.
The group includes ordained Protestant ministers, a Jewish activist, an expert on women's reproductive rights and several physicians.
Health care decisions ought to be made freely, based on medical expertise and individual conscience.
Allow doctors to use best medical practices, providing comprehensive counseling on sexual or reproductive health and honor advance directives -- including "do not resuscitate" orders.
Refusal to provide health care would be balanced by alternate service delivery so that no one would be victimized when another exercises his/her conscience.