Guttmacher Report Finds that Contraceptive Use is the Norm for Religious Women

Guttmacher News Release: CONTRACEPTIVE USE IS THE NORM AMONG RELIGIOUS WOMEN:

Policies that Make Contraceptives More Affordable and Easier to Use Reflect the Needs of All Women, Including Catholics and Evangelical Protestants

Contraceptive use by Catholics and Evangelicals—including those who attend religious services   most frequently—is the norm, according to a new Guttmacher report. This finding confirms that policies making contraceptives more affordable and easier to use reflect the needs and desires of the vast majority of U.S. women and their partners, regardless of their religious beliefs.

“In real-life America, contraceptive use and strong religious beliefs are highly compatible,” says Rachel K. Jones, the report’s lead author. “Most sexually active women who do not want to become pregnant practice contraception, and most use highly effective methods like sterilization, the pill, or the IUD. This is true for Evangelicals and Mainline Protestants, and it is true for Catholics, despite the Catholic hierarchy’s strenuous opposition to contraception.”

The analysis, based on a nationally representative U.S. government survey, has important implications for health policy, which is still at times shaped by the mistaken belief that contraceptive use runs counter to strongly held religious beliefs. . . .