Here are some telling statistics from a Public Religion Research Institute survey published today at http://publicreligion.org/research/2012/02/january-tracking-poll-2012/
Roughly 6-in-10 Catholics (58%) believe that employers should be required to provide their employees with health care plans that cover contraception. This percentage is actually three points higher among Catholics than the national average of 55%. Among women nationwide, it is 62%.
A majority of Catholics (52%) say that religiously affiliated colleges and hospitals should have to provide coverage that includes contraception.
Bridget Mary's Reflection
Since the majority of Catholics support coverage for contraception, it indicates the obvious, the sense of the faithful. Unfortunately, the hierarchy has abandoned this cornerstone principle of Catholic theology. Church teaching should reflect the faith of the believing community. In this issue, over 98 percent of Catholic women do not follow the ban on artificial birth control. Once again, the bishops are tone deaf and have lost credibility by attempting to bully the Obama administration into giving them an exemption that the majority of their fellow Catholics do not support. The male conservative pundits who are the hierarchy's cheer leaders should get in touch with the people in the pews , who are the church, and not presume that the hierarchy is the church. Just because the bishops oppose contraception coverage in the Affordable Care Act, does not mean millions of Catholics do too!
Bridget Mary Meehan
sofiabmm@aol.com
5 comments:
"Church teaching should reflect the faith of the believing community"
If you want to vote on doctrines and teachings in your little community, go right ahead. Our beliefs as Catholics are not based on trends and popular opinion polls.
"Us" Catholics will compel your little community of 58% Catholics to genuflect to our beliefs, our doctrines, and our teachings.
Jesus is futile.
He will be assimilated.
What study shows that 98% of Catholic women use contraception? I find it hard to believe that, if there is such a study or poll, it was taken from a group of practicing Catholics.
"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."
From "Countering Conventional Wisdom:
New Evidence on Religion and Contraceptive Use", Guttmacher Institute, April 2011.
http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/Religion-and-Contraceptive-Use.pdf
Thanks for the link - it was very helpful. However, it states that only 30% of the Catholic women in the study went to Church every week. Not only is this already 70% who ignore their Sunday obligations, the poll did not ask whether or not those who did go to Mass every week were following Church teachings other than those pertaining to contraception.
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