Sacred Choices: The Right to Contraception and Abortion in Ten World Religions
Sacred Choices: The Right to Contraception and Abortion in Ten World Religions
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Review: Sacred Choices: Right to Contraception and Abortion in World Religions
Abortion and Religion
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Family Planning and World Population
At some point, growth will have to stop and perhaps reverse, leading to a declining population. This will not happen magically. It will require family planning, contraception and freely available abortion services, not to mention drastically increased opportunities for women to become better educated and have opportunities outside the home, two factors which correlate highly with lower fertility rates.
At present, religion has become an obstacle to family planning because most religious systems developed at a time when human survival was much more precarious, and therefore high fertility rates were transformed into a divine mandate. As a result, we see people from otherwise conflicting religions joining forces to oppose the funding and promotion of family planning services. Progressive traditions which support family planning have developed more slowly and have not yet convinced many in their respective institutional hierarchies.
Change will have to come, however, even if it is delayed. As more people begin to understand that they can support family planning and choice without also rejecting the religion to which they belong, it will become easier for them to make more informed decisions. People need to understand that they can be a good Catholic or a good Muslim and still support the existence of family planning, contraception, and even legal abortion.
Maguire's book was written with such readers in mind, although it seems aimed primarily at the average Christian - he makes more than one statement which sounds like an attempt to reassure the reader that non-Christian religions have something useful to offer:
- It is important to remember that religions are all philosophies of life. Just because you are not actively involved in any particular religion does not exclude you from enjoying these treasure troves of wisdom about life and its possibilities.
Hopefully, this message will find some resonance with the people who buy the book. Perhaps because it is aimed at a general audience, there are no references to sources of quotes and information, and this is one of its biggest drawbacks. There is a bibliography, but I would have appreciated some more specific references for the sake of more in-depth research.
Although the book does not provide an especially in-depth examination of various theologies, it is an excellent introduction to the basic ideas in various religions when it comes to questions of fertility. In just one volume, you can read how different religious traditions support contraception and abortion, contrary to the more vocal conservative speakers who give the impression that religion is always opposed to choice.
Sacred Choices: The Right to Contraception and Abortion in Ten World Religions |
As a result, liberal believers will find a lot here to help support the defend their inclination to be pro-choice with regards to family planning. It will also be helpful for nonbelievers who often find themselves in debates with anti-choice believers, providing material to challenge the dogmatic positions they often have to deal with. It will also help nonbelievers keep in mind that religion is not monolithic and instead includes a wide variety of beliefs - not all religious people think alike, not all Christians think alike, and not all Catholics think alike.
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