Actually, it did not start with contraception, it started with Higher Criticism of the Bible, which discounted the veracity of God’s word. Something the Catholic church was also heavily involved in (the Graff-Wellhausen thesis and Higher Criticism). The church my husband grew up in (and our parents attended) left the Presbyterian church over that very issue (Biblical criticism) in 1969, and the case went all the way to the Supreme Court (Community Church of Palm Springs vs. PCUSA). It wasn’t about contraception at all.
And again, I know more Catholics who support contraception than I do Evangelicals (which are a large part of Protestantism).
FWIW, I oppose contraception.
“Something the Catholic church was also heavily involved in (the Graff-Wellhausen thesis and Higher Criticism)”
I’m a historian. Wellhausen was a protestant, and a Lutheran. So was Graf. The actual founder of the movement was Reuss, who was again a Lutheran.
I don’t see any evidence that Catholics were a significant part of the movement. My own historical philosophy comes from Reuss’s antagonist, von Ranke.
Both were Lutheran, but von Ranke was an empiricist and a man of faith. He argued in favour of Christianity as a historical religion.
As for biblical criticism, yes, it was influential in the seminaries, around the turn of the century. Unsurprisingly, this is where we see the actual ministry decline as the ministers had fewer children with their wives. This precipitated in Lambeth back in 1934.
I’m not sure when the Presbyterians jumped on board, I know for certain by 1984.
“FWIW, I oppose contraception.”
Good for you. It will be conducive to your faith. I understand your frustration with Catholics who do not follow the teachings of their church, but you must understand that the churches that lead their flock astray are a problem too.
I wish this were not so on both sides, but the process has been underway for a long time, before we were here.