Posted on 11/14/2019 8:27:18 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Only a quarter of evangelicals in the United States believe abortion should be illegal in all cases, according to a new poll showing that a majority of self-identified Christians in the U.S. identify as “pro-choice” and less than half of evangelicals identify as “pro-life.”
Save the Storks, a pro-life organization that partners with pregnancy centers to provide women with free ultrasounds, released a new survey this week that it sponsored through the research firm Magid.
The survey is based on online interviews with 1,000 adults nationwide ages 18 to 69 conducted in May to gauge Americans’ opinions and attitudes on abortion.
“There’s a disconnect in our culture right now,” said OB-GYN Dr. Karysse Trandem, a spokesperson for Save the Storks. “The majority of Americans believe that life begins at or before the heartbeat, but the majority of evangelicals and Catholics identify as pro-choice.”
While the research breaks down data by religious demographics, it should be noted that religious classification for the survey was done by self-identification. This means that evangelical respondents were self-identified and not determined by belief qualification.
The data shows that 25 percent of all respondents identify themselves as “pro-life” — a political term used typically to identify someone who opposes abortion — while 40 percent identified as “pro-choice” — a term typically used to identify someone who supports abortion rights.
Twenty-nine percent of respondents said they were “neither or a mix of both,” while 7 percent said they “don’t know.”
When broken down by religious background, 47 percent of self-identified evangelicals, 33 percent of mainline Protestants and 27 percent of Catholics identified themselves as “pro-life.”
Meanwhile, 30 percent of evangelicals, 33 percent of Catholics and 26 percent of mainline Protestants said they were “neither or a mix of both.”
Less than two out of 10 (18 percent) of evangelical respondents identified themselves as “pro-choice,” while 34 percent of Catholics and 36 percent of mainline Protestants said the same thing.
As for respondents who identified themselves as “non-religious,” only 14 percent identified as “pro-life” and 53 percent identified as “pro-choice.”
Although the plurality of respondents that participated in the survey identified as “pro-choice,” only 27 percent said they think abortion should be legal in all cases, while 14 percent of all respondents said that abortion should be illegal in all cases.
Thirty-four percent of pro-life respondents said they think abortion should be illegal in all cases, while 52 percent said it should illegal in most cases. Ten percent of pro-life respondents said abortion should be legal in most cases and 4 percent of pro-life respondents said abortion should be legal in all cases.
Of the 40 percent of respondents who said they were pro-choice, 52 percent believe that abortion should be legal in all cases, while 36 percent said it should be legal in most cases. Seven percent of pro-choice respondents said abortion should be illegal in all cases and 5 percent said it should be illegal in most cases.
For respondents who said they were “neither or a mix” of pro-choice and pro-life, 30 percent believe that abortion should be illegal in most cases while 51 percent believe that abortion should be legal in most cases.
Only 25 percent of evangelicals believe that abortion should be illegal in all cases, while 33 percent of evangelicals said that abortion should be illegal in most cases. Fifteen percent of evangelicals believe that abortion should be legal in all cases and 27 percent of evangelicals believe it should be legal in most cases.
By comparison, 16 percent of Catholics and 18 percent of mainline Protestants believe that abortion should be illegal in most cases. Thirty-one percent of mainline Protestants said they think abortion should be illegal in most cases, while 28 percent of Catholics said the same thing.
Thirty-eight percent of Catholics said abortion should be legal in most cases, while 28 percent of mainline Protestants said the same thing. Nearly one-quarter (23 percent) of mainline Protestants said abortion should be legal in most cases, while 18 percent of Catholics said the same.
Nearly one-quarter of respondents (23 percent) said that “yes,” they would consider abortion to be an option if they or their partners became pregnant. Meanwhile, 21 percent of respondents said “maybe” and 50 percent said “No.”
Twenty-percent of pro-choice respondents said they would not personally consider abortion an option while 6 percent of pro-life respondents said they would consider abortion to be an option.
Only 10 percent of evangelicals said that abortion would be an option for them personally, while 17 percent of Catholics and 15 percent of mainline Protestants said the same. Eleven percent of evangelicals said that abortion would “maybe” be an option while 72 percent of evangelicals surveyed said that abortion would not be an option.
One quarter (25 percent) of Catholics said that abortion would “maybe” be an option, while 54 percent said it would not be. As for mainline Protestant respondents, 57 percent said abortion would not be an option for them while 22 percent said abortion would “maybe” be an option.
The survey found that non-religious respondents (36 percent) were more than twice as likely than Christian respondents to say that abortion would be an option for them if they or their partners got pregnant. Still, the plurality of non-religious respondents (42 percent) says that abortion would not be an option for them personally.
Forty-two percent of evangelicals say a fetus is considered a living being at the point of conception, while 31 percent of Catholics, 34 percent of mainline Protestants and 21 percent of non-religious respondents expressed the same belief.
Thirty-eight percent of Catholics, 36 percent of evangelicals and 30 percent of mainline Protestants believe that a fetus is living at the time its heart beats.
This indicates that majorities for evangelicals, Catholics and mainline respondents believe that a fetus is living when a heartbeat can be detected or earlier in gestation.
Even among the non-religious respondents, 55 percent believe a fetus is living when the heartbeat can be detected or earlier.
“We hope this research is the beginning of an honest dialogue among Christians,” Save the Storks President Paul Isaacs said in a statement. “We are going to have to work harder to equip the next generation of Christians to have a more life-affirming ethic on this issue.”
The survey comes after a Gallup poll earlier this year found that 58 percent of respondents oppose legislation that would ban abortion once a baby’s heartbeat can be detected.
Over the past year, several states have enacted restrictions on abortion such as bills making abortion illegal once a heartbeat can be detected or as early as six weeks into gestation. Such bills have come under the scrutiny of abortion rights activists who claim such laws are too restrictive when it comes to women’s access to abortion.
An Hill-Harris X survey of 1,000 respondents published earlier this year found that 55 percent of respondents say that bills banning abortion after six weeks of pregnancy are either “too lenient” or “just right.” That same survey found that only 45 percent believed that a 6-week abortion ban legislation is “too restrictive.”
And obstetrics is even more life-savingly sophisticated now, than it was 40 years ago.
There is still some percentage of infant neonatal fatality, of course, even in the most medically-advanced countries in the world, and smaller numbers of maternal mortality. Some die by chance. No one should ever die by choice.
By the way, we all know Ireland recently (and to their shame and loss) legalized abortion a year ago. Before abortion legalization, Ireland had one of the lowest rates of maternal mortality in the world. I am pretty sure that that number is going to go significantly up now that they are abandoning pro-life in principle and in practice. :o(
You are absolutely right. Thank you for that. I get depressed sometimes about how many every Sunday Catholics I know at my church are dyed-in-the-wool democrats and hate Trump. It can make you depressed.
10-4
but I was never one who believed in once-saved-always-saved,or what I guess is called "Eternal Security". I wonder if there are some who believe that once saved you can never be lost, exceptif you become a member of the Democrat Party.
Thank you
Which also makes the question about the mother’s life more than a little bit disingenuous. I have read articles by medical doctors and obstetricians that categorically state the instance where an abortion would be safer for the mother’s life compared to giving birth are extremely rare. In nearly all cases it is safer for the mother to deliver the child.
Based on that fact surveys that use this question are crap surveys designed to elicit certain responses.
That’s my opinion at any rate.
OSAS is perhaps the greatest deception in the church of our day. “Falling away” is what Jesus, Paul, and all the disciples warned of. Jesus will not let go of us, but we can let go of Him if we quit believing the truth. Abortion is Moloch worship (the God of prosperity). To deny this is to deny the truth, and the way, and the life.
Yes.
My take was the same as yours.
They included that question because they knew that evangelicals would be thoughtful, and completely honest, even though it was a dishonest question.
They are trying to make it look like abortion is mainstream.
Another “poll” over-sampling Dems by 15%.
No, but we just get bashed here and told the reason why so many Catholics are liberal on social issues is all our bishops and Popes are marxists and atheists and teaching "unbiblical" stuff.
When the "bible belivin'" churches have members who behave the same way, people just shrug it off. Nobody bashes evangelical protestant ministers for handing out communion to anyone who wants it, even non-Christians.
Then these so-called *Evangelicals* need to question their faith.
Agreed.
I'd say most ob's would answer that way, too.
That's why you come here! It's like a tonic.
“But those practicing Christians are the real deal, both Protestant and Catholic.”
Even among practicing Catholics who attend the novus ordo modern “mass”, compliance with Catholic doctrine is poor. But for Catholics attending the proper Mass of the Latin Rite, the Tridentine Mass, compliance is extremely high.
An online poll????
I only have stats that are somewhat dated, but are from known pollsters (not research firm Magid :... Mike Bloxham, Senior Vice President of Global Media and Entertainment at Magid, has served as a jurist for the Creative Media Awards each year since their inception in 2004./.. Awards categories span all types of media, multicultural and LGBT campaigns, B2B and many others. In all there are over 20 categories.):
40% Roman Catholics vs. 41% Non-R.C. see abortion as "morally acceptable"; Sex between unmarried couples: 67% vs. 57%; Baby out of wedlock: 61% vs. 52%; Homosexual relations: 54% vs. 45%; Gambling: 72% vs. 59% http://www.gallup.com/poll/117154/Catholics-Similar-Mainstream-Abortion-Stem-Cells.aspx
Committed Roman Catholics (church attendance weekly or almost) versus Non-R.C. faithful church goers (see the below as as morally acceptable): Abortion: 24% of R.C. vs. 19% Non-R.C.; Sex between unmarried couples: 53% vs. 30%; Baby out of wedlock: 48% vs. 29%; Homosexual relations: 44% vs. 21%; Gambling: 67% vs. 40%; Divorce: 63 vs. 46% ^
Comparing 16 moral behaviors, Catholics were less likely to say mean things about people behind their back, and tending to engage in recycling more. However, they were also twice as likely to view pornographic content on the Internet, and were more prone to use profanity, to gamble, and to buy lottery tickets. ^
In a survey asking whether one approves or rejects or overall sees little consequence (skeptical) to society regarding seven trends on the family (More: unmarried couples raising children; gay and lesbian couples raising children; single women having children without a male partner to help raise them; people living together without getting married; mothers of young children working outside the home; people of different races marrying each other; and more women not ever having children), 42% of all Protestants were “Rejecters” of the modern trend, 35% were Skeptics, and 23% were “Approvers.” Among Catholics, 27% were Rejecters, 34% were Approvers, and 39% were Skeptics. (Among non religious, 10% were Rejecters, 48% were Approvers, and 42% were Skeptics.) Pew forum, The Public Renders a Split Verdict On Changes in Family Structure, February 16, 2011 http://pewsocialtrends.org/2011/02/16/the-public-renders-a-split-verdict-on-changes-in-family-structure/#prc_jump
50 percent of Protestants affirmed gambling was a sin, versus 15 percent of Catholics; that getting drunk was a sin: 63 percent of Protestants, 28 percent of Catholics; gossip: 70 percent to 45 percent: homosexual activity or sex: 72 percent to 42 percent. Ellison Research, March 11, 2008 http://ellisonresearch.com/releases/20080311.htm http://www.christianpost.com/article/20080312/study-behaviors-americans-consider-sinful.htm
Combined aggregate results from 9 surveys conducted from 2001 through 2004 show 71% of Protestants (68% of regular church goers) and 66% of Catholics (59% of regular Catholic church-goers) support capital punishment. http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/gallup-poll-who-supports-death-penalty
73 percent of Catholics rejected Catholic teaching artificial methods of birth control. Catholic World Report; 1997 survey of 1,000 Catholic Americans by Roper Center for Public Opinion Research at the University of Connecticut
Only 20 percent strongly agreed with the Church teaching that only men may be ordained. ^
Of never-married adult females, 25% of Evangelicals, 11% of Catholics and 14% of Mainline Protestants professed never to be have had sexual relations. Countering Conventional Wisdom: New Evidence on Religion and Contraceptive Use, Guttmacher Institute, April. 2011
Contraceptives
Just 15% of U.S. Catholics say that using contraceptives is morally wrong. 41% say that using contraceptives is morally acceptable, while 36% say it is not a moral issue. 37% of Catholics who attend Mass at least once a week say using contraceptives is morally wrong while 33% say it is morally acceptable and 30% say it is not a moral issue. — http://www.pewresearch.org/key-data-points/u-s-catholics-key-data-from-pew-research/#abortion
74% of Evangelicals, 73% of Mainline Protestants, and 68% of sexually active Catholics women use birth control. 3% of the Catholics rely on natural family planning. Attendance at religious services and importance of religion to daily life are largely unrelated to use of highly effective contraceptive methods. ^
88% of Catholics believe that they can practice artificial means of birth control and still be considered good Catholics. New York Times/CBS News poll, Apr. 21-23, 1994, subsample of 446 Catholics, MOE ± 5%
98% of self-identified Catholic women ages 15-44 who have ever had sexual relations have used a method of contraception other than natural family planning at some point in their lives. .” http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/the-claim-that-98-percent-of-catholic-women-use-contraception-a-media-foul/2012/02/16/gIQAkPeqIR_blog.html?wprss=fact-checker
40% of 18- to 29-year-old Catholics said the church’s “teachings on sexuality and birth control are out of date.” http://www.barna.org/teens-next-gen-articles/528-six-reasons-young-christians-leave-church
59% of all Catholic women of childbearing age practice contraception—a rate of usage statistically equivalent to that of the general population (60%). Calvin Goldscheider and William D. Mosher, "Patterns of Contraceptive Use in the United States:
58% of Catholics 52% if they are voters) believe that employers should be required to provide their employees with health care plans that cover contraception;
50% of white Catholics support this requirement, versus 47% who oppose it, along with 38% of white evangelical Protestants an 50% of white mainline Protestants. Public Religion Research Institute, February 2012 http://publicreligion.org/research/2012/02/january-tracking-poll-2012/
Abortion
[2000-2001] Catholic women had an abortion rate 29 percent higher than Protestants. 43% of women over age 17 in the 2000-2001 survey said they were Protestant, while 27 percent said they were Catholic. 13 percent said they were evangelical or “born-again.” Catholics were more likely to get an abortion: The abortion rate for Catholic women was 22 per 1,000 women; the rate for Protestants was 18 per 1,000 women, Alan Guttmacher Institute http://www.catholicleague.org/research/Catholic_women_and_abortion.htm; http://www.factcheck.org/2007/12/abortions-comparing-catholic-and-protestant-women/
75% of white evangelical Protestants consider having an abortion morally wrong, as do 64% of Hispanic Catholics, 58% of black Protestants, 53% of white Catholics, 38% of white mainline Protestants and 25% of religiously unaffiliated adults. http://www.pewforum.org/2013/08/15/abortion-viewed-in-moral-terms/
White evangelical Protestants are the only major religious group in which a majority (54%) favors completely overturning Roe v. Wade. http://www.pewforum.org/2013/01/16/roe-v-wade-at-40/
35% of white evangelicals and 52% of 59% of white Catholics see overturning Roe v. Wade as not that important. http://www.pewforum.org/2013/01/16/roe-v-wade-at-40/
64% of white evangelical Protestants [blacks make up 6% of all evangelicals] believe abortion should be illegal in all or most cases, as do 52% of Hispanic Catholics, and 41% of white Catholics, and 39% of black Protestants, and 31% of white mainline Protestants. http://www.pewforum.org/2013/01/16/public-opinion-on-abortion-slideshow/
31% of faithful Catholics (those who attend church weekly, 2004) say abortion should be legal either in "many" or in "all" cases.. 2004, The Gallup Organization Gallup Survey for Catholics Speak Out: 802 Catholics, May 1992, MOE ± 4%;
When ask to choose, three-fourths of all Protestant pastors surveyed said [2009] they are pro-life, and 13 percent said they were pro-choice. LifeWay Research; http://www.lifeway.com/ArticleView?storeId=10054&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&article=LifeWay-Research-protestant-pastors-share-views-on-gay-marriage-abortion
26 percent of Catholics (2007) polled strongly agree with the Church's unequivocal position on abortion Catholic World Report; survey of 1,000 Catholic Americans by Roper Center for Public Opinion Research at the University of Connecticut; http://www.adoremus.org/397-Roper.html
46 percent of Catholics who say they attend mass weekly accept Church teaching on abortion; 43 percent accept the all-male priesthood; and 30 percent see contraception as morally wrong. ^
In 1992 0nly 13 percent of Catholics overall agreed that abortion could never be a moral choice. 41% said it was morally acceptable in rare circumstances and another 41 percent said it was morally acceptable in many or all circumstances. 70% of Catholics overall agreed that Catholics can vote in good conscience for political candidates who support legal abortion. http://www.nytimes.com/1992/06/19/us/bishops-meet-catholics-voice-differences-with-church-s-doctrine-poll-finds.html
Fornication, homosexuality
In a 2010 LifeWay Research survey 77 percent of American Protestant pastors (57% of mainline versus 87% evangelical) strongly disagree with same-sex marriage, with 6% percent somewhat disagreeing, and 5% being somewhat in agreement and 10 percent strongly agreeing. (5% of evangelical).
Only 3% of evangelical pastors (versus 11% mainline) somewhat agree that there is nothing wrong with homosexual marriage.
11% of evangelical pastors (versus 30% mainline) somewhat agree that homosexual civil unions are acceptable, with 67% of the former and 38% of the latter strongly disagreeing with homosexual civil unions. October 2010 LifeWay Research survey of 1,000 randomly selected Protestant pastors. http://www.lifeway.com/ArticleView?storeId=10054&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&article=LifeWay-Research-protestant-pastors-oppose-homosexual-marriage
A 2002 nationwide poll of 1,854 priests in the United States and Puerto Rico reported that 30% of Roman Catholic priests described themselves as Liberal, 28% as Conservative, and 37% as Moderate in their Religious ideology. 53 percent responded that they thought it always was a sin for unmarried people to have sexual relations; 32 percent that is often was, and 9 percent seldom/never. However, nearly four in 10 younger priests in 2002 described themselves as conservative, and were more likely to regard as "always a sin" such acts as premarital sex, abortion, artificial birth control, homosexual relations, etc., and three-fourths said they were more religiously orthodox than their older counterparts. Los Angeles Times (extensive) nationwide survey (2002). http://www.bishop-accountability.org/resources/resource-files/reports/LAT-Priest-Survey.pdf http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1141/is_2_39/ai_94129129/pg_2
The survey also found that 80% of Roman Catholic priests referred to themselves as “mostly” heterosexual in orientation, with 67% being exclusively heterosexual, 8% leaning toward heterosexual, 5% completely in the middle, and 6% leaning toward homosexual and 9% saying they are homosexual, for a combined figure of 15% on the homosexual class. Among younger priests (those ordained for 20 years or less) the figure was 23%. ^
One-third of surveyed priests said they “do not waver” from their vow of celibacy, while 47% described celibacy as “an ongoing journey” and 14% said they “do not always succeed in following” it. 2% said celibacy is not relevant to their priesthood and they do not observe it. not celibate. ^
71 percent of priests responded that it always was wrong for a woman to get an abortion, 19 percent that it often was, and 4 percent seldom/never. ^
28 percent judged that is always was sin for married couples to use artificial birth control, 25 percent often, 40 percent never. ^
49 percent affirmed that it was always a sin to engage in homosexual behavior, often, 25 percent; and never, 19 percent. ^
To take one's own life if suffering from a debilitating disease: always, 59 percent; often, 18 percent; never, 17 percent. ^ More
They were “self-identified” Evangelicals.
Correction. “Self-identified” Christians.
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