There are quite a few non-Catholic religions out there who support artificial contraception.
True, but with some qualifications. In a country that comes in below a certain threshold of the population that is HIV+, married people are (sometimes, depending on the church or individual) advised to consider some (though not necessarily all) forms of contraception under certain circumstances. There’s a lot of qualifiers there.
In a sub-Saharan African nation where AIDS makes a significant contribution to infant mortality, non-Catholic missionaries will make STD transmission/prevention their primary educational goal with regard to mothers and their children. Abstinence is, of course, required of any unmarried Christian anywhere in the world. But you must first survive childhood in order to worry about that. At that point, contraception might have to be discussed for a variety of reasons. It could have to do with preventing one person from infecting the other, but it could also have to do with a desire to make orphaned children a priority.
Not all of them. Not even close.
I’ve often heard that those living in extreme poverty should learn to have fewer children. (You know - to help control the population in poor communities.)
Long as they’re married, yeah, that would help them out some. Plenty of middle-class Americans do something similar- limit the number of kids so you can deliver on financial obligations for them. But for the non-Catholic missionary, helping people achieve a marginally better financial situation through contraception is not high on the list of priorities. “Helping people survive” is near the top. But “saving money by not having kids” is not.
Rather than population control, the main focus tends to be on education, and with a particular focus on women/girls. That affects a lot of things more directly than the population, but I guess that tends to be one of the lesser by-products of such an effort. It’s not really a goal in and of itself, though- it’s more of a peripheral indicator that tends to be there when other things are working well.
But if population control was one of the main goals (which it’s not), the means to that end would not be contraception.
I wonder if non-Catholic missionaries out there, working in the poor communites, are distributing and teaching artificial contraception.
World Vision is probably the best place to go in order to find out what’s typically happening. They’re an international Evangelical relief/development organization, and they’re huge. This is what they say about contraception.
[SIGN]
Does World Vision support the use of contraceptives?
World Vision programs support modern contraceptive methods as part of an integrated approach to effective family planning. World Vision’s family planning guidelines encourage both men and women to take equal responsibility for their children’s birth and development. With both maternal and child mortality rates at alarming levels in many developing countries, individuals and couples are provided with the knowledge and the means to determine the number and spacing of their children to ensure the survival and well-being of both mother and child. These objectives are consistent with the UN Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5, which are to reduce child mortality and improve maternal health respectively.
All contraceptive methods promoted by World Vision are reviewed with respect to ethical, medical and development standards. World Vision programs are also designed and implemented in partnership with communities, and in collaboration with national health policy, the local health system, local faith-based organizations and other non-government organizations undertaking similar programs.
Contraceptive needs and preferences may vary depending on the cultural context. That’s why our programs providing integrated voluntary family planning services offer a range of natural and artificial methods. Given the high risk for sexually transmitted infections (including HIV), dual protection methods are encouraged. Examples of protection methods include abstinence, consistent and correct use of condoms, use of a contraception method, and mutual monogamy.[/SIGN]
To summarize, World Vision does support the use of contraceptives with a variety of qualifiers. Unlike the Catholic Church, they don’t view the use of contraceptives as inherently sinful. Therefore, if the choice is between the use of contraceptives and sacrificing the life and/or health of mothers and/or children, they’re willing to provide the knowledge and means required for using contraception in order to make life survivable.
I’ve wondered if Anglican Nuns, or Orthodox Nuns, carry condoms to give out to the poor people.
Can’t help you there, but I doubt it.
It would seem really bizaar for a conservative christian to give out condoms. I wonder how they would handle it.
How about…?
In a way that is consistent with the UN development goals 4 and 5.
In a way that is reviewed with respect to ethical, medical, and developmental standards. (Sorry, not with respect to the Catechism- but what did you expect).
In a way that is designed and implemented in partnership with communities, and in collaboration with national health policy, the local health system, local faith-based organizations and other non-government organizations undertaking similar programs. (That would exclude Catholic programs in this particular instance).
If you’re curious, World Vision flatly opposes abortion. That’s typical of this type of relief organization.
Does anybody know if there are christian groups out there actively distributing artificial contraception to poor communities?
Yes, there are. World Vision is probably the most notable example, and World Relief is another one.
