English 
Chinese 
Dutch 
Arabic 
Spanish 
Portuguese 
Russian 
French 
Italian 
German 
Japanese 
Continue reading with a subscription
Get unlimited access to all our premium content and exclusive features.
Enjoy unlimited access, cancel anytime.
Summary
- The Bible never mentions condoms or any other method of birth control, though every church starts from the same verse: “children are an heritage of the Lord” (Psalm 127:3).
- The Catholic Church teaches that contraception in marriage is wrong in itself (Humanae Vitae 14; Catechism 2370) and allows natural family planning for just reasons (Humanae Vitae 16).
- The Russian Orthodox Church forbids contraceptives that end a conceived life and leaves other methods to the couple with their priest’s counsel (Bases of the Social Concept XII.3, 2000).
- Anglican bishops warned against contraception in 1920, allowed it in 1930 by 193 votes to 67 when a couple had a clear moral obligation to limit parenthood and a sound reason not to abstain completely, and in 1958 left the decision to parents’ consciences.
- The Southern Baptist Convention has passed no resolution on married couples’ use of contraception, and the United Methodist Church supports access to it.
- The Latter-day Saints’ General Handbook leaves the number and timing of children “between the couple and the Lord.”
- Benedict XVI’s 2010 remark about condoms concerned prostitution and HIV, not marriage or contraception, as the Vatican explained on 21 December 2010.
Bibliography (Click to show)
- Scripture is quoted from the King James Version: Genesis 1:28; Genesis 38:8-10; Psalm 127:3; 1 Corinthians 6:18; 1 Corinthians 7:4-5; Deuteronomy 25:5-10 is cited. BibleGateway, KJV
- Pope Paul VI, Humanae Vitae (25 July 1968), sections 12, 14 and 16. vatican.va
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 1857, 1860, 1861, 2353, 2368, 2370 and 2399. vatican.va (1857-1861); vatican.va (Article 6, the Sixth Commandment)
- Pontifical Council for the Family, Vademecum for Confessors concerning some aspects of the morality of conjugal life (12 February 1997), part 2 no. 4 and part 3 nos. 11 and 13. vatican.va
- Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Note on the banalization of sexuality regarding certain interpretations of Light of the World (21 December 2010). vatican.va
- NPR, “Pope Comments On Condom Use” (22 November 2010), on the male and female wording in the German, English and Italian editions. npr.org
- Pope Pius XI, Casti Connubii (31 December 1930), section 55. vatican.va
- Augustine of Hippo, On Marriage and Concupiscence, Book I, chapter 17, tr. Peter Holmes and Robert Ernest Wallis. New Advent
- John Calvin, Commentary on Genesis, vol. 2, on Genesis 38 (English text as given at CCEL; its footnote 139 says the original translator left out the comment on verse 10). Christian Classics Ethereal Library
- New American Bible Revised Edition, Genesis 38, note on verse 8 (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops). bible.usccb.org
- John F. Kippley, “The Sin of Onan: Is It Relevant to Contraception?” (2006). nfpandmore.org
- Russian Orthodox Church, The Basis of the Social Concept (2000), XII.3. mospat.ru
- Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church in America, Synodal Affirmations on Marriage, Family, Sexuality, and the Sanctity of Life (1992). oca.org
- Lambeth Conference 1920, Resolution 68. Anglican Communion
- Lambeth Conference 1930, Resolution 15. Anglican Communion
- Lambeth Conference 1958, Resolution 115. Anglican Communion
- The United Methodist Church, Social Principles: The Social Community, “Reproductive Health and Abortion.” umc.org
- Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, “Christians and the Contraception Culture.” erlc.com
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, General Handbook, 38.6.4 “Birth Control” and 38.6.5 “Chastity and Fidelity.” churchofjesuschrist.org
Leave a Reply