The National Association of Evangelicals appears to be shifting away from its neutral stance on contraception in favor of a qualified endorsement of a practice. A new survey released by the NAE, which claims to represent 45,000 evangelical churches, reveals that Evangelical pastors overwhelmingly believe in artificial forms of contraception.
Qualified? Ninety (90) per cent of evangelical leaders are 'open' to both barrier and hormonal contraception.
“Most associate evangelicals with Catholics in their steady leadership in pro-life advocacy, and rightly so,” said Leith Anderson, president of the NAE, in a press release. “But it may come as a surprise that unlike the Catholic church, we are open to contraception.”
They did their own survey and released the results. Another poll, by Gallup in 2009, supports the numbers.
Evangelicals are overwhelmingly OK with contraception. Who knew?
Also this past week, Ted Haggard, past-president of said National Association of Evangelicals and 'survivor' of a narsty homo paid sex and drugs scandal, announced his new church.
Since the scandal, Haggard has undergone intensive therapy and has emerged as someone who claims to be heterosexual with "homosexual attachments" or urges that he says are now under control. With that kind of background, it made sense for reporters to ask whether his church would welcome gays and lesbians. Haggard was adamant that yes, they would be welcomed, saying: "I would tell them to study the scriptures. I would tell them to explore that with God. It is an individual walk for them."
Zow. Contraception- and gay-friendly. This ain't your Old Timey Religion. Though WTF it is remains to be seen. But, hey, anything to divide the right is okey dokey with us.
10 comments:
Evangelicals have always been traditionally and firmly Protestant when it comes to contraception. Bandwagon? Are they trying to insult their Protestant allies?
Evangelicals tend to view the traditional Catholic laissez-faire approach to reproduction as showing poor stewardship (that's "management" in evangeli-speak). Unless they're Quiverfull people, but that's a very marginal movement even in the evangelical fold.
I miss the days when religious was a word used to describe your uncool parents.
BP
Divide or slowly, painfully, educate the right?
Actually, Sister Ted has always welcomed gays into his church. I happen to know that back in the early days of the New Life Church, when he ran it out of his basement, Teddy would cruise the gay bars in Denver looking for potential 'parishioners'. There's a line I never thought to use.
Srsly, I don't make this stuff up.
Evangelicals are all for contraception...EXCEPT for unmarried teenagers. Who are the ones who should be using it the most. There, they're only for abstinence...which only works when you're all alone. Which teenagers rarely are.
So in a way, they're still just like the Catholics on this.
Gay friendly, if you find being told that your attraction to your own sex is evil and that you'll go to hell if you act on it, sure.
At my church, our youth group went to listen to a gay man talk about how his church tried to reform him, and how he's recovering from the abuse he suffered there. That's gay friendly.
Luna, you're right. I should have said something like 'non-gay-hating' or 'non-Phelpsian towards gays'. Or. . .
Non-Phelpsian ??? Search guidance, please.
Never run across the loathesome Phelpses before? Enjoy.
Oh. Thaaaaat Phelps. I guess that I'd disconnected his name from memory of his hateful church. Thanks.
*nod* I wondered if you were being tongue-in-cheek about 'gay friendly' there. :)
It's like how the Anglicans say they're gay-friendly. They're not. You're welcome there. Unless you want to be a minister. And as long as you don't mind them saying your sexual encounters are sinful. Pisses me off.
I wonder how my church (my particular church, I mean, not my denomination) would react if a man showed up in a dress...
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