Study Shows Majority of British Catholics Now Support Abortion

Veronica Neffinger | iBelieve Contributor | Updated: Sep 11, 2017

Study Shows Majority of British Catholics Now Support Abortion

A majority of Catholic Brits now are in favor of abortion, according to a new survey. This may come as a surprise to many, seeing as the Catholic Church has historically maintained a firm stance against abortion.

ChristianToday.com reports on the findings of the 2016 British Social Attitudes survey. A surprising 61 percent of Brits of Catholic faith said they support abortion. In 2012, that number was only 39 percent, so the numbers of those who support it have drastically increased in just the last few years.

The survey results come after Jacob Rees-Mogg, a contender for leader of the Conservative Party, said that he is against abortion, even in cases of rape and incest. Rees-Mogg explained that such a position is backed by the teachings of the Catholic Church, of which he is a follower.

According to research and past surveys, the jump in British Catholics who support abortion currently is also contrary to the trend of the past decades. While the number of Catholic Brits who support abortion has steadily increased, in no other time has there been such a major jump in the statistics.

For example, in 1985, 33 percent of Catholic Brits said they supported a woman’s right to have an abortion. That means that that statistic has only risen six percentage points all the way up till 2012.

Roger Harding, head of public attitudes at the National Centre for Social Research, which conducted the British Social Attitudes study, explained the trends revealed by the survey:

“We know from the British Social Attitudes survey that religious people are becoming more socially liberal on issues like same sex relationships and abortion. With falling numbers some faith leaders might wonder whether they should be doing more to take their congregation's lead on adapting to how society is changing.”

 

Photo courtesy: ©Thinkstock/stevanovicigor

Publication date: September 11, 2017



Study Shows Majority of British Catholics Now Support Abortion