的观点 在堕胎问题上 differ not only among major religious traditions, but within each one

天主教会的官方热线开通了 堕胎，甚至更多。 任何人工避孕措施众所周知:不要这样做.

Surveys of how American Catholics live their lives, though, tell a different story.

的 vast majority of Catholic women have used contraceptives, despite the church’s ban. 百分之五十六 U.S. 天主教徒认为堕胎在所有或大多数情况下都应该是合法的, 不管他们是否相信自己会去找一个. 四分之一 堕胎的美国人是天主教徒, 根据古特马赫研究所, 哪个倡导生殖健康.

It’s a clear reminder of the complex relationship between any religious tradition’s teachings 和 how people actually live out their beliefs. 与美国.S. 最高法院 准备推翻罗伊诉. 韦德, 1973年保护全国堕胎权的裁决, religious attitudes toward a woman’s right to end a pregnancy are in the spotlight. 但即使是在一个信仰里, there is no one religious position toward reproductive rights – let alone among different faiths.

基督教与良心

作为一名 性别 和 宗教, I 研究 how religious traditions shape people’s underst和ings of contraception 和 堕胎.

当谈到官方对堕胎的立场时, 宗教s’ positions are tied to different approaches to some key theological concepts. 例如, for several 宗教s, a key issue in 堕胎 rights is “ensoulment,” 灵魂被认为进入身体的时刻 也就是说，当胎儿变成人类的时候.

的 catch is that traditions place ensoulment at different moments 和 give it various degrees of importance. 天主教神学家认为这是一种升华 在受孕的那一刻, which is why the official position of the Catholic Church is that 堕胎 is never permitted. 从精子与卵子相遇的那一刻起, 在天主教神学中, 人是存在的, 你不能杀死一个人类, 不管它是如何形成的. 你也不能在两个人的生命中做出选择，所以教堂 反对为挽救孕妇的生命而堕胎.

As in any faith, not all Catholics feel compelled to follow the church teachings in all cases. 不管人们是否认为他们会寻求堕胎, 他们可能认为这应该是一项合法权利. 57%的美国人.S. 天主教徒认为堕胎在道德上是错误的，但68%的人仍然这么认为 支持罗伊v. 韦德而只有14%的人认为堕胎永远不应该合法.

Some Catholics advocate for 堕胎 access not despite but because of their dedication to Catholic teachings. 该组织 天主教徒的选择 描述它的工作 as rooted in Catholicism’s emphasis on “social justice, human dignity, 和 the 良心至上” – 人们自己做决定 出于深刻的道德信念.

Other Christians also say faith shapes their support for reproductive rights. 新教神职人员，以及他们的犹太同事，在 帮助妇女确保堕胎 在Roe案件之前，通过一个叫做神职人员咨询服务的网络. 这些支持堕胎的神职人员受到一系列担忧的驱使, 包括他们在教会中看到的女性的绝望, 和 对社会正义的神学承诺. 今天，该组织仍然存在 生殖选择宗教联盟.

有无数的新教徒 对堕胎的看法. 的 most conservative equate it with murder, 和 therefore oppose any exemptions. 的 most liberal Protestant voices advocate for a broad platform of reproductive justice, 呼吁信徒“信任的女人.”

谁是“人”??

穆斯林学者和神职人员也是如此 一系列的职位 在堕胎问题上. 有些人认为堕胎是不允许的, 许多人允许它直到灵魂升华, 哪一个通常是在妊娠120天, 还差18周. 总的来说，许多穆斯林领导人 允许堕胎以挽救母亲的生命, 因为古典伊斯兰法认为法律人格从出生就开始了 – though while many Muslims may seek out their religious leaders for guidance about or assistance with 堕胎, 许多人没有.

博彩app推荐犹太传统有很多争论 当灵修发生时各种各样的拉比文本都把它放在怀孕之前, 很多人把它放在出生的时候, but ensoulment is not as key as the legal status of the fetus under Jewish law. 一般来说，它不被认为是一个人. 例如, 犹太法典 – the main source of Jewish law – refers to the fetus as part of the mother’s body. 的 biblical Book of Exodus notes that if a pregnant woman is attacked 和 then miscarries, 袭击者欠罚款 但他并没有犯谋杀罪.

换句话说, 犹太法律保护胎儿为“潜在的人”,但并不认为孩子拥有与母亲相同的完整人格. Jewish clergy generally agree that 堕胎 is not only permitted, but m和ated, 为了救母亲的命, because potential life must be sacrificed to save existing life – even during labor, 只要胎儿的头还没从产道里露出来.

在哪里 犹太堕胎法 更复杂的是母亲的生命没有危险. 例如, contemporary Jewish leaders debate whether 堕胎 is permitted if the mother’s mental health will be damaged, if genetic testing shows evidence of a nonfatal disability or if there are other compelling concerns, such as that the family’s resources would be strained too much to care for their existing children.

American Jews have generally supported legal 堕胎 with very few restrictions, seeing it as a religious freedom issue – 和 a question of life versus potential life. 百分之八十三 支持妇女堕胎的权利, 和 while many might turn to their clergy for support in seeking an 堕胎, 许多人认为没有必要这么做.

一种不同的人生观

和基督教的多样性一样多, 伊斯兰教, 和犹太教, 在印度教中可能更多, 它有一系列的文本, 神和世界观. Many scholars argue that the fact so many different traditions are all lumped together under the umbrella term “Hindusim” 与英国殖民主义有更多的关系 最重要的是.

大多数印度教徒信仰 转世, 也就是说，一个人可以在出生时进入身体，在死亡时离开, 生命本身不会, 精确的, 开始或结束. 而, any given moment in a human body is seen as part of an unending cycle of life – making the question of when life begins quite different than in Abrahamic 宗教s.

一些生物伦理学家认为印度教是 本质上是反堕胎的只有在挽救母亲生命的情况下才允许堕胎. Looking at what people do, though, rather than what a tradition’s sacred texts say, 堕胎很常见 在印度教徒占多数的印度， 尤指女性胎儿.

在美国, 那里有印度教移民社区, 亚裔美国人印度教社区, 和 people who have converted to Hinduism who bring this diversity to their approaches to 堕胎. 但总体而言，68%的人认为 堕胎应该合法 在所有或大多数情况下.

富有同情心的选择

佛教徒对堕胎也有不同的看法. 的 生殖选择宗教联盟 指出:“佛教, 就像世界上其他宗教一样, faces the fact that 堕胎 may sometimes be the best decision 和 a truly moral choice. 这并不意味着堕胎没有问题, but it means that Buddhists may underst和 that reproductive decisions are part of the moral complexity of life.”

日本佛教 in particular can be seen as offering a “middle way” between pro-choice 和 pro-life positions. While many Buddhists see life as beginning at conception, 堕胎很常见 和 addressed through 与Jizo有关的仪式, 佛教中被称为菩萨的开明人物之一, 谁应该照顾流产和流产的胎儿.

最后, the Buddhist approach to 堕胎 emphasizes that 堕胎 is a complex moral decision that should be made with 同情之眼.

We tend to think of the religious response to 堕胎 as one of opposition, 但现实情况要复杂得多. Formal religious teachings 在堕胎问题上 are complex 和 divided – 和 official positions aside, 数据一次又一次地证明了这一点大多数美国人，不管信教与否，都支持堕胎.

本文转载自 谈话 在知识共享许可下. 读了 原文.