Do US Catholics agree with the church's stance on birth control? What poll found

Most U.S. Catholics disagree with the church’s stance on a number of issues, including the use of contraceptives, according to a new poll.

The latest Pew Research Center poll, released Thursday, finds that 83% of U.S. Catholics say the church should allow the use of birth control, while 15% say it should not.

The poll surveyed 2,021 U.S. Catholics from Feb. 13 to 25, 2024, and has a margin of error of 1.5 percentage points.

The poll also surveyed Catholics in six Latin American countries that rank among the world’s largest Catholic populations.

Artificial birth control was officially banned by the Catholic Church in 1930, in Pope Pius XI’s Casti Connubii, a statement on marriage and sexuality.

In 1968, Pope Paul VI reaffirmed this statement by calling the use of artificial contraceptives “intrinsically vicious,” in his Humanae Vitae, a document on the condition of human life. Pope Francis also has upheld this view on a number of occasions, including one at a conference on Italy’s birth rate in May, Reuters reported.

But according to a 2011 analysis by the Guttmacher Institute, 98% of Catholic women of reproductive age who’ve had sexual intercourse say they have used some form of artificial contraceptives.

“Birth control is a blessing, and for millions of people in the US and around the world, it is life-saving,” Catholics for Choice, a nonprofit organization supporting reproductive health care, said in a Sept. 26 Facebook post.

“Mary was given a choice. I think that pretty much sums it up right there,” one person commented in response to the post. “The RCC or any church for that matter should not be able to dictate what is best for someone else.”

Still, other Catholic groups, including the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, maintain there are several negative consequences to contraception, including health risks and poverty.

“Modern, fertility awareness-based methods of natural family planning rival and even surpass the effectiveness of contraceptives while posing no risks to mothers or unborn children,” the group said in a statement on their website.

Same-sex marriage and women priests

According to the Pew Research poll, contraceptives aren’t the only issue where a majority of U.S. Catholics disagree with the church’s stance.

The poll found that 64% of U.S. Catholics say the church should allow women to become priests. Majorities in every country surveyed — except Mexico — also say the church should let women become priests. Mexico was split 47% “should” to 51% “should not.”

Marriage between same-sex couples is also a topic where a majority of U.S. Catholics disagreed with the church’s stance. In 2023, Pope Francis allowed Catholic priests to bless same-sex couples but not the ritual of marriage between them.

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