Nearly one-in-five churchgoers have paid for, encouraged or chosen to have an abortion themselves, according to a new report that reveals most say their churches rarely address the topic. 

The Family Research Council, in conjunction with the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University, released a survey examining the views of American churchgoers based on 1,003 responses collected in July.

Nineteen percent of respondents answered in the affirmative when asked if they had paid for, encouraged or chosen to have an abortion. 

David Closson, director of the FRC Center for Biblical Worldview, reacted to this finding in an interview with The Christian Post.

“I think it’s important for us, as believers, to realize the issue of abortion and the value of human life is not one that is merely theoretical, but it affects, in a very personal way, almost 20 percent of the people that are in our congregations,” he said.

“This issue is one that is personal, and it’s one that, I think, pastors in particular need to be recommitted to applying God’s Word."

Closson pointed to Psalm 139: 13-16 and Luke 1:39-45 as Bible verses that outline the church’s position on abortion.

“There are people who have been hurt and stung by the sin of abortion, and what an opportunity to speak truth into those situations,” he added.  

Forty-three percent of churchgoers characterized themselves as “pro-life” on the issue of abortion, while 35% considered themselves “pro-choice.” Eight percent of those surveyed indicated that they “lean toward pro-choice but could be convinced otherwise,” while 7% told pollsters that they “lean toward pro-life but could be convinced otherwise.”

Less than half (41%) of churchgoers stated that their churches talked about abortion multiple times throughout the year. Thirteen percent reported that abortion comes up at their church once a year, while 12% maintained that the topic is discussed once every year, and 23% said their churches never talk about abortion. 

A plurality of those surveyed (38%) wanted to see their church talk about abortion “about as often as it currently does,” while 25% preferred it if their church discussed the topic “more often than it has in recent years” and 18% expressed a desire for their church to teach on the topic “less often than it has in recent years.” 

When asked which of a series of statements most closely corresponded with the teachings of the Bible, 26% selected “Abortion is not acceptable under any circumstances.”

Nineteen percent of churchgoers responded that “Abortion is acceptable only when the life of the mother is endangered,” while roughly equal shares of respondents didn't know about the Bible’s teachings on abortion (16%) or thought that the biblical perspective was not reflected in any of the statements provided. 

Twelve percent believed that the Bible teaches that “Abortion is acceptable only if the child will be born with significant mental or physical challenges,” while 9% maintained that “determining to have or not have an abortion is up to the couple involved,” and 4% thought that the Bible teaches that “abortion is acceptable under any circumstances.” 

Regarding political candidates, less than half of churchgoers (46%) cited biblical teaching about abortion and considerations about a candidate’s character as the primary factors that influence their votes in elections. The most commonly cited phrase used by respondents to describe their political beliefs was “mostly conservative” (19%), followed by “mostly moderate” (18%), “consistently conservative” (15%), “consistently moderate” (12%) and “mostly progressive or liberal” (11%). 

Ten percent of respondents maintained that their political views vary “based on the issue,” while 9% characterized their political philosophy as “consistently progressive or liberal.” Five percent said they were not sure about their political philosophy, while 3% contended that they did not pay enough attention to politics to form an opinion.

The findings on the number of churchgoers who have paid for, encouraged or have had an abortion show a slight increase from 2023, when the FRC Center for Biblical Worldview report found that 16% of respondents said they had done one of those three things. 

News Source : https://www.christianpost.com/news/one-in-five-christians-have-paid-for-or-had-an-abortion-poll.html