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Data Analysis

Gender Differences in Christians’ Views on Abortion

Western culture today is composed of a wide variety of religions dominating the sociopolitical and personal beliefs of individuals in the United States. One of the more prevalent issues, Abortion, is one that is heavily discussed across all political and social platforms, with different factors skewing views towards the more pro-life beliefs or the pro-choice beliefs (Campbell, 1980, p. 371). However, as the issue of abortion continues to be debated, it becomes clear that there exists a wider spectrum of opinions regarding abortion beyond just pro-life and pro-choice. This spectrum includes the differences between not only religious views on abortions, but also between males and females within a particular religion. As it is understood, Christianity’s ideals and morals heavily disapprove and disagree with abortion, favoring the pro-life arguments. However, it is evident that in recent years, there exists a notable difference in the arguments and positions of Christian males and Christian females regarding the topic of abortion. Christian males typically hold a more traditional stand, believing that abortion is the ending of a fetus’ life, whereas Christian women, when surveyed, show greater ambivalence toward the issue ((Frohwirth, Coleman, & Moore, 2018, p. 382)

In the United States, the topic of abortion is often very closely related to dominant religious views and morals (Campbell, 1980, p. 370). Larger percentages of Protestant, Christian, and Catholic followers showed a strong disagreement with abortion, but evidently, there exists many female religious followers who have also experienced an abortion. In fact, Catholic and Protestant women share the same rate of getting an abortion as women not affiliated with any religion at all (Frohwirth, Coleman, & Moore, 2018, p. 391). It then begs the question of where the religious beliefs end, and where personal gender-specific assertion of rights begin. The debate and stigma surrounding abortion is affected and caused by many different things, one of them being religion (Campbell, 1980, p. 375). In Christianity, its beliefs very strongly oppose abortion. However, there is no explicit explanation on where this opposition to abortion is derived from. There is no statement in the bible that specifically claims that abortion is wrong, yet this is one of the ideas that is prevalent within the Christian community (Ruble, 2012). For this reason, many individuals practice this belief and claim it to be one of the pillars of their values: a fetus is a living being that ought to be protected. However, it becomes controversial when Christian women are confronted with an unexpected or unwanted pregnancy. Where a Christian male could easily ground himself back to his original religious morals, a Christian woman is also confronted with the consideration of her individual life, her circumstances, and her decision independent from her religious backgrounds (Frohwirth, Coleman, & Moore, 2018, p. 386-389).

            In understanding the differences between Christian males and Christian females’ views on abortion, it is necessary to discuss the stigma that surrounds abortion. Because individuals are often influenced and dominated by the values of their society, and this is where they begin to conceptualize what is “stigmatized,” and what is not (Ruble, 2012).

These core values of society are often based off of religion, and because the United States has shown to be a fairly religious country, it follows that the topic of abortion would become so controversial. Christian women are not exceptions to the possibility of desiring an abortion despite their religious background. Christian women could also face the same circumstances of women not affiliated with any religion and may need an abortion at one point in their lives. Christian women are then forced to deal with their necessity to assert their rights as a female, their independence to make their own decisions, but also deal with the strong stigmatization from their religion. Christian men, however, do not have to consider these same possibilities. For this reason, it is often found that Christian women are more likely to be ambivalent and unsure about where they stand on abortion, whereas Christian men are more likely to be static and traditional in their views (Campbell, 1980, p. 373).

Christian Males’ Perspectives. Christian Males frequently display more traditional and static arguments regarding the topic of abortion. The vast majority consider the issue of abortion in consideration to a very general audience, in that there is no individuality to each woman who may choose to seek out an abortion (Ruble, 2012). Individuality could refer to the particular circumstances of a woman, whether it be financially, emotionally, or mentally. The more conservative views of the typical Christian male toward abortion  fail to consider the individual solutions to individual problems of an unexpected or unwanted pregnancy. This may be due to the fact that it is a decision they will never be forced to consider, and therefore the necessary empathy and contemplation is not there, as a Christian woman would’ve had (Weeden & Kurzban, 2014).

Concluding the Controversy. The discussion of abortion and its disparities in the views between males and females in the Christian religion, it becomes a consideration of identity. A Christian woman is constantly facing the duality of her identity as a woman who desires the assertion of her rights, as well as her role as a Christian follower who is surrounded by its community values. A Christian man does not have to assert those same rights, because one does not ever contemplate the possibility of becoming pregnant or seeking out an abortion. For this reason, Christian women show greater ambivalence and empathy towards the pro-choice movement, whereas Christian men show more opposition to the pro-choice movement and strong agreement with the pro-life movement, deriving a large portion of their argument on their religious ideals of protecting all life (Frohwirth, Coleman, & Moore, 2018, p. 393). According to the pro-life movement’s beliefs, women, regardless of religious affiliation, are expected to deliver a baby to full term. Men, however, are never asked to fulfill this same obligation.  Due to the contrast in responsibility based on gender identities of individuals, there can exist differences even within one religion regarding a topic as controversial as abortion.

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