“Jesus Left Every Decision Up to Us”: Georgia Protestant Faith Communities’ Attitudes on Abortion Bans

Abstract

Background: In 2019, Georgia passed HB 481, a law that prohibits abortion once fetal cardiac activity is detected, resulting in a near-total ban. The law was implemented in June 2022 following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, despite more than 60% of Georgians opposing the ban.

The Engaging Georgia Faith Communities for Promoting Reproductive Health (EnFaith) Study was created to understand how Protestant faith communities in Georgia view reproductive health issues, including abortion, and inform a stigma reduction intervention. Previous EnFaith findings show that religious leaders and congregants have diverse and nuanced attitudes related to abortion, but further research is needed to understand how their individual-level attitudes manifest as political views. The current study aims to assess Georgia’s Protestant faith communities’ attitudes on abortion bans.

Methods: We conducted 36 in-depth interviews on abortion attitudes with religious leaders and congregants of Mainline and Black Protestant faith communities in a peri-urban Georgia county. We used Dedoose to code all transcribed interviews and conducted thematic analysis.

Results: Most participants identified as Black (50%), married (52%), under-35 (36%) and Democrat (52%), The most common Protestant denominations were United Methodist Church (25%) and Black Protestant Baptist (17%) Participants reported varied views on abortion that generally fell somewhere between “pro-choice” and “pro-life.” Few identified with polar views on either side, and even those who reported moral opposition to abortion rarely expressed a desire to outlaw it. Many participants drew on Biblical concepts, such as free will and grace, to explain their support of abortion legality in at least some circumstances.

Conclusion: Abortion attitudes among Georgia’s Protestant faith communities are diverse and largely nonpolar. Irrespective of their personal views on abortion, participants largely opposed abortion bans. Our findings indicate that a moral opposition to abortion does not necessarily align with political support for restrictive policies.

Keywords

abortion, reproductive health, state policy, faith communities, U.S. Southeast

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“Jesus Left Every Decision Up to Us”: Georgia Protestant Faith Communities’ Attitudes on Abortion Bans

Background: In 2019, Georgia passed HB 481, a law that prohibits abortion once fetal cardiac activity is detected, resulting in a near-total ban. The law was implemented in June 2022 following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, despite more than 60% of Georgians opposing the ban.

The Engaging Georgia Faith Communities for Promoting Reproductive Health (EnFaith) Study was created to understand how Protestant faith communities in Georgia view reproductive health issues, including abortion, and inform a stigma reduction intervention. Previous EnFaith findings show that religious leaders and congregants have diverse and nuanced attitudes related to abortion, but further research is needed to understand how their individual-level attitudes manifest as political views. The current study aims to assess Georgia’s Protestant faith communities’ attitudes on abortion bans.

Methods: We conducted 36 in-depth interviews on abortion attitudes with religious leaders and congregants of Mainline and Black Protestant faith communities in a peri-urban Georgia county. We used Dedoose to code all transcribed interviews and conducted thematic analysis.

Results: Most participants identified as Black (50%), married (52%), under-35 (36%) and Democrat (52%), The most common Protestant denominations were United Methodist Church (25%) and Black Protestant Baptist (17%) Participants reported varied views on abortion that generally fell somewhere between “pro-choice” and “pro-life.” Few identified with polar views on either side, and even those who reported moral opposition to abortion rarely expressed a desire to outlaw it. Many participants drew on Biblical concepts, such as free will and grace, to explain their support of abortion legality in at least some circumstances.

Conclusion: Abortion attitudes among Georgia’s Protestant faith communities are diverse and largely nonpolar. Irrespective of their personal views on abortion, participants largely opposed abortion bans. Our findings indicate that a moral opposition to abortion does not necessarily align with political support for restrictive policies.