Phenomenological Inquiry on Views of Modern-Day Priests on Abortion and Premarital Sex
Anne Harriet Estrella | Leia Jeinne Manig | Jaeron Edzel Dizon | Sid Benedict Salvador | Louise Jazmine Velayo | Joseph A Villarama
Discipline: Education
Abstract:
Conservative Christian countries consider abortion immoral-murderous and premarital sex (PMS) unacceptable. The
Catholic church believes marriage is sacred; sexual intercourse should not happen outside it. This qualitative study
determines if the individual stances of priests differ from the Catholic church’s overall views and explores the origin
of their perspectives on abortion and ??s. Seven (7) priests from the Silent Generation until Millennials participated
in a semi-structured interview in different locales in the Philippines. Results showed that the individual stances of
priests do not differ from the church’s non-progressiveness. The origins of priests' beliefs (e.g., family backgrounds)
play a role in upholding their stances, but age does not. There is no positive light for legalizing abortion, but accepting
PMS is possible with time. With this, the study shall bring light to these issues, aiming to legalize abortion and
destigmatize PMS in conservative nations (e.g., the Philippines).
References:
- Ajiki, P. T. T. (2019). Ongoing Moral Formation Of Priests. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 6(7). https://doi.org/10.14738/assrj.67.6834
- Ambrosino, B. (2019, April 19). How and why did religion evolve? Bbc.com; BBC. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190418-how-and-why-did-religion-evolve
- Baclig, C.E. (2022). PH’s restrictive abortion laws lead to unsafe abortion, deaths. INQUIRER.net. Retrieved from https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1619070/for-posting-edited-phs-restrictive-abortion-laws-lead-to-unsafe-ab ortion-deaths
- Chandrasekaran, S., Key, K., Ow, A., Lindsey, A., Chin, J., Goode, B., Dinh, Q., Choi, I., & Choimorrow, S. Y. (2023). The role of community and culture in abortion perceptions, decisions, and experiences among Asian Americans. Frontiers in Public Health, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.982215
- Cordero, D.A. (2019). The Moral Formation of Christian Millennials in the Philippines: Exploring Sociocultural Influences that Cause Sexual Immorality. Academia.edu. Retrieved from https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/60554730/Japan_Conf_Full_Paper20190910-91202-xv0t2q-libre.pdf?1568178364=&response-content-disposition=inline%
- Dinh, T. H., & Teijlingen, E. V. (2021). Factors influencing engagement in premarital sex among Vietnamese young adults: a qualitative study. De Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/ijamh-2018-0201
- Domingo, K. (2019). Nearly 200,000 Filipino teens get pregnant annually: POPCOM. ABS-CBN News. Retrieved from https://news.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/07/11/19/nearly-200000-filipino-teens-get-pregnant-annually-popco m
- Dozier, J. L., Hennink, M., Mosley, E., Narasimhan, S., Pringle, J., Clarke, L., Blevins, J., James-Portis, L., Keithan, R., Hall, K. S., &
- Rice, W. S. (2020). Abortion attitudes, religious and moral beliefs, and pastoral care among Protestant religious leaders in Georgia. Plos One, 15(7), e0235971. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0235971
- Dworkin, G. (2020). Paternalism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). Stanford.edu. Retrieved from https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/paternalism/
- Facer, A. (2021). Pope Francis calls sins of the flesh “not the most serious.” ABC4 Utah; ABC4 Utah. Retrieved from https://www.abc4.com/news/religion/catholic-churchs-pope-francis-calls-sins-of-the-flesh-not the-most-serious/
- Fathalla, M. F. (2020). Safe abortion: The public health rationale. Best Practice & Research Clinical Obstetrics & Gynaecology, 63, 2–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpobgyn.2019.03.010
- Frohwirth, L., Coleman, M., & Moore, A. M. (2018). Managing Religion and Morality Within the Abortion Experience: Qualitative
- Interviews With Women Obtaining Abortions in the U.S. World Medical & Health Policy, 10(4), 381–400. https://doi.org/10.1002/wmh3.289
- Glass, D. H. (2023). Conjunctive Explanations in Science and Religion (1st ed.). Taylor & Francis. (DOI) 10
- Guo, M., Kong, M., Shi, W., Wang, M., & Yang, H. (2022). Listening to COVID-19 survivors: what they need after early discharge from hospital - a qualitative study. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-Being, 17(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/17482631.2022.2030001
- Hapok, T. (2021). Moral and Ethical Aspects of Abortion. Jurfem. Retrieved from https://jurfem.com.ua/moralno-etychni-aspekty-abortu/
- Hayward, G. M. (2019). Religiosity and Premarital Sexual Behaviors among Adolescents: An Analysis of Functional Form. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 58(2), 439–458. https://doi.org/10.1111/jssr.12588
- Jarska, N., & Ignaciuk, A. (2022). Premarital Sex in State-Socialist Poland: A Generational Perspective. East European Politics and Societies: And Cultures, 088832542210936. https://doi.org/10.1177/08883254221093644
- Krull, L. M., Pearce, L. D., & Jennings, E. A. (2020). How Religion, Social Class, and Race Intersect in the Shaping of Young Women’s Understandings of Sex, Reproduction, and Contraception. Religions, 12(1), 5. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel12010005
- Molika, H. (2022). Opinion: Shame Around Premarital Sex Is Making Abortions More Dangerous. VOD English News. Retrieved from https://vodenglish.news/opinion-shame-around-premarital-sex-is-making-abortions-more-dangerous/
- Naz, G. (2019). Premarital Sex: Perception, Engagement and Awareness of College Students in Bulan, Sorsogon, Philippines. Asian Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies, 7, 19-24. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/349109557
- Netsanet, H., Ayanalem, A., Tizita, G., Shimeles, A., Yemane, T., & Terefe, G. (2018). Prevalence of premarital sexual practices and its associated factors among high school students in Addis Zemen Town, South Gondar, Ethiopia, 2017. Journal of Public Health and Epidemiology, 10(10), 356–362. https://doi.org/10.5897/jphe2018.1048
- Ojigiri, S.J. (2021). Why relationship fails: Pre-marital sex - Part 2. The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. Retrieved from https://guardian.ng/sunday-magazine/why-relationship-fails-pre-marital-sex-part-2/
- Pennycook, G., Cheyne, J. A., Koehler, D. J., & Fugelsang, J. A. (2020a). On the belief that beliefs should change according to evidence: Implications for conspiratorial, moral, paranormal, political, religious, and science beliefs. Judgment and Decision Making, n15(4), 476–498. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1930297500007439
- Perez, J. R. M., Monteagudo, G. R. S., Nebrada, P. J. C., Arevalo, M. V. P. N., De la Paz, E. P., Ho, F. D. V., & Padilla, C. R. A. (2022). The spectre of unsafe abortions in the Philippines. The Lancet Regional Health - Western Pacific, 100655. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanwpc.2022.100655
- Ranson, S., Hinings, B., & Bryman, A. (2021). Clergy, Ministers and Priests. Routledge And K. Paul. (DOI) 11
- Riddell, P. G. (2017). Christians and Muslims in Southeast Asia: Attitudes Inherited, Transmitted, Consolidated and Challenged. Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations, 29(1), 21–36. https://doi.org/10.1080/09596410.2017.1402530
- Sadeghi, R., & Agadjanian, V. (2021). Challenging the stigma of premarital sex in urban Afghanistan, Culture, Health & Sexuality, 1181-1189. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691058.2021.1936185
- Saunders, W. (2023). The Catholic Church and Abortion. Catholic News Agency. Retrieved from https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/resource/55397/the-catholic-church-and-abortion
- Simkulet, W. (2019). Abortion and Ectogenesis: Moral Compromise. Journal of Medical Ethics, 46(2), 93–98. https://doi.org/10.1136/medethics-2019-105676
- Sumit Paul-Choudhury. (2019, August 2). Tomorrow’s Gods: What is the future of religion? Bbc.com; BBC. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190801-tomorrows-gods-what-is-the-future-of-religion
- Uecker, J. E., & Froese, P. (2019). Religious Individualism and Moral Progressivism: How Source of Religious Authority Is Related to Attitudes About Abortion, Same-Sex Marriage, Divorce, and Premarital Sex. Politics and Religion, 12(02), 283–316. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1755048318000792
- United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2022). Respect for Unborn Human Life: The Church’s Constant Teaching | USCCB. www.usccb.org; United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved from https://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/abortion/respect-for-unborn-human-life
- Wood, H. J. (2019). Gender inequality: The problem of harmful, patriarchal, traditional and cultural gender practices in the church.
- HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies, 75(1). https://www.ajol.info/index.php/hts/article/view/214561.
- Zenebe, M., & Haukanes, H. (2019). When abortion is not within reach: Ethiopian university students struggling with unintended pregnancies. International Journal for Equity in Health, 18(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-019-0925-2