What is the Anglican Church's position on the use of contraceptives?

[beyondthesmile]

What is the Anglican Church's position on the use of contraceptives?

Thanks in advance.

 

[marciebaby]

It is a choice left to the conscience of the couple.

 

[beyondthesmile]

It is a choice left to the conscience of the couple.

Thank you.

 

[ebia]

What is the Anglican Church's position on the use of contraceptives?

Thanks in advance.

At the risk of leaving the potential pun open, the Anglican church doesn't take official positions on very much.

 

[beyondthesmile]

At the risk of leaving the potential pun open, the Anglican church doesn't take official positions on very much.

Thank you.

Is there a document or something that sums up the church's beliefs on various things? (Similar to the way the Catechism of the Catholic Church does for Catholicism.)

 

[ebia]

Thank you.

Is there a document or something that sums up the church's beliefs on various things? (Similar to the way the Catechism of the Catholic Church does for Catholicism.)

Beyond scripture and the ancient creeds, not really. Anglicanism has, for a long while, defined itself by what it pray's rather than by sets of doctines, so the various editions of the Book of Common Prayer is a good place to start. There is also the 39 Articles, which most parts of the communion still regard as "bearing witness to the historic faith", but quite what one means by that is open to interpretation.

Anglicans, a bit like the Eastern Orthodox churches, aren't overly keen on nailing down doctinal statements. And there is no mechanism for the global Anglican communion to decide anything - each national church is an independent entity.

 

[TomUK]

Thank you.

Is there a document or something that sums up the church's beliefs on various things? (Similar to the way the Catechism of the Catholic Church does for Catholicism.)

There's really no such thing as 'Anglicanism'. The term Anglican denotes a group of Churches with a common heritage from the Church of England. Even though Anglicans traditionally look for spiritual leadership to the Archbishop of Canterbury each national Church is independent and the Archbishop of Canterbury doesn't have any power outside the lower half of England. Therefore to see a Churches definitive teaching on things such as contraception then you need to go to the specific church. Saying that there are
some common values which run through many Anglican Churches in both ethics and theology.

 

[kiwimac]

Yes, "Contraceptives should be used on all conceivable occasions!"

 

[IowaLutheran]

Yes, "Contraceptives should be used on all conceivable occasions!"

"All"?

 

[beyondthesmile]

Thanks guys.

 

[beyondthesmile]

Beyond scripture and the ancient creeds, not really. Anglicanism has, for a long while, defined itself by what it pray's rather than by sets of doctines, so the various editions of the Book of Common Prayer is a good place to start. There is also the 39 Articles, which most parts of the communion still regard as "bearing witness to the historic faith", but quite what one means by that is open to interpretation.

Anglicans, a bit like the Eastern Orthodox churches, aren't overly keen on nailing down doctinal statements. And there is no mechanism for the global Anglican communion to decide anything - each national church is an independent entity.

There's really no such thing as 'Anglicanism'. The term Anglican denotes a group of Churches with a common heritage from the Church of England. Even though Anglicans traditionally look for spiritual leadership to the Archbishop of Canterbury each national Church is independent and the Archbishop of Canterbury doesn't have any power outside the lower half of England. Therefore to see a Churches definitive teaching on things such as contraception then you need to go to the specific church. Saying that there are some common values which run through many Anglican Churches in both ethics and theology.

Thanks guys, I will take a look at the Book of Common Prayer.

I've been reading the Church of England website as well as the the Religion Facts website, which has comparisons between different practices and beliefs of various denominations of Christianity. (I can't post links yet because I don't have a high enough post count.) Are these reliable sources of information for learning about the general common values that run through the Anglican churches?

Is there a way to differentiate between belief's promoted by one particular national entity and common veins of the Church of England in general? (Sorry if that's worded poorly; I will clarify if needed!)

TIA.

 

[ebia]

Thanks guys, I will take a look at the Book of Common Prayer.

I've been reading the Church of England website as well as the the Religion Facts website, which has comparisons between different practices and beliefs of various denominations of Christianity. (I can't post links yet because I don't have a high enough post count.) Are these reliable sources of information for learning about the general common values that run through the Anglican churches?

The CofE website is good so long as you understand that it's not authoratitive in any way. I can't speak to the other site.

Is there a way to differentiate between belief's promoted by one particular national entity and common veins of the Church of England in general? (Sorry if that's worded poorly; I will clarify if needed!)

Probably not. It probably needs making explicit that Anglicanism is a very broad church, with lots of different flavours and traditions. The CofE will contain most of these - indeed most CofE dioceses will contain all of them - but some other national churches and dioceses are much less diverse, and much more concentrated on one particular tradition. For instance, in Australia (where each diocese is virtually an independent entity) adjacent dioceses can be very different.

 

[LivingWordUnity]

What is the Anglican Church's position on the use of contraceptives?

Thanks in advance.

No Christian Church ever accepted contraception as morally permissible before 1930.

But the Anglicans were the first Christians to change their teaching on it and to say that it is no longer a sin. The rest of Christianity, with the exception of the Catholic Church, soon followed.
.

 

[TomUK]

No Christian Church ever accepted contraception as morally permissible before 1930.

But the Anglicans were the first Christians to change their teaching on it and to say that it is no longer a sin. The rest of Christianity, with the exception of the Catholic Church, soon followed.
.

Lol, all the subtlety there of an elephant at a tea party. Sources please if you have any.

 

[karen freeinchristman]

And which contraceptives were around prior to 1930 anyway?

 

[beyondthesmile]

And which contraceptives were around prior to 1930 anyway?

Good point... I didn't think of that.

 

[marciebaby]

Lol, all the subtlety there of an elephant at a tea party. Sources please if you have any.

The Lambeth Conference of 1930 passed a resolution permitting birth control-I don't remember the exact wording. I don't think it was blanket approval though. I'm still looking for the source.

 

[marciebaby]

And which contraceptives were around prior to 1930 anyway?

Condoms have actually been around for hundreds (some scholars think thousands) of years, but the vulcanization of rubber allowed them to be mass produced starting in the 1920s.

 

[Cjwinnit]

The Lambeth Conference of 1930 passed a resolution permitting birth control-I don't remember the exact wording.

It was something like "in certain circumstances within marriage".

 

[lavenderbees]

Condoms have actually been around for hundreds (some scholars think thousands) of years, but the vulcanization of rubber allowed them to be mass produced starting in the 1920s.

Contraceptive tampons were also used for thousands of years. They worked like the contraceptive sponges of yesteryear. Also, sterilising potions. These were herbal concoctions which were said to have a sterilising effect but, in reality, they probably worked in a similar way to the modern "morning after" pill.

Then there were the primitive IUDs which did not work very well. They were made from silver and were used more than 100 years ago. The idea behind them came from the Middle East where camel owners were using stones inside the uterus of their camels to prevent them from getting pregnant.