Most US clergy avoid hellfire threats over abortion politics
James Altman is a Roman Catholic priest in Wisconsin, l i t t l e k n o w n o u t s i d e h i s parish until a few weeks ago. Robert Jeffress is the highprofi l e pastor of a Baptist megachurch in Dallas. They have a message i n common for members of their faiths: Voting f or Democrats who support abortion rights is an evil potentially deserving of eternal damnation.
Their fierce, openly partisan rhetoric is attention-grabbing, but it remains the exception in America's diverse religious landscape, even in this divisive election year. Most members o f t h e c l e r g y , i n c l u d i n g foes of abortion, steer clear o f o v e r t e n d o r s e ments o r denunciat i ons of pol i t i c a l c a n d i d a t e s . N u m e r o u s denominations try to frame their stance on abortion i n ways that respect multiple viewpoints.
The Evangelical Lutheran C h u r c h i n A m e r i c a , f o r e x a mple , h a s a d h e r e d f o r three decades to a nuanced policy aimed at respecting churchgoers on all sides of the debate.
“We say that abortion should be seen as a path of last resort, but we defend a woman's right to make decisions over her own body,” said Bishop Paul Egensteiner, who heads the ELCA's Metropolitan New York Synod.
The National Association of Evangelicals, which represents a b o u t 4 5 , 0 0 0 c h u r c h e s , declares in a policy statement t hat i t “a c t i vel y, a r dentl y and unwaveringly opposes abortion on demand,” but simultaneously appeals for civility.
“We do not dismiss those who advocate for legal access to abortion as unconcerned for human life or unworthy of our respect and attention,” it says.
S u c h s t a n c e s a n d t o n e s d i f f e r s h a r p l y f r o m t h o s e offered recently by Altman and Jeffress.
“You cannot be Catholic and be a Democrat,” Altman said in a YouTube video, admonishing people t o “r e pent of your support of that party and its platform or face the fires of hell . ” His comments were criticized by many Catholics, w h i l e e n d o r s e d b y s o me others, such as Bishop Joseph Strickland of the Tyler, Texas, diocese.
Jeffress, the pastor of First Baptist Church of Dallas and a close ally of Donald Trump, e mpl o y s s i mi l a r l y s t r o n g language in denouncing the president's opponent.
“As long as Joe Biden and the Democratic Party continue to support unrestricted abortion for any reason and at any stage i n a pregnancy, priests and pastors like myself will have no p r o b l e m s a y i ng, ` Only Christians who have sold their soul to the devil would vote for Joe Biden,'” Jeffress said via email.
J e f f r e s s ' c h u r c h i s affiliated with the Southern B a p t i s t C o n v e n t i o n , t h e nation's l argest Protestant denomination. Its leadership a d o p t e d a s t r i nge nt a nt i - a borti on s t a nce nearl y 40 y e a r s a g o t hat r e mains i n place.
Daniel Patt e r s on, a vi c e presi dent of t he Southern B a p t i s t s ' p u b l i c p o l i c y a r m , s a i d m o s t o f t h e d e n o m i n a t i o n ' s p a s t o r s d o n ' t e n g a g e i n p a r t i s a n p o l i t i c s f r o m t h e p u l p i t , a l t h o u g h t h e y ' r e f r e e t o address abortion and other issues as they see fit.
T h e R e v . K e v i n S mi t h , e x e c u t i v e d i r e c t o r o f t h e B a p t i s t C o n v e n t i o n o f Maryland/Delaware and one of the SBC's highest-ranking B l a c k l e a d e r s , c r i t i c i z e d Christians who stress their opposition to abortion while minimizing the problem of racism, and objected to the partisanship making inroads in some churches.
“While too many so-called pastors wait for the morning t a l k i n g p o i n t s f r o m t h e i r chosen political party, t oo
many are failing at an essential pastoral task,” he tweeted last month.
E a r l i e r t h i s mont h , t h e N a t i o n a l A s s o c i a t i o n o f Evangelicals issued a statement repenting for shortcomings in combating poverty and racial inequality. It pledged to “resist being co- opted by political a g e ndas” a nd t o uphold a “comprehensive pro-life ethic that protects both the unborn and the vulnerable of all ages.”
The association's president, t he Rev. Walter Kim, s ai d many NAE pastors preach about various policies but most avoid political endorsements.
One NAE board member, the Rev. Mitch Hescox, is CEO of the Evangelical Environmental Network, which urges pastors t o broaden t he concept of “pro-life” so it encompasses e f f o r t s t o p r o t e c t t h e environment.
“It would behoove pastors t o be caring about people, rather than taking up politics,” Hescox said. “We're supposed to be a voice for our values and not choose sides.”
Some mainline Protestant denominations have official p o s i t i o n s s u p p o r t i n g reproductive rights.
Access t o abortion, s ays a 2 0 1 8 E p i s c o p a l Ch u r c h resolution, “is an integral part of a woman's struggle to assert her dignity and worth.”
T h e U n i t e d C h u r c h o f Christ has a similar policy.
Its president, the Rev. John Dorhauer, said he's angered b y w a r n i n g s f r o m s o m e pastors that churchgoers risk betraying their faith with their political choices.
“Telling a member with a conscience and moral agency that a vote for a particular p a r t y o r c a n d i d a t e i s a violation of one's faith is, in my humble opinion, unethical and immoral,” he said.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, known for its conservative social views, says abortions “for personal or social convenience” violate church teachings and can lead to excommunication.
However, the church says exceptional ci r cumstances may justify some abortions, s u c h a s wh e n p r e g n a n c y results from incest or rape or a woman's health is at risk.
M a t t h e w B o w m a n , a p r o f e s s o r o f h i s t o r y a n d religion at Claremont Graduate University, said most of that c hurch's members oppose abortion but its leaders have not used the issue as a political rallying cry.
In Judaism, America's largest non-Christian faith, abortion hasn't been as politicized as in Christian denominations. Both the Conservative and Reform branches say abortion is acceptable under various c i r c u m s t a n c e s , a n d t h e decision is up to the woman involved.
Orthodox J ews are more o p e n t o r e s t r i c t i o n s o n elective abortions, said Rabbi Avi Shafram, spokesman for Agudath Israel of America,
But his Orthodox umbrella o r g a n i z a t i o n “wo u l d n o t support any law that gives an unborn child ` personhood', since Jewish religious law does counsel abortion in some rare cases,” Shafran said via email. “We would, though, like to see abortion treated with greater gravity, as more than a mere `woman's choice.'”
F o r m a n y M u s l i m A m e r i c a n s , a b o r t i o n i s “essentiall y a non- i s s ue,” according to Atiya Aftab, who chairs the Center for Islamic Life at Rutgers University.
“From the formative days of Islamic Law over 1,000 years ago, classical scholars took varied positions on abortion from its permissibility to its pr ohi bi t i on, ” s he s a i d v i a email.
More recent Islamic scholars have issued diverse rulings, including on when life begins. Abortion is generally frowned on if poverty is the motive, but accepted if a women's health is at risk.