Compromising with the Church?

Contraceptive methods among practicing Catholics in France

Abstract

The publication of the encyclical Humanae Vitae in 1968 came as a surprise to the French Catholic community. It divided it between a majority of Catholics wishing to use medicalized contraceptive methods and a smaller fraction participating in the development and improvement of self-observation methods (MAOs – the only methods authorized by the Church) and using them. Fifty years later, the aim of this article is to explain the contemporary contraceptive logic of these Catholics and to question the contradiction of positions regarding contraception (medical methods as well as MAOs). It is based on the analysis of some thirty interviews conducted with practicing Catholics. It analyses the diversity of contraceptive trajectories and the plurality of discourses justifying the use of medical and non-medical methods. It shows in particular that the Church’s position can be put away even by practicing Catholics. In particular, it situates their choices regarding contraception within broader representations concerning the couple, gender, sexuality or what could be considered “natural”, highlighting that religious dogma is only one justification among others for diverse practices that can evolve over the course of life.