Breaking the silence about choiceAs the world teeters on the edge of overpopulation, this new addition to the Sacred Energies series aims to show how ten major religious traditions in fact contain strong affirmations of the right to family planning, including contraception and even, when necessary, abortion. Maquire first shows how interrelated overpopulation is with poverty, ethnic injustice, gender injustice, and the maldistribution of economic resources. Often the world's religions (most notoriously perhaps, Roman Catholicism) are thought to contribute only to the problem, rather than solutions, through their hostility to sex, education and equal rights for women, and birth control. In fact, argues Maguire, the ten scholars who consulted for several years about how these traditions treat issues of contraception and abortion find in them a true religious awe at the sacredness of life, a genuine openness to sexuality as a dimension of the sacred, and "alongside the 'no choice' position . . .a 'pro-choice' position that is too little known, even by adherents to the religion. That is the key message of this book."
Daniel C. Maguire is Professor of Ethics at Marquette University. He also is President of the Religious Consultation on Population, Reproductive Health and Ethics. Among his many books are Death by Choice (1974), The Moral Choice (1975), The Moral Revolution (1986), The Moral Core of Judaism and Christianity (Fortress Press, 1993), Sacred Energies: When the World's Religions Sit Down to Talk about the Future of Human Life and the Plight of This Planet (Fortress Press, 2000), and Sacred Choices: The Right to Contraception and Abortion in Ten World Religions (Fortress Press, 2001).
Preface Chapter 1: More People, Less Earth Chapter 2: Why Do People Make Too Many Babies? Chapter 3: The Roman Catholic Freeing of Conscience Chapter 4: The Religions of India Chapter 5: The Compassion of Buddhism Chapter 6: Chinese Religious Wisdom Chapter 7: Chinese Men and the Art of High Sex Chapter 8: Judaism and Family Planning Chapter 9: The Wisdom of Islam Chapter 10: Protestants and Family Values Chapter 11: Lessons from Native Religions Conclusion Suggested Reading
"Sacred Choices is the right choice for anyone who wants to explode the poisonous myth that the world's religions oppose a woman's right to reproductive freedom. With the aid of authoritative theologians on each of the faiths examined, Professor Daniel Maguire has marshaled a wealth of factual information to show how the theologies of ten world religions support the right of a woman to decide whether and when to bear a child. Every bit as remarkable are the considerable wit and wisdom he has brought to the task of creating a breakthrough volume that is easily accessible and a delight to read."
