>At least the Polish left is pro-choice, though.
Not enough to make it legal when they were in office, and they didn't cite the Church as the reason, they cited population pressure, although it could have been Church power in the background.
>That's not the case in Ireland (well it is for the far left, but not for any of the parties that poll more than 1%) nor, as I understand it, in Malta. I'm still waiting for someone who disagrees that the Church's power is the reason for this to give me an alternate explanation.
You're looking for an alternate reason for abortion being illegal? Or do you want an alternate reason for abortion being less supported by the population? Because the topic was not Church power to make abortion illegal, which can surely have some effect on opinion, it was the connection between opinions and churchgoing.
>Yes, this is a trend all over Europe with demographics being increasingly used as an argument against abortion.
So there's a material explanation. In Italy the controversy is not around Catholic doctrine but around fear of being engulfed by immigrants. It looks to me like socialism or a socialist past or a strong left is a better predictor of opinions on abortion than the the depth of Catholicism. But neither is a great predictor. Or how about investigating various factors having to do with the strength and history of feminism? Look, I'm an atheist and I'd like to see the Catholic Church reparation-taxed out of existence, say, yesterday. But I think using religion as an explanation stops thought on a whole series of questions that could use a closer look. Yes, some people do what their church says, but plenty don't. Isn't that the more interesting question?
> I don't think it's as simple as that. According to the Polish Family Planning Association there is a generation gap on the issue - with younger women LESS likely to support legal abortion. Note that these would be the women who grew up in a Poland with a strong and powerful Catholic church.
Or, you could simply say that the older women grew up when abortion was legal, the younger women only know it to have been illegal. Then it would be Church power in the sense of power to change a law, not an explosion of religiosity among the young.
I see a range of European countries that are vast-majority Catholic (deeply, shallowly, hardly) and not at all, and a range of public opinions on abortion that has weak to no association with whether they're Catholic or not. Populations in the U.S. and Poland have pretty close to the same opinions on abortion--except I think more people are pro-punishment in the U.S. (And the young in Poland are more conservative all around, right?)
So I think the burden is on you, or Chris, to show that Catholicism THE key factor in public opinion on abortion. Or that being Baptist is THE key factor in opposing gay marriage. And then, if that's true, where does that lead us in terms of what is to be done? The left, at various points, has disdained to attack religion as such, and I tend to be in that camp. What's your view?
It's a mystery to me why abortion is illegal in Vatican City. Isn't the population entirely male?
Jenny Brown