What’s the Point? – A Question for Michael Perry

In a recent post, Michael Perry shares with us the results of a Pew Center survey – a survey that correlates religious affiliation with views on the legal regulation of abortion (i.e. whether abortion should be legal in “all” cases or “most” cases or illegal in “all” cases or “most” cases).  The survey also correlates the intensity of religious belief and practice (e.g. whether the survey respondent attends church weekly or prays daily) with views on abortion.

 

With respect to Catholics, the survey indicates that 16 percent think that abortion should be legal in “all” cases and 32 percent believe it should be legal in “most” cases, whereas 18 percent of Catholics believe that abortion should be illegal in “all” cases and 27 percent think it should be illegal in “most” cases.

 

But what are we to make of this?  As lawyers we all know that facts don’t speak for themselves.  They need someone to speak for them, to give them voice, to indicate their meaning, significance and import.  So, what are we to make of these religious-demographic facts?  What is their meaning and significance?

 

It is that the Catholic Church’s (or what some might describe as the “institutional church’s”) public opposition to abortion has been a failure, that the Catholic hierarchy has been unable to convince even its own flock of the purported evil of abortion?  Perhaps this is plain enough, but what follows from this?  Is it that the Church or “the institutional church” or “the hierarchy” has embarked upon a failed propaganda campaign and should now change strategies?  Does this suggest a mere fine-tuning of technique and method with respect to the education of both those within the Church and the wider public, or the wholesale abandonment of such efforts and the reallocation of precious resources to other practical pro-life strategies (e.g. caring for women with unplanned pregnancies) or other forms of public ministry altogether (e.g. social assistance for the homeless and employed)?  Even deeper, is the real meaning of these figures that they represent the true sensus fidelium, and that the hierarchical church’s historic opposition to abortion is mistaken and in need of correction in light an evolving understanding of Christian discipleship and political morality?

 

The point is that the Pew survey raises these questions but it doesn’t suggest how they might be answered.  Indeed, the terse scribblings on the post-it note left on the kitchen counter or on the refrigerator note-pad that says “milk, eggs, paper towels” are more meaningful than the Pew survey results standing alone.

 

Michael’s response might be “Make of them what you will!”  But, at least as I understand it, a blog is supposed to be a forum for conversation, for the exchange of opinions, ideas, and theories, and not the mere posting of information.  So what opinions, ideas, and theories does Michael think should be prompted by this data?  What do others think?