In light of the recent news that the Supreme Court may be poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, some have argued that limiting access to abortion is a violation of religious freedom. Several Jewish and Muslim leaders have said that their faiths expressly support abortion in some cases.
In a YouGov analysis of polling data on abortion from the past year, atheists are the most likely to identify as pro-choice, at 91%, among groups defined by their religious faith or attitude toward religion. Agnostics come in next, with 83% who say they are pro-choice. Just over three-quarters (77%) of Jewish people say they’re pro-choice, along with 76% of Buddhists.
Most people (63%) who say their religion is “nothing in particular” also take a pro-choice stance, followed by 56% of Muslims.
Roman Catholics, whose religion forbids abortion, are nearly evenly split, with 46% identifying as pro-choice and 47% as pro-life.
Among Americans whose religion is Eastern or Greek Orthodox, 44% say they are pro-choice while slightly more (49%) are pro-life.
Protestants (38%) and Mormons (25%) are among the least likely to say they are pro-choice. Majorities of Prostestants (57%) and Mormons (69%) are pro-life.
Among members of Protestant denominations, which ones are more pro-choice or pro-life?
There are many denominations under the umbrella of Protestantism, and each denomination’s members have slightly differently views on abortion.
Protestants who belong to the Episcopalian church (68%) or the Congregational or United Church of Christ (64%) are most likely to identify as pro-choice. Most Presbyterians (56%) also identify as pro-choice, as do 52% of Methodists.
Protestants who are part of the Holiness movement are the least likely of the Protestant groups studied to identify as pro-choice, at 21%. But they aren’t the most likely to identify as pro-life: That is the members of the Reform movement, 69% of whom say they are pro-life.
Among men and women of the same religion, women are more likely to be pro-choice.
Men and women of the same religious affiliation tend to have similar views on abortion, though women often are more likely to identify as strongly pro-choice. However, there are some differences worth noting.
Among Catholic men, 41% say they are pro-choice and 54% are pro-life. But Roman Catholic women are more likely to be pro-choice (50%) than pro-life (41%).
There’s an even larger gap between men and women in the Eastern or Greek Orthodox faiths. While just 31% of men identify themselves as pro-choice, twice as many women (62%) do. Among Eastern or Greek Orthodox women, 42% say they are strongly pro-choice while just 13% of men share this view. The inverse is also true: 63% of men in this religion are pro-life, while just 30% of women are.
The only faith analyzed in which men are more likely than women to identify as pro-choice is Buddhism. Four in five (81%) Buddhist men say they are pro-choice, compared with 71% of Buddhist women.
Jewish women (72%) are more likely than Jewish men (55%) to say they are strongly pro-choice. A similar gap exists among agnostics: 74% of women and 59% of men are strongly pro-choice.
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