Poll: 77 Percent of Evangelicals Believe Abortion is Morally Wrong

Poll: 77 Percent of Evangelicals Believe Abortion is Morally Wrong: The National Association of Evangelicals has released a new poll showcasing Evangelicals’ overall commitment to traditional Christian morality and opposition to abortion. The Gallup poll, commissioned by the NAE, found that 76 percent of Evangelicals believe sex between an unmarried man and woman is morally wrong, 77 percent believe abortion is morally wrong, and 79 percent say that having a baby outside of wedlock is also morally wrong. A high 87 percent of Evangelicals also said that teen pregnancy is morally wrong.

But the NAE also noted that pastors may have a challenge on their hands when it comes to the pastoral care of unmarried women who become pregnant and then fear that having the baby will lead to rejection from the church community. “We need to encourage couples to courageously and responsibly honor the gifts of sex and life,” said Aaron Mercer, NAE Generation Forum Project Director. “The Bible’s standard for sex is very clear: abstinence outside of marriage and fidelity within it. But when unmarried individuals do have sex and end up conceiving, might they fear rejection from their church family whether or not they carry the baby to term? Whether or not this fear is warranted, we need to consider its possible consequences.”

Editor: I'm grateful the NAE made this distinction. Pregnancy is not a moral issue; what you do with it is. The circumstances of a conception may have been wrong; carrying a baby to term is never wrong and should not be stigmatized. Thus, we need to be careful about statements such as "having a baby outside wedlock is morally wrong." The consequences may be deadly.