Praise and lament for the overturning of abortion rights filled sacred spaces this weekend as clergy across the U.S. rearranged worship plans or rewrote sermons to provide their religious context — and competing messages — about the historic moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Abortion is a visceral issue for deeply divided religious Americans. Some are sad or angry in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court\u2019s seismic Dobbs v. Jackson decision Friday. Others are grateful and elated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At St. Paul Cathedral in Pittsburgh, the Very Rev. Kris Stubna discarded his planned Sunday homily and focused on the decision, calling it \u201ca day of great joy and blessing.\u201d He said the overturning of the nearly 50-year-old Roe v. Wade ruling was the result of prayers and efforts of many Catholics and others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis law violated the very law of God, that every life is sacred,\u201d he said. \u201cA person cannot support abortion and still be a faithful member of the church.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Stubna\u2019s comments would be considered divisive by some since U.S. Catholics disagree on abortion rights. Supporters include high-profile members of the faith like President Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi who face Communion restrictions as a result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not everyone sat through Stubna\u2019s entire homily. Although unable to ask their reasons, an Associated Press photographer saw one woman leave during it. Security personnel estimated three others also exited early.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Views on abortions are not just polarizing within denominations; the divisions span the religious landscape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSCOTUS just dealt a terrible blow to women, to girls, to all childbearing people, to freedom,\u201d said the Rev. Jacqui Lewis, senior minister at Middle Collegiate Church, a multicultural Protestant congregation in Manhattan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She mourned the overturning of Roe, expressing deep emotions during a service Sunday, saying, \u201cIt took safe legal abortions off the table, opening the door for states to rush in and crush reproductive justice. We are reeling. Spinning. So hurt we can hardly move. We are feeling the loss, the pain of it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A majority of adults from Buddhist, Hindu, historically Black Protestant, Jewish, mainline Protestant, Muslim and Orthodox Christian faiths support legal abortion in all or most cases, according to a Pew Research Center\u2019s Religious Landscape Study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rabbi Sarah DePaolo carved out time at the start of Friday night\u2019s Shabbat service at Congregation Shir Ha-Ma\u2019alot in Irvine, California, to express her disappointment, urging community members to support each other and create space for the fearful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOne of the most upsetting things about this decision is that while it claims to represent people of faith, it does not represent our faith,\u201d DePaolo said. \u201cIt does not reflect our Jewish law. It does not reflect our traditions. It does not reflect our community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Catholics are split on the issue while most evangelical Protestants, Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints say abortion should be illegal in all or most instances, according to the Pew Research Center study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, views the ruling as a moral and spiritual victory. On Sunday, he told his California congregation at New Season that now is the time for an unprecedented adoption movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re gonna adopt babies, but we\u2019re gonna adopt moms, pregnant moms … who have abortions because they can\u2019t afford to have a baby,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Southern Baptists, who are members of the nation\u2019s largest Protestant denomination, are staunch supporters of anti-abortion views. On Sunday, several pastors praised the ruling from their pulpits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The congregation at First Baptist Concord in Knoxville, Tennessee, broke into applause when Pastor John Mark Harrison addressed it. He invited a panel of advocates to explain how everyone can continue supporting those with unwanted pregnancies via mentorship, fostering, adoption, addressing systemic issues and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere\u2019s so much anger and emotion,\u201d Harrison said. \u201cWhat we need to understand is that we\u2019re not called to fuel the emotions of the right or the left. We\u2019re called to walk in and through the gospel of Jesus Christ … and minister to real people in real times of crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At Central Church, in College Station, Texas, lead Pastor Phillip Bethancourt echoed that overturning Roe is not the finish line: \u201cIt\u2019s the starting gate of a new chapter. Abortion should be not just be unlawful but unnecessary and unthinkable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
David Rhoades, lead pastor of Broadview Baptist Church in Lubbock, Texas, said in an email the court decision was on a par with the Emancipation Proclamation and Juneteenth, and will reverberate for years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He hoped church members left Sunday\u2019s service with a clear understanding of what they must do next, including \u201dminister to both the baby and its mother, and continue to work to elect pro-life representatives.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Other faith leaders doubled down on their support for abortion rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Women should be able to make their own decisions, preached the Rev. Fletcher Harper at the Episcopal Church of Our Saviour in Secaucus, New Jersey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOutlawing abortion is a sinful act that perpetuates male domination and the subjugation of women,\u201d he said. \u201cIt extends the coercive power of the state into a place where it should have no business.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During a service Sunday at the Unitarian Universalist Church of the South Hills in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania, director of music Mary Pratt read aloud a denominational statement affirming it would remain \u201ccommitted to reproductive justice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pratt said members were shocked and grieving, although they expected the outcome. \u201cThey were looking for reminders of why we need to get back out and fight,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The start of services at Pilgrim United Church of Christ in Durham, North Carolina, included two verses of \u201cWe Shall Overcome\u201d and a prayer by the Rev. Melinda Keenan Wood for those outraged, heartbroken and fearful about Roe\u2019s demise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe know that this decision will be measured in deaths, incarcerations and life-altering trauma as politicians rush to control the most painfully intimate of decisions,\u201d Keenan Wood said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A prominent Black pastor in Columbus, Ohio \u2014 Bishop Timothy Clarke of the First Church of God \u2014 tried to strike a balance in his Saturday message to congregants, acknowledging conflicting views on abortion and calling on the church to show compassion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI know and love persons in both camps,\u201d Clarke said. \u201cThey are sincere, committed. … They truly see this as a life altering issue.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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