If facing an unexpected pregnancy, most evangelical Millennials want to carry the child to term, but are unlikely to consider adoption
(Original release date: December 12, 2012) If faced with an unexpected pregnancy, 94 percent of married and unmarried evangelicals ages 18-29 say they would be very likely to carry the child to term (or among men, that they would want the woman to carry the child to term). Four percent said this would be somewhat likely, according to the “Sex and Unexpected Pregnancies: What Evangelical Millennials Think and Practice” report.
When asked specifically whether they would consider abortion if faced with an unexpected pregnancy, the study, which was commissioned by the National Association of Evangelicals and conducted by Grey Matter Research, found that only 2 percent of evangelical Millennials would definitely consider abortion; the same proportion would probably consider it; 5 percent might consider abortion; 7 percent said probably not; and 84 percent said they would definitely not consider abortion.
Among unmarried evangelical Millennials, less than a third (29 percent) definitely or probably would consider adoption as an option for an unexpected pregnancy. Another 23 percent were undecided, while almost half (48 percent) probably or definitely would not consider placing their child for adoption.
Adoption was less of an option for those who were less religiously active. The proportion of unmarried evangelical Millennials who definitely would not consider adoption as an option for an unexpected pregnancy was 26 percent among more frequent Bible readers, but 34 percent among less frequent readers; likewise, it was 26 percent among weekly churchgoers, but 39 percent among less frequent churchgoers.
When facing an unexpected pregnancy, respondents were asked how likely they would be to seek guidance from eight different sources (parent[s], a medical professional, a pastor, family members [outside of parents], friends, online sources, crisis pregnancy or counseling center, or books, magazines, TV or other media). Parents topped the list with 71 percent saying they were very likely to turn to one or both parents for guidance. For seven of the eight sources provided, men were significantly less likely to seek guidance from that source than were women, suggesting that men were less likely to seek guidance from any source. The pastor was the only one of eight potential sources men were just as likely to turn to as were women.
Additional findings include:
- The vast majority (91 percent) of unmarried evangelical Millennials would consider raising the child with the other parent.
- Men and women responded very differently when considering whether the mother should raise the child on her own. Sixty-two percent of women would definitely or probably consider this; 8 percent of men would consider having the mother raise the child on her own.
This is the fourth in a planned series of five releases on the Sex and Unexpected Pregnancies study. The report — including a FAQ section with comparisons to previous surveys of evangelicals on these issues — is available on the NAE’s website along with more information about the polling methodology and graphs of the study’s findings.
Study Details:
Grey Matter Research (Phoenix, AZ) conducted this national demographically representative online survey of 1,007 evangelical adults ages 18—29 in May 2012. Evangelicals were identified by Protestant church attendance of at least once a month, believing that they will go to heaven when they die because they have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior, and strongly agreeing that the Bible is the written word of God and is accurate in all that it teaches, that their personal commitment to Jesus Christ is still important to their lives today, that eternal salvation is possible only through Jesus Christ, and that they personally have a responsibility to tell others about their religious beliefs. The poll has an overall margin of error of ±2.9%.
The mission of the National Association of Evangelicals is to honor God by connecting and representing evangelical Christians. The NAE includes more than 45,000 local churches from 40 different denominations and serves a constituency of millions. Founded in 1942, the Association is currently led by President Leith Anderson.
See also:
- Most Unmarried Evangelical Millennials Have Never Had Sex (November 29, 2012).
- Evangelical Millennials Say Sex Outside Marriage is Wrong (December 3, 2012)
- More Frequent Bible Readers Less Likely to Have Sex Outside Marriage (December 6, 2012)
- Evangelical Millennials Uncomfortable with Churches Promoting Contraception (December 17, 2012)