Stone & Incense Search
Start hereCurious, or no faithEvangelical, Pentecostal or ProtestantFrom another faithSomeone I love is CatholicBecoming CatholicI was Catholic once Today in the ChurchLibraryHard questionsVoices of the revivalTake the next stepAboutSources & methodSupport the site

Questions / Living the faith

Why is the Church against contraception?

Church teaching

Answered on video by Jason Evert

Video: Why does the Church allow NFP but not contraception?, Jason Evert, published Jul 9, 2021. Checked 10 October 2026. Loads from YouTube (privacy-enhanced mode) only when you press play. Watch on YouTube

In short: Every marriage act stays open to life, and couples can space births for good reasons by natural methods. CCC 2368 CCC 2370

The answer, in writing

Church teaching

For just reasons, spouses may wish to space the births of their children, as long as it isn’t selfishness driving it. CCC 2368

Methods based on self-observation and infertile periods respect the spouses’ bodies and encourage tenderness between them. CCC 2370

Our words

This one’s hard for a lot of people. The Church isn’t asking couples to have as many kids as possible; she’s asking them to keep love and life together. Ask your parish about natural family planning classes.

Next step: Find a parish near you

Honestly? The best answers come from people, not websites. Take the next step: find a parish near you

Related questions

What do nuns and monks do? Ascension Presents · 10 minCan Catholics get divorced? Ascension Presents · 3 minCan Catholics marry non-Catholics? Ascension Presents · 11 minCan Catholics eat meat on Friday? Catholic Answers · 2 min

Sources on this page

How we know · 2 Catechism paragraphs
  1. Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 2368, 2370 (official text on vatican.va).

Stone & Incense restates Church teaching in plain words and cites every teaching claim. Our own wording is not an official Church text. Found a mistake? Report an errorCorrections.