The Catholic "Consistent Life Ethic" and Attitudes Toward Capital Punishment and Welfare Reform

Sociology of Religion, Fall, 2001 by Paul Perl, Jamie S. McClintock

Welfare reform received special attention from the Catholic Bishops during the mid-1990s, when federal legislation that would eventually eliminate AFDC was being debated. The Bishops denounced proposed policy changes that they alleged would create financial difficulty for poor single mothers and their children (Hall 1994; Washington Post 1995). Though they expressed apparently genuine concern for the material well-being of poor people, an additional worry was that welfare cuts would induce many impoverished women to choose abortion over raising children with inadequate aid from the state. In particular, the Bishops and other Catholic pro-life leaders criticized the "child cap" (also called the "child exclusion" measure), a proposal to end benefit increases upon birth of an additional child to a woman already receiving welfare (Hall 1994; Washington Post 1995). In such cases, the leaders argued, poor single mothers would be especially likely to choose the abortion alternative. It is worth noting that many cons ervative Protestant leaders who are outspoken on political affairs, including Ralph Reed and Gary Bauer, declined to join the Bishops in condemning welfare reform, despite sharing the Bishops' opposition to legal abortion (Washington Post 1995; Kaus 1995).

Completely aside from the Bishops' statements on these issues, welfare reform and capital punishment share a common characteristic. They are both popular with the general public. Over seventy percent of Americans currently support the death penalty in at least some circumstances (Golay 1997; Kelly and Kudlac 2000), up substantially from the mid-1960s, when most Americans opposed it (Ellsworth and Gross 1994). Similarly, support for welfare reform rose between the early 1970s -- when most Americans opposed it -- and mid 1990s, by which time a majority favored it (Weaver, Shapiro and Jacobs 1995). In both cases, the Bishops are attempting to reverse the tide of public opinion -- harking back to values that were predominant during the country's liberal mood of the 1960s.

Thus, in addition to the challenge of linking these issues with abortion, the Bishops are advocating positions that are overwhelmingly unpopular. We believe that examining consistent life advocacy on capital punishment and welfare reform is a conservative test indeed of the ability of religious leaders to influence the political attitudes of their flocks.

Is There a Consistent Life Constituency?

It is worth asking whether there is a specific subgroup of Catholics who are most likely to be responsive to the Bishops' advocacy -- that is, to ask whether a potential consistent life "constituency" exists. The analyses of some scholars suggest that -- because opposition to abortion is central to consistent life ideology, people who are already pro-life on abortion represent a potentially receptive audience. For example, Kelly (1989:232) argues that, with honest reflection, religious anti-abortion activists ought naturally to develop greater concern for the well-being of all people: