PROTESTANTS AND FAMILY-PLANNING

There is evidence supporting the hypothesis that the historically favo rable views of Protestants regarding the practice of family planning a re changing among selected sub-groups. Such an attitudinal shift among Protestants has been rarely investigated by social scientists. This l iterature review represents an initial step in examining the phenomeno n. A profile of Protestants' historical views of family planning will be presented, first, followed by a discussion of the recent questionin g of this group's favorable attitudes towards the practice. Additional ly, research literature on contraceptive behavior and fertility patter ns will provide empirical evidence supporting the hypothesis.