Catholics, (serious question here)?

As far as I understand it, it's mostly Catholic tradition.

Some may point to the story of Onan as justification for prohibiting non-procreative sex, but others argue that this passage is about disobeying God's command for Onan to impregnate his sister-in-law, not a condemnation of non-procreative sex in general.

EDIT: @Saddle Shoes: You're right, the Catholic church is not against natural birth control (abstinence, fertility awareness-based methods), but they are against every single form of artificial birth control, from condoms to birth control pills to sterilization procedures like tubal ligation or vasectomy.

EDIT: @Giggly Giraffe: "There is strong suggestion that the pill causes breast cancer."

According to the National Cancer Institute: "Some studies have shown an increased risk of breast cancer in women taking oral contraceptives, while other studies have shown no change in risk." (http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/... )

"Further, when women digest the pill and urinate, they pollute the water supply causing male prostate cancer & man boobs."

Nope. I suggest reading this article: http://www.arhp.org/publications-and-resources/con...

"As a consumer (yes, I tried the pill for 1.5 years)) the pill decreased my sex drive, made me fat, moody, & gave me zits. How rude!!!"

True . . . the pill comes with side effects that vary from woman to woman. No denying that.

"Last objection, is I personally got a stroke from BC."

Yes, the pill increases the risk of stroke, although " . . since strokes are so rare in women of reproductive age, the risk translates to only one additional stroke yearly per 24,000 women for low-dose pill users and one per 12,000 women for higher dosages" (http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=118178&page=... ). Obviously, few medicines are without risk- it's up to women to decide whether or not it's worth it (I personally think the odds are very good, but someone who was one of the unlucky ones out of 24,000 might definitely feel differently).

"The Pill is technically an "abortificient""

Nope, not at all. Please see this source: http://pandagon.net/index.php/site/comments/we_can...

Before 1933 all Christians were against the use of contraceptives (Catholics, Orthodox, and Protestants). In 1933 the Anglicans were the first to allow the use of contraceptives amongst married couples, afterward all other Protestants fell in behind them. The last to accept the use of contraceptives were the Orthodox which happened during the 1960's. The use against contraceptives dates back to the early Church Fathers, such as St. Augustine of Hippo, St. Jerome, St. John Chrysostom. Even Protestants like Martin Luther and John Calvin were against the use of contraceptives. The early Christians believed contraceptives being unnatural was an abomination to God because it was a means that people used to make themselves sterile in order not to have children which removed God from the equation in regards to procreation, it was equivalent to abortion for the early Christians. The purpose of marriage which was established by God was for love and procreation. The only ones who used oral contraceptives during early Christianity were the prostitutes.

Biblical Justification Genesis 1:28, Psalm 127:3-5, Job 31:15, Job 33:4.

I think those who had fallen away from the traditions of those who came before them should read: Proverbs 22:28.

God gave us the bible. He also gave us the ability to reason. We should use both in determining morality. From the bible we can extrapolate and deduce certain principles.

Other responders have noted that 'till the early1930's all mainstream Christian religions were against artificial contraception. Most of the non Catholic denominations changed. At least the CC has been consistent. This might lead to the question, "Is there objective morality or not"?

1. Catholics believe that God is the author of marriage and it exists only in the way that He designed it. (Gen 2:18-25, Mk 10:9) This means one man and one woman, coming together for the purpose of mutual support, comfort and protection. And from this union comes the continuation of the race - meaning children.(Gen 1:28; 31)

2. If you think about it, procreation is God's way of inviting us into His Act of Creation. It's a sign that we are created in His image (Gen 1:27; 1 Jn 4:8, 16.) He bestows upon us the glorious privilege of being able to generate new human souls at will - souls whom He can spend eternity with when they enter heaven. We should not reject such a gift - it's insulting to God to say, "Oh, I *know* you designed sex to be procreative as well as pleasurable, but we're just going to take the pleasure part and hang that whole procreation bit."

3. The arrival of children is an outward sign of the couple's marital bond - they are literally made "one flesh" in their children, because each child is a combination of the father's and mother's DNA in equal shares. This is a GOOD thing, because God made it to be good. And this means that pregnancy is not a disease to be avoided or corrected.

4. Rejecting the idea of life coming from the marital union is a sin against the institution of marriage. The Church teaches that *every* act of intercourse between a couple must be open to life, meaning that it must end with the possibility that a child is conceived. However, couples are not forced to have more children than they can afford to feed, clothe, shelter, educate and lover. They are free to cooperate with God's design (meaning that women are cyclical and can't get pregnant every day of the month). By abstaining from sex during the woman's few days of ovulation, the couple can prayerfully and sacrificially plan the spacing of their children. This is working WITH God's plan and making a small sacrifice if they can't have a child (maybe delaying sex a few days or giving up one or two sexual encounters a month). Artificial birth control is different because it attempt to take pleasure while rejecting the responsibility of conception.

5. All Christian churches were initially against birth control, but they have caved, one by one.

6. Artificial birth control has brought about a lot of societal ills, as you can read here in a recent issue of business insider. http://www.businessinsider.com/time-to-admit-it-th...

7. Furthermore, artificial birth control is unhealthy for women (read the side effects - increased risk of cardiovascular disease is one of them, and cardiovascular disease in women has literally skyrocketed since women started taking the pill in droves). Healthy women become *unhealthy* on the pill.

What the church is against is people abusing one another. Your spouse or significant other is not a piece of exercise equipment.

The church saw what was coming. And so it has come to pass. With the onset of birth control we have become callous about using one another without thought. As a result, disease is rampant, depression is rampant, unwanted children, abortion - which (contrary to what Planned Parenthood tells you) causes severe emotional ramifications in both men and women.

High schoolers are using one another as "friends with benefits" and "booty calls" - which also leaves these emotionally charged young people very damaged.

The Catholic Church is not against birth control:

"If therefore there are well-grounded reasons for spacing births, arising from the physical or psychological condition of husband or wife, or from external circumstances, the Church teaches that married people may then take advantage of the natural cycles immanent in the reproductive system and engage in marital intercourse only during those times that are infertile, THUS CONTROLLING BIRTH in a way which does not in the least offend the moral principles which We have just explained." (Humanae Vitae 16; emphasis mine)

What the Catholic Church IS against is breaking the connection "between the unitive significance and the procreative significance which are both inherent to the marriage act":

"This particular doctrine, often expounded by the magisterium of the Church, is based on the inseparable connection, established by God, which man on his own initiative may not break, between the unitive significance and the procreative significance which are both inherent to the marriage act.

"The reason is that the fundamental nature of the marriage act, while uniting husband and wife in the closest intimacy, also renders them capable of generating new life—and this as a result of laws written into the actual nature of man and of woman. And if each of these essential qualities, the unitive and the procreative, is preserved, the use of marriage fully retains its sense of true mutual love and its ordination to the supreme responsibility of parenthood to which man is called. We believe that our contemporaries are particularly capable of seeing that this teaching is in harmony with human reason." (Humanae Vitae 12)

EDIT:

Regarding old school's comment, "strict catholics feel sex is only for procreation and nothing else."

Such people are not strict Catholics. Since this sentiment is against Catholic teaching, such people are no less cafeteria Catholics than those who use contraception.

"The sexual activity, in which husband and wife are intimately and chastely united with one another, through which human life is transmitted, is, as the recent Council recalled, 'noble and worthy.' It does not, moreover, cease to be legitimate even when, for reasons independent of their will, it is foreseen to be infertile. For its natural adaptation to the expression and strengthening of the union of husband and wife is not thereby suppressed." (Humanae Vitae 11)

This is a strange one isn't it?

Perhaps birth control is seen as murdering the yet_to_be_born child but birth control stops it before that life spark even happens, so who knows

One of these stupid things where stupid old men get entrenched in old beliefs

It's about tradition and seriousness. That if sex were to be committed at all, it should be to make another child instead of pleasure. I can understand a bit of that, but their logic is a bit crooked. Some people can't decide if they love someone or not except in bed, because you can tell alot about them then.

As a Human I am scientifically against the Birth Control Pills/shots. There is strong suggestion that the pill causes breast cancer. Further, when women digest the pill and urinate, they pollute the water supply causing male prostate cancer & man boobs.

As a consumer (yes, I tried the pill for 1.5 years)) the pill decreased my sex drive, made me fat, moody, & gave me zits. How rude!!! Last objection, is I personally got a stroke from BC.

Religiously, contraception Lowers morality, causes more infidelity, objectifies women to satisfy men, & Invites government coercion into reproductive matters (China). The Pill is technically an "abortificient"

As a Catholic, we believe that sex is meant for unity as well as procreation. When sex becomes a recreational activity, it takes away from the sacredness of the act.