The decisions involved in family planning are intimate
choices by couples and individuals that reflect a host
of different factors: expectations and hopes shaped by
culture, family circumstances, economic and social situations;
access to information and means to control one’s fertility; and
health concerns. Government policies and programs, as well as
evolving international norms and priorities, affect both supply
of health and family planning services and demand for them.
The roles of religious beliefs, communities, and leaders at the
individual, family, and societal levels can be very significant,
encouraging positive attitudes and actions or discouraging
various forms of contraception altogether. Exactly how those
roles play out, however, can be difficult to pin down and they
vary widely from place to place, and among different religious
traditions. Understanding how governments take religious
attitudes into account is an important part of assessing the
impact of various approaches to family planning.