Free and responsible: Sexuality, pastoral, and the art of governance in Catholic Conjugal Centres (1953

Free and responsible: Sexuality, pastoral, and the art of governance in Catholic Conjugal Centres (1953–1990)

Published:2023-05-19 Issue:2 Volume:70 Page:207-225
ISSN:0037-7686
Container-title:Social Compass
language:en
Short-container-title:Social Compass

Author:

Crosetti Anne-Sophie¹^ORCID

Affiliation:

1. Université Libre de Bruxelles, FNRS, Belgium

Abstract

This article deals with a socio-historical enigma: the articulation of family planning – through dedicated centres – and catholicism. How come self-identified catholics ended up defending contraception and decriminalisation of abortion while the Catholic Church kept reminding that sexuality should be conjugal and reproductive? The article examines the process of creating a discursive and practical normativity allowing the use of contraception and abortion through a catholic ‘tool’, that is, the pastoral power at a time of secularisation. Borrowing the concept developed by Michel Foucault enables highlighting the ‘catholic governmentality’ regarding contraception and abortion, namely, the ‘responsible-freedom’.

Funder

Fonds De La Recherche Scientifique - FNRS

Action de Recherche Concertee Sex&Pil

Publisher

SAGE Publications

Subject

Sociology and Political Science,Religious studies,Anthropology

Link

http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/00377686231170995

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