For some religious leaders in Nebraska, abortion views break with stereotypes

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

59% : She said she never really questioned the issue of abortion access until she reached college and was exposed to anti-abortion views held by fellow Christians.
56% : The Rev. Brandee Jasmine Mimitzraiem of the African Methodist Episcopal Church encountered anti-abortion views earlier in life.
50% : The way each of these groups view abortion varies widely, even sometimes within the individual groups.
44% : Public polling has shown a correlation between views on abortion and faith, particularly among Christian faiths.
43% : Although there is some disagreement on abortion issues within the Jewish community, Abraham said most Jewish people support abortion access -- an assertion borne out in the 2014 Pew study, which found 83% of Jewish Americans believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases.
42% : Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law," states the Catechism of the Catholic Church, a document detailing church doctrine.
41% : And some faiths, such as Catholicism, are explicit in their moral objections to abortion.
41% :United Methodist Church, according to its social principals, states that it is reluctant to approve abortion due to the church's belief in the sanctity of unborn human life.
37% : But McKnight and several other religious leaders said perceptions regarding faith and abortion fail to capture the nuance within religious groups.
37% : Despite this, Judaism and other non-Christian religions are often forgotten about in discussions on abortion and faith.
37% : She also noted that many of those who disagree with her on the legality of abortion still don't want to see the number of abortions increase.
36% : She said she talks with other Black Christians about abortion, but when speaking to white clergymen, they often avoid the topic with her.
35% : Her views, she said, run counter to the common assumptions people often make about her: That, as a religious leader, she is staunchly anti-abortion.
34% : They also fall victim to the same misconception that other people of faith are automatically anti-abortion, making them feel outnumbered by what Mimitzraiem believes is a loud minority.
33% : But Laura Buddenberg, a Catholic who opposes abortion and serves as the executive director of Essential Pregnancy Services in Omaha, noted that there are pieces of Scripture that define life at the moment of conception.
33% : Buddenberg said she has been harshly criticized for her views, including for her opposition to abortion.
33% : Buddenberg didn't say whether she believes a majority of people of faith are anti-abortion, but she said the issue is far more nuanced than it may seem.
18% : The 2014 study by Pew also found differences within Nebraska Christians, with 54% agreeing that abortion should be illegal in all or most cases and 41% saying abortion should be legal in all or most cases.
18% : The numbers broke down to 50% saying abortion should be legal in all or most cases and 46% agreeing abortion should be illegal in all or most cases.

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