Aline Kalbian provides a fresh and provocative approach to a subject that will not go away: the Catholic Church's opposition to contraception. Eschewing the tired battles between left and right over personal morality, Kalbian goes at the topic from a different direction. She makes a compelling case for the huge influence of social and political forces on what are supposedly objective and logical arguments. In reality, the contraception debates are about how to frame sex, gender, and violence. This book is a 'must' read for anyone striving to understand how religious traditions adapt (or not) to changing cultural dynamics. -- Lisa Cahill, Monan Professor of Theology, Boston College Catholic teaching on human sexuality is sometimes dismissed as a quaint relic of a premodern understanding of reproductive biology. Through a careful scholarly-but nontheological-examination of Catholic teaching on HIV/AIDS, emergency contraception in the case of rape, and population control, Kalbian demonstrates that, far from being a mere historical curiosity, Catholic teaching is an important resource for clarifying the nexus among sex, violence, and justice that continues to shape contemporary views of sexuality in popular culture. -- Paul Lauritzen, professor of theology and religious studies, John Carroll University An exquisitely clear and subtle analysis of the way in which the Catholic tradition's discourse on artificial contraception has been shaped by the distressing realities of rape, HIV/AIDS, and poverty. -- Diana Fritz Cates, professor and chair, Department of Religious Studies, University of Iowa Contraception is at the epicenter of the battles between religious authority and women's rights. Aline Kalbian gives us fresh insight on a controversy that isn't going away. -- Cathleen Kaveny, John P. Murphy Foundation Professor of Law and professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame

In 1968, Pope Paul VI published Humanae vitae, the encyclical that reaffirmed the Catholic Church's continued opposition to the use of any form of artificial contraception. In Sex, Violence, and Justice: Contraception and the Catholic Church, Aline Kalbian outlines the Church's position against artificial contraception as principally rooted in three biblical commandments. In addition, Kalbian shows how discourses about sexuality, both in the Church and in culture, are often tied to discourses of violence, harm and social injustice. These ties reveal that sexual ethics is never just about sex; it is about the vulnerability of the human body and the challenges humans face in trying to maintain just and loving relationships. As Kalbian explores and contrasts the Catholic Church's stance toward condoms and HIV/AIDS, emergency contraception in cases of rape, and contraception and population control, she underscores how contraception is not just a private decision, but a deeply social, cultural, and political one, with profound global implications. Kalbian concludes that even the most tradition-bound communities rely on justificatory schemes that are fluid and diverse. Taking this diversity seriously helps us to understand how religious traditions change and develop. Sex, Violence, and Justice will be of interest to students and scholars of Catholic moral theology, sexual ethics, religion and society, gender and religion, as well as to specialists and practitioners in public health.