Diana, you said: >My confusion enters when
we consider the impact of religion on breastfeeding behaviors.
I would caution against overgeneralizing, due to the practice of different
religions
being different in different locales. <
All I meant was that the influence of catholicism is one factor which will
be important in France and Ireland -- speaking from the perspective of
another European country which has not had a strong caltholic culture since
Charles I was beheaded in the 17th century, this is just something to remark
on. In England (I won't speak for Wales or Scotland, as they are very
different) my perspective as an immigrant is that, despite the fact that
there is a state religion and unfettered access to teach religion to
children via state schools, religious sensibilites play little part in
overall cultural behaviour -- sure loads of people belong to all sorts of
religions and it affects their individual behaviour. But this is kept to a
private realm and it would be considered fairly bad form to talk about
religion outside the church. From what I can gather, after over 20 years
here, anglicanism seems to have little impact on the way people actually
think or act, whereas for UK muslims, this is very different, but islam is
not the mainstream religion or culture here in the UK. It is simply my
understanding that catholicism, in France and Ireland, has an important
influence on the culture and the actions of people.
In the UK in 15 years of breastfeeding support I can probably count on one
hand the number of women who have ever mentioned their religion as being
important for their breastfeeding (or vice versa -- unless they are muslim
women). Now, maybe I carry an aura of atheism, or maybe my Jewish sounding
name puts majority christian people off, but it certainly is my experience.
From reading lactnet, this seems very different for you all still living in
the US. (This has amazed me -- going to high school in Berkeley,
California, I did not realise that the US is such a religious country, until
recently).
So, returning to your point -- whatever the influcence of the catholic
church in different parts and ways in Ireland and France, I think it is
something to consider in the historical cultural production of current
breastfeeding rates.
Magda Sachs
Breastfeeding Supporter, BfN, UK
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