By strictly labeling birth control as immoral after the release of the oral contraceptive, the Vatican sparked shock and disapproval among the population and some religious officials, which ultimately led to loss of power and disloyal believers . Interestingly, Allyn (2001) explains that The Old Testament of the Bible does not mention contraception at all, even in the sections on sexuality, and therefore nowhere is it officially stated that birth control is immoral (p. 31). Contraception is also not included in the New Testament, suggesting that Christians developed the idea that birth control is immoral from an outside source. The Church's position on birth control was first established when St. Augustine limited “sex to procreation” and then reinforced contraception as unacceptable to avoid one's lustful desires (Allyn, 2001, p. 31). Therefore, Catholic believers try to obey their God by avoiding contraception; however, what they don't know is that they are obeying a rule imposed by a man who cannot control his sexuality. The Church argued that its opposition to the birth control pill was still valid in the 1960s because "the possibility of getting pregnant has always kept a girl on the right track", and because the pill erased this fear, girls will become promiscuous and therefore do immoral decisions (Asbell, 1995, p. 173). The pope also argued that the pill is simply a new form of abortion, which is also strictly prohibited among Christians, although most believed that the pill was not a form of abortion, but it would certainly reduce abortion rates since unwanted pregnancies would become less frequent. (Cafe, 2011, para. 9; Asbell, 1995, p. 202). Even though other religions were critical of contraception, especially… middle of paper… do not kill any unborn child. Many women simply decided to take contraceptives despite their religious beliefs, and many lied to purchase the drug (Asbell, 1995, pp. 171-172). Single women who could not readily obtain contraception often faked menstrual disorders that required treatment with the Pill, threatening the taboo of premarital sex even in Catholicism. Statistics show that approximately 53% of Catholic couples regularly practiced contraception, regardless of whether it was considered immoral or not. Furthermore, Benagiano, Bastianelli, and Farris (2007) explain that “Catholic countries are among those with the lowest birth rate” (p. 8). Therefore, a sharp decrease in Catholic devotion occurred after the church enforced rules created by petty superstitions and attempted to control its believers (Allyn, 2001, p. 111; Asbell, 1995, p.. 297).