SACReD (Spiritual Alliance of Communities for Reproductive Dignity)

SACReD creates and equips a network of spiritual communities with liberative religious education and practices that shift culture to advance Reproductive Justice, affirming bodily autonomy and advocating for reproductive dignity to support the flourishing of all people and families.

Core Values

Grounded in the principles that are at the heart of our religious traditions, such as pikuach nefesh (to save a life), kujichagulia (self-determination), and imago dei (image of God) SACReD’s core values are:

Joy: For SACReD, there is an undefinable gladness in knowing you are the co-creator of your life with the Divine in the pursuit of flourishing. Joy is always communal. Joy persists.

Justice: SACReD utilizes the Reproductive Justice framework. Justice to us is an embodied balancing of power that brings about healing, accountability and liberation.

Wholeness: SACReD believes that each person is born complete, good, worthy, and beloved. As we end systems of oppression, each person will be restored to themselves, one another, and the Divine.

Compassion: Being with; SACReD accompanies people through all their reproductive journeys, meeting people where they are physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

SACReD exists because, as people of faith, we cannot abide the suffering and oppression caused by reproductive injustice:

• The stripping of people’s bodily autonomy and moral agency
• The inaccessibility of birth control, abortion, and maternal healthcare for many
• The meager wages that don’t support parenting
• The poverty, ill-health, racial/gender inequalities, and domestic violence stemming from lack of reproductive autonomy
• The over-policing and polluting of children’s neighborhoods, especially in communities of color
• The soul-injuring indignity and shame heaped by religious institutions upon those choosing not, or unable, to procreate

These conditions are morally reprehensible, and we are spiritually stirred to end them. We also reject a narrow, hollow theology of “life” that attempts to justify neglect of these moral concerns.

Social movements need both numeric and moral power. SACReD’s alliance and coalition partnerships bring exactly that. But this starts with the recognition that certain religious groups and hijackers of religion have done a disproportionate amount of the damage to healthy sexuality and reproductive dignity in this country. Therefore, religious people are uniquely positioned and have a disproportionate role to play in creating healing and justice.

In this context, SACReD works with partners to create a religious movement to change the culture. We break the silence and stigma, hold courageous conversations, critically examine the intersection of religion and Reproductive Justice, and equip leaders to facilitate the work that is specifically ours as people of faith. SACReD plays an essential role in the broader, long-term struggle for social transformation that will bring reproductive liberation for everybody and every body.

SACReD is a fiscally sponsored project of NEO Philanthropy, Inc.