Artificial birth control predate Christianity ; the Catholic Church have condemned these methods throughout its history . In response to the Church of England accepting the practice of artificial contraception in 1930 , the Catholic Church issued the papal encyclical Casti connubii on 31 December 1930 . The 1968 papal encyclical Humanae vitae is a reaffirmation of the Catholic Church 's traditional view of marriage and marital relations , and a continued condemnation of artificial birth control .