The General Board of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland has encouraged members to vote "in accordance with their own judgment".
After the board met yesterday, the former Moderator, Dr Trevor Morrow, said "the church has always said that the Constitution is not the place to deal with this issue (abortion).
"Nevertheless, we have been asked to make a judgment which, by its nature, must balance principle with pragmatism. The general board, through its resolution today, is encouraging Presbyterians to do that, recognising their right of private, informed judgement," Dr Morrow said.
"Basically the Presbyterian Church is pro-life," he said, but it recognised the existence of hard cases. "However, to legislate effectively in this area is extremely difficult and many Presbyterians would be concerned that, no matter how restrictive the legislation, it could ultimately lead to abortion on demand."
Most Presbyterians would welcome recognition that there were circumstances in which the life of the mother should take priority over the life of the unborn, "where there is a real and substantial risk of the loss of a woman's life", he said.
The Church of Ireland Bishop of Cork, the Right Rev Paul Colton, has said the referendum proposals "espouse at least some of the core elements in the Church of Ireland's diversity of opinion on this issue".
"To expect, for example, that the church's view would be wholeheartedly embraced in the proposals (or those of any other single group in society for that matter) would be untenable in a pluralist society," he said.
In his view "the legislation envisaged in the referendum proposal offers, in a number of respects, what the Church of Ireland appealed for in its submission to the all-party committee", such as the call for a clear and unambiguous definition of abortion and "the inclusion of detailed legislation (albeit enshrined in the Constitution)".
He also said "the church's continued insistence on its preference for a legislative approach to this issue fails to recognise that the argument has moved on. The Constitution (since 1983 and 1992) already contains provisions relating to abortion and we need to work within the context of what is, not what might have been. The option of removing references to abortion from the Constitution is not one currently before the people."
Where the referendum proposals departed from the Church of Ireland position was in two main areas, he said. "First, the preference for a legislative route alone to be adopted; and second, in its narrow delineation of the exceptional circumstances which ought to be catered for," he said.
The Rev Bill Darlison, a Unitarian minister, said his church tended to leave such issues as abortion to members' individual conscience, but in general it would favour a woman's right to choose. He would favour a No vote.
Father Ireneu Cracuin of the Greek Orthodox Church said his church equated wilful abortion with murder. The only exception was where the mother's life was at risk. Then it "might be considered" , as pastoral circumstances dictated.
