maybe that’s why more women aren’t atheists…
This stunningly offensive article at Slate describes a new book/study out about the sexual habits of teenagers as relates to their religion. Apparently, religion had never really figured into a study about the sexual habits of teens in any useful way. The new study takes into account not only what religion a teen is but also how much they actually identify with it: going to church, self-identification, &c. They find that (and this is my commentary) religious teens are uneducated enough about sex that they don’t think of themselves as the kind of people who might have it (end of my commentary) until after they do. This, according to the article, if not the study, explains why religious teens are unlikely to use birth control.
The study also includes race in its results, which makes me wonder if it implicitly includes class to some extent. Ultimately, for purity pledges to work, the teens in question need to think of themselves as “a self-conscious minority that perceives itself as special, even embattled.”
Incidentally, another recent study indicates that sexual behavior is harmful to teens if they’re under 15. Not so much if they’re older.
5 responses so far ↓
1 John // Jun 8, 2007 at 12:03 pm
I had read elsewhere about the finding that purity pledges are more effective when there is a minority consciousness. This is based entirely on anecdotal evidence, but I’d say that class and race have less to do with it (though it may be one factor). I know too many conservative, white, middle-class Christian groups that are very good at using sexual stances, evangelizing, Harry Potter, etc., to create tension between themselves and mainstream society and thereby strengthen their own social cohesiveness (indeed, I belonged to such a group). It’s a powerful cycle: restrict behavior to strengthen group identity which then can be used to control behavior.
2 Miko // Jun 9, 2007 at 7:59 am
I see it with my parents & sisters at times. Thinking of “Catholics” as an oppressed minority really makes them feel justified in a lot of their views and actions. My father, especially, likes to claim that “the media” (which, incidentally, I’ve lived in Hollywood for a while, now & never met) has it out for Catholics in particular & then cites all the obvious movies (the Crime of Padre Amaro, the Magdalene Sisters, even Last Temptation of Christ, and more recently, Deliver Us from Evil). Somehow it makes him feel superior to feel oppressed. It’s a fascinating piece of psychopathology that I’d be interested to read an study of. I know everyone likes to think that they’re special, but to feel that you’re special because everyone hates you seems to be taking it to a strange extreme…
3 Jonathan // Jun 12, 2007 at 7:35 am
Lol, that was an offensive article, probably to Christians and Atheists alike!
Miko, John, you both came from religious backgrounds and thus carry some extra baggage in this area, but I’m curious - is waiting until you are married considered moral outside of a God-centered belief system? I’m assuming the atheist woman in this article does not speak for all atheists everywhere that sex is only for pleasure, an thus inferring from her statement that she believes the act has no spiritual/bonding purpose(don’t know what to call it) that draws two people who love each other closer together?
I guess it comes down to this: what would you tell your kids? I’m going to have to have this talk with my kids someday too, and I will have a lot more reasons to tell them besides it’s “evil.” Even if pre-martial sex is not wrong, are there not some restraints we’d like our kids to follow?
4 Miko // Jun 13, 2007 at 8:02 pm
What I’d like to tell my kids is that it has strong physical and psychological effects, that it is a bonding experience, and above all to be educated & safe. I think part of that is because I had so little knowledge when I got to college that I really feel it was almost a form of child abuse.
What would I really tell them? Don’t tell your aunts.
I’d also like my kids & nieces/nephs to know that they can come to be for anything whenever they need to. Having adults to talk to is almost better than having adults to look up to, in my book.
5 Jonathan // Jun 13, 2007 at 9:01 pm
I agree! I came from a family that were a little on the prudish side, but my father did give me the “birds and the bees” speech. But later when I started to get more curious about the philosophy of sex (is there such a thing??) We would sit down and talk at great length what was so special about it.
My wife comes from a family that is not even remotely bashful about the subject. It’s frequently a dinner table subject. I had to get used to this, but now that I’ve been around them for about 9 years, I’ve gotten pretty used to it.
In both cases, my wife and I grew up in families that talked a lot about sex so we were well informed from a philosophical/spiritual perspective. We knew what we were getting into before those crucial adolescent years came where life happens so fast that there’s hardly time to think. I’m very thankful to both our sets of parents for sharing this stuff.
Leave a Comment