Oct

26

Religion, Teens, Sex and Parents

Filed Under Commentary | 1 Comment

Do I have your attention yet? While searching the web recently for data on current cultural trends, I came across an interesting article published in 2001 from the National Center for Policy Analysis in Washington, D.C., which included information submitted by social scientist, Laura Meckler, based on a survey of 502 teenage Americans. As a pastor, the title caught my eye; “Survey: Religion Affects Teen Sex.” Teens who took the survey said that morals, values and religion play a major role in their decisions about sex. Specifically, 40% of these teens said that morals, values, and/or religious beliefs were the most important factor affecting their decision about whether to have sex. By comparison, concern about sexually transmitted diseases was only the most important factor for 17 % of respondents. This is somewhat surprising given the significant media attention and sex education programs that have made diminishing sexually transmitted disease their primary focus. To me, this means that various faith based programs that have encouraged abstinence have flown in under the media’s radar and have bHolding Handseen far more successful than many have realized. The only downside to this, as indicated by the survey, is that once “religious teens” do have sex, they are less likely to use contraception. To me, these findings suggest that we as parents (and churches) strongly encourage abstinence as the leading edge of our instruction about sex. It’s biblical, moral, healthy, and very much in the best interests of our teens. In addition, a discussion of this sort should provide ample opportunity to emphasize the grace of forgiveness available to any who have already fallen short in this area of moral conduct. In our culture, this is a subject that we as Christians simply can’t afford to ignore. Read more