Virginity Pledges, Christianity, and Public Health.

Christian teens have sex.

I’m not sure if this is a surprise to anybody, but it happens. In fact, a new study published in this months Pediatrics (1) found that those who make “virginity pledges” and those who do not will end up having the same rates of oral and sex behaviors, STIs, and premarital sex.

The study followed 289 teenage virginity pledgers and 645 nonpledgers (N=934) over the course of 5 years. They controlled for over 100 variables including religious beliefs and attitudes on contraception and sex. Subjects were then matched and compared from baseline to 5 years later. Now, tons of other studies have established this before but few have gone to the lengths Rosenbaum has gone to make sure subjects are matched and controlled for.

Here are the findings:

  • 82% of pledgers denied ever taking the pledge.
  • No difference in the groups in terms of STIs, oral or sex behaviors, and premarital sex.
  • Pledgers had .1 fewer sex partners in the past year but did NOT differ on age of first sex experience and total number of life partners.

The main finding was this: Pledgers were less likely to use birth control or condoms and were more likely to have not used any sort of contraception in their last sexual event.

So… growing up in an extremely Christian household does not guarantee that your teenage daughter won’t get pregnant outside of marriage? Shocking? Bristol Palin, anybody?

The simple fact of the matter is organized religion doesn’t stand a chance against an oversexed society and organized mass media. This is yet another reason I don’t think the Christian church should be politicized. We aren’t good at politics–and in the end, it doesn’t really matter the way loving individuals will.

Take, for example, the fact that the Bush administration has spent over $200 million a year promoting abstenince programs, which include virginity pledges. These programs have won over the conservative right and yet they do absolutely nothing. Nothing. In fact, if anything, they’ve caused more harms in terms of  health outcomes. That $200 million a year should have been spent on condom distribution and sexual education programs that say, “Look. Here are your options. ‘Don’t have sex’ is one of them–that’s called abstinence. Some people will choose to have sex and when they do, they need to protect themselves. This is how you use a condom and this is why you should.”

The downfall of this society that every Christian seems to believe is so imminent will not be prevented by political means–the moral fabric of America will not be strengthened by fighting against minority populations. I’m not saying you shouldn’t fight for what you believe in, but I am saying that you had better be ministering to people around you with the same love, vigor, money, and (com)passion that you spend on your political causes.

Go ahead. Flame away.
Mat

Footnotes:
  1. Rosenbaum, J. Pediatrics, January 2009; vol 123: e110-e120. News release, American Academy of Pediatrics. [↩]