[Vision2020] Does Religion Protect Against Teen Childbearing?

[Art Deco]

 Does Religion Protect Against Teen Childbearing?
 How to prevent teen pregnancy by understanding female sexuality
 Published on October 3, 2012 by Nigel Barber,
Ph.D.<http://www.psychologytoday.com/experts/nigel-barber-phd>in The
Human Beast <http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-human-beast>
  <http://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/mating>

It is probably fair to say that many
religious<http://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/religion>people are
obsessed
with controlling
sexuality<http://www.amazon.com/Atheism-Will-Replace-Religion-ebook/dp/B00886ZSJ6/>(1).
In particular, they are concerned with imposing rules of acceptable
sexual conduct. So can
parents<http://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/parenting>protect their
teenage daughters against unwanted
pregnancy <http://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/pregnancy> by promoting
religion in the home?

Given that most religious communities are strongly opposed to extramarital
sexuality <http://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/sex>, one might assume
that membership in a religious community would protect teenage women
against sexual intercourse and unwanted pregnancy.

So what could possibly go wrong? Plenty it seems. To begin with, just
because religious people endorse restrictive views on sexual behavior –
popularly known as “family values” – it does not mean that they are going
to live up to them.
   .



*Religious people do not always live up to their family values*

They may do the opposite. There is a surprising amount of evidence that
religious conservatives may be over represented in the ranks of those who
prefer kinky sexual behavior (2). Much of this is anecdotal. For example,
there is a long string of well-known conservative politicians and preachers
whose penchant for casual sex undercut their public pronouncements on the
issue. Politician Larry Craig is the poster person for such scandals. (Of
course, liberal politicians have had their share of sex scandals as well).

Various scientific studies find that religious people are apt to be
involved in recreational sex. A pioneering study of sex between men in
public restrooms identified many of the participants as religious
conservatives (2). Residents of religiously conservative states also spend
more on online pornography<http://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/pornography>(3).

Just because people reject extramarital sex in principle, it does not mean
that they turn down sexual opportunities in practice. So there is no reason
to suppose that teens living in more religious states would be protected
against unwanted pregnancies.

Indeed, the scientific evidence is in the opposite direction. More
religious states have much higher teen birth rates and this is true even
with income level and abortion rates statistically controlled (4).



*Why?*

Stated religious views on sexuality are clearly inconsistent with actual
conduct. Researchers believe that efforts to repress sexual behavior can
facilitate the opposite outcomes, including sexual obsessions and
impulsive<http://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/self-control>sexual
activity (3).

Religious intolerance of teenage sexuality can have undesirable
consequences for teen birth rates. One problem is that sex
education<http://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/education>tends to be
patchy and inadequate. If teens scarcely know how they might
become pregnant, it is difficult for them to protect themselves.

One of the biggest lapses in sex education involves insufficient
instruction on contraceptive techniques. So when sexual intercourse begins,
young women from religious families are less likely to be using
contraception (4).



*How to reduce teen pregnancy*

Almost everyone agrees that teenage childbearing is harmful to young women
– and to their offspring – in terms of lost
career<http://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/career>opportunities,
earning capacity, education, health, and a variety of other
outcomes, including risk of criminal offending.

Prevention is not a simple matter but it is not rocket science either. It
is no accident that some of the most effective programs are conducted in
secular countries such as Sweden where teen births are extremely low
compared to the U.S. (5).

Sweden’s success has a number of factors (5) including:

1. Extensive sex education in public schools with a focus on responsibility.

2. Ready availability of contraceptives.

3. Virtual elimination of child poverty that is important because young
women are primed to succeed in careers and consequently less interested in
early motherhood.

Conversely, the high teen birth rates in poor states in the U.S. reflect
childhood <http://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/child-development>poverty,
poor sex education, and hostility to birth control.

Given that religious conservatives oppose adequate sex education and birth
control for teens, religion is part of the problem rather than part of the
solution.



1. Barber, N. (2012). Why atheism will replace
religion<http://www.amazon.com/Atheism-Will-Replace-Religion-ebook/dp/B00886ZSJ6/%20>:
The triumph of earthly pleasures over pie in the sky. E-book.

2. Humphreys, Laud (1970). Tearoom trade: Impersonal sex in public places.
Chicago, Aldine..

3. Edelman, Benjamin (2009). Red light states: Who buys online adult
entertainment? Journal of Economic Perspectives, 23, 209-220.

4. Strayhorn, J. M., and Strayhorn, J. C. (2009). Religiosity and teen
birth rate in the United States. Reproductive Health, 6, 14-19.

5. Barber, N. (2008). The myth of culture: Why we need a genuine natural
science of societies (pp. 92-96). Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Cambridge Scholars
Press.


-- 
Art Deco (Wayne A. Fox)
art.deco.studios at gmail.com
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