Abstract
As the only industrialized country to legislate and federally fund abstinence-only-until-marriage programs as social policy, the United States stands out. It also stands out as the only industrialized country still embroiled in a debate over whether creationism should be taught in public schools. These two issues help reveal the dynamic interplay between religion and politics in the United States, and the role and power of conservative religious groups in shaping domestic and foreign policy, especially as it relates to education, reproductive and sexual health, and family issues. While evangelicals represent only 25 percent of the U.S. population, their influence on social policy has been significant. The recent court case in Dover, Pennsylvania (Tammy Kitzmiller et al. v. Dover Area School District et al. 2005 WL 578974 [MD Pa. 2005]) over the teaching of evolution and intelligent design and legal actions involving abstinence-only programs reveal the cultural and legal wars being waged over the role of science and religion. Conservative Christians have, in part, achieved their agenda by applying the brakes on research, education, and funding that could reduce the rates of teen pregnancy, birth, and abortion that are higher in the United States than any other industrialized country. This chapter outlines some of the court cases involving sexuality education but focuses primarily on the content, controversies, and consequences of abstinence-only approaches.
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Notes
Cynthia Dailard, “Fueled by Campaign Promises, Drive Intensifies to Boost Abstinence-Only Education Funds,” The Guttmacher Report on Public Policy no. 2 (2000): http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/tgr/03/2/gr030201.html (accessed 20 September 2010).
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Douglas Kirby, “The Impact of Abstinence and Comprehensive Sex and STD/HIV Education Programs on Adolescent Sexual Behavior,” Sexuality Research & Social Policy S, no. 3 (2008): 18–27
Jennifer Manlove, Angela R. Papillio, and Erumlkramullah, “Not Yet: Programs Designed to Delay First Sex Among Teens,” National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy (2004); “New Studies Signal Dangers of Limiting Teen Access to Birth Control Information and Services: Researchers and Medical Experts Urge New Congress and State Legislatures to Heed Data,” The Guttmacher Institute media release, January 18, 2005
Cynthia Dailard, “Sex Education: Politicians, Parents, Teachers, and Teens,” The Guttmacher Report on Public Policy’4, no.1 (2001): http://www.guttmacher.Org/pubs/tgr/04/l/gr040109.html
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C. Trenholm, B. Devaney, K Forston, L. Quay, J. Wheeler, and M. Clark, “Impacts of Four Title V, Section 510, Abstinence Education Programs: Final Report,” Mathematica Policy Research Inc (2007): http://www.mathematica-mpr.com/publications/pdfs/impactabstinence.pdf
The Waxman Report, The Content of Federally Funded Abstinence-Only Education Programs, U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Government Reform, Minority Staff Special Investigations Division (2004): http://www.democrats.reform.house.gov/Documents/2004120110215350247.pdf.
Anne Marie Murdock, “Reversing Course: The Impact of ‘Faith-Based’ Sexual Health and Family Planning Policies at Home and Abroad,” AScribe, January 17, 2006, http://newswire.ascribe.org/cgibin/behold.pl?ascribeid’20060117.083829&time’00%2005%20PT&year’2006&public’0.
John Santelli, “Abstinence-Only Education: Politics, Science, and Ethics,” Social Research 73, no. 3 (2006): 835–58
J.C. Abma, G.M. Martinez, W.D. Mosher, and B.S. Dawson, “Teenagers in the United States: Sexual Activity, Contraceptive Use, and Childbearing, 2002,” National Center for Health Statistics, Vital Health Statistics 23, no. 24 (2004): http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_23/sr23_024.pdf (accessed 20 September 2010).
The teen birth rate is also much higher in the United States, nearly: 11 times higher than in the Netherlands, five times higher than in France, and four times higher than in Germany (S. Alford and Ammiee S. Feijoo, “Adolescent Sexual Health in Europe and the U.S.-Why the Difference?” Advocates for Youth, (2000): www.advocatesforyouth.org (accessed January 30, 2006)
Jacqueline Darroch, Susheela Singh, and Jennifer J. Frost, “Differences in Teenage Pregnancy Rates Among Five Developed Countries,” Planning Perspectives 33, no. 6 (2001)
Elise Jones et al., Teenage Pregnancy in Industrialized Nations (Yale University Press, 1996); “Teenage Sexual and Reproductive Behavior in Developed Countries: Can More Progress Be Made?” The Guttmacher Institute, (2001).
Ceci Connolly, “Some Abstinence Programs Mislead Teens, Report Says,” Washington Post, December 2, 2004, sec. A01; “Texas Teens Increased Sex after Abstinence Program,” Reuters, January 31, 2005; Waxman Report, “Federally Funded Abstinence-Only.”
Ashlee Brown, “Sex Education Report Stirs Abstinence-Only Debate,” NewsHour Extra, December 13, 2004, http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/julydec04/abstinence_12-13.html (accessed January 30, 2006)
Alison J. Lin and John S. Santelli, “The Accuracy of Condom Information in Three Selected Abstinence-only Education Curricula,” Sexuality Research & Social Policy 5, no. 3 (2008): 56–70. 15. “We Are Not Your Pawns.”
Lorraine Kenny and Julie Sternburg, “Abstinence-Only in the Courts,” SIECUS Report 31, no. 6 (2003): 26–29, http://www.aclu.org/reproductiverights/sexed/16467res20031202.html#attach.
The most widely discussed “abstinence-based” program, Sex Respect, was written by Colleen K. Mast in 1983. The for-profit corporation, Respect, Inc., distributes Sex Respect and Facing Reality.
Leslie Kantor, “Attacks on Public School Sexuality Education Programs: 1993–94 School Year,” SIECUS Report, (1994); Mast 1983; “Teaching Fear: The Religious Rights’ Campaign Against Sexuality Education,” People for the American Way, (1996): http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid’2025&print’yes&units’all (accessed January 30, 2006).
Steve Sternberg, “Sex Education Stirs Controversy,” USA Today, July 11, 2002.
Leslie Unruh quoted in Steve Sternberg, “Sex Education Stirs Controversy” Jane Brody, “Abstinence-Only: Does It Work?” New York Times, June 1, 2004, sec. Fl.
Leslie Kantor, “Scared Chaste? Fear-Based Educational Curricula,” SIECUS Report 21, (1993).
Karen McCarthy Brown, “Fundamentalism and the Control of Women,” in Fundamentalism and Gender, ed. John Hawley (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994)
Courtney Howland, Religious Fundamentalisms and the Human Rights of Women (St. Martin’s Press, 1999)
Martin Marty and Scott Appleby, eds., Fundamentalisms and Society 2 (University of Chicago Press, 1993)
Martin Riesebrodt, Pious Passion: The Emergence of Modern Fundamentalism in Iran and the United States (University of California Press, 1993).
Rita Beamish. “Religious groups get chunk of AIDS money,” USA Today (2006): http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-01-29-aids-groups_x.htm (accessed 20 September, 2010).
Maggie Gallagher, “The Age of Unwed Mothers: Is Teen Pregnancy the Problem? A Report to the Nation,” Institute for American Values, (1999): Judith Stacey, “Family Values Forever,” The Nation, July 9, 2001, http://www.americanvalues.org/Teen.PDF.
Coleen Kelly Mast, Sex Respect: The Option of True Sexual Feeling: Student Handbook (Bradley, IL: Respect Incorporated, 1997).
James Robison quoted in William Martin, “God’s Angry Man,” Texas Monthly (1981): 157, 223.
Hauser, “Five Years of Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Education” Douglas Kirby, “Emerging Answers: Research Findings on Programs to Reduce Teen Pregnancy,” National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy (2001)
Manlove, Papillio, and Ikramullah, “Not Yet” “New State Evaluations Show Federally Funded Abstinence-Only Programs Have Little Effect,” Advocates for Youth (2004).
Douglas Kirby, “No Easy Answers: Research Findings on Programs to Reduce Teen Pregnancy,” National Campaign Prevent Teen Pregnancy, (1997)
Kirby, “Emerging Answers: New Research Findings on Programs to Reduce Teen Pregnancy” (2007), http://www.thenation-alcampaign.org/EA2007/EA2007_full.pdf (accessed 6 May, 2010).
James Dobson, “The Family Under Fire by the United Nations: An Urgent Message,” Focus on the Family Newsletter 1–8. (August, 1995).
See Charlotte Bunch, “Transforming Human Rights from a Feminist Perspective,” in Women Rights Human Rights, ed. Julie Peters and Andrea Wolper (New York: Routledge 1995), 14.
Women’s Convention, G.A. Res. 34/180, December 18, 1979, UN GAOR, 34th Sess., Supp. No. 46, UN Doc. A/34/46 (1979); See Donna Sullivan, “The Public/Private Distinction in International Human Rights Law,” in Peters and Wolper, Women Rights Human Rights, 126–34.
Laura O’Toole and Jessica Schiffman, eds., Gender Violence (New York University Press, 1997)
Julie Peters and Andrea Wolper, Women’s Rights, Human Rights, (Routledge, 1995).
Martin Riesebrodt, “The Comparative Study of Fundamentalism,” Lecture, Fundamentalism Project, October 30, 1989.
While the introduction of “The Parental Rights and Responsibilities Act” is one of the most recent attempts to try to regain parental control, it follows on the heels of the Hatch Amendment. See “Pupil Protection Rights Regulations,” Congressional Record, 99th Congress, 1st session, (Washington, DC, 19 February 1985), pt. 15: S1389–S1390; Anne Lewis, “Little Used Amendment Becomes Divisive, Disruptive Issue,” Phi Delta Kappan (June 1985): 667–68
Susan Rose, “The Impact of Fundamentalism on North American Education,” in Fundamentalisms and Society: Reclaiming the Sciences, Family, and Education, ed. Martin Marty and Scott Appleby, Vol. 2 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1993), 415–51.
Ceci Connolly, “Federal Funds For Abstinence Group Withheld,” Washington Post, August 23, 2005, sec. A05.
Susan Cohen, “Global Gag Rule: Exporting Antiabortion Ideology at the Expense of American Values,” The Guttmacher Report on Public Policy A, no. 3 (2000).
Doug Ireland, “US and Evil Axis—Allies for Abstinence,” The Nation, May 27, 2002; “UN Children’s Summit Hits Snag,” (Reuters) CBS World News, May 10, 2002.
Adrienne Germain quoted in Susan Cohen, “Congress and Reproductive Health: Major Actions in 2001 and a Look Ahead,” The Guttmacher Report on Public Policy 5, no. 1 (2002).
James Dao, “Over U.S. Protest, Asian Group Approves Family Planning Goals,” New York Times, December 18, 2002.
Peter Glick and Susan Fiske, “An Ambivalent Alliance: Hostile and Benevolent Sexism as Complementary Justifications for Gender Inequality,” American Psychologist 56, no. 2 (2001): 109–18.
P.S. Bearman and H. Bruckner. “Promising the Future: Virginity Pledges and First Intercourse,” American Journal of Sociology 106, no. 4 (2001): 859–912
Janie Irvine, Talk About Sex: The Battles over Sex Education in the United States (University of California, 2002).
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© 2011 Marci A. Hamilton and Mark J. Rozell
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Rose, S.D. (2011). Sex, Sin, and Social Policy: Religion and the Politics of Abstinence-Only Programs. In: Hamilton, M.A., Rozell, M.J. (eds) Fundamentalism, Politics, and the Law. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230117624_4
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