The Influence of Religion on Adolescent Sexuality Within North America

The Influence of Religion on Adolescent Sexuality within North America This paper discusses the influence religion has on the sexual behaviours of adolescents in North America. It looks at the decisions religious North American adolescents makes in regards to at what age they choose to engage in sexual intercourse for the first time, if they participate in premarital sex and whether or not they choose to use contraceptives compared to non-religious North American adolescents. I will argue that teens who identify with a specific religious denomination choose to engage in their first sexual experience at a later age, don’t participate in premarital sex as often and are less likely to use contraceptives compared to adolescents who do not identify with a specific religion. Religion is heavily integrated into our society, shaping our values, norms and laws and yet many religious groups believe in essentialism over social constructionism. They tend to believe that our decisions, morals and values are not shaped by our social interactions, which I find is controversial because it is quite obvious that people who identify with a specific religious denomination follow the beliefs of that denomination (Steele, 2005, p. 14). The way they think, speak and act, for many, are heavily influenced by their religious beliefs – but isn’t that the point of religion? Therefore, I think religious groups or individuals are a prime example of social constructionism at it’s finest. One aspect religions tend to take a strong stance on is sexuality (Di Mauro & Joffe, 2007, p.70). The beliefs of what is appropriate or acceptable varies from religion to religion, yet overall I would assume that, regardless of the religion, it has a big impact on when and under what circumstances adolescents choose to engage in their first sexual experiences. A study done in 2008 looked at family religiosity and adolescent sexual activity and determined how they are associated. The study found that parent religiosity was significantly related to adolescent sexual activity and possessed a direct negative correlation, meaning that an increase in parent religiousity lead to a decrease in adolescent sexual activity (Erum, Logan, Manlove & Moore, 2008, p.112). The results showed that adolescents between the ages of 12-17 with parents who did not identify as religious were sexuality active 16% more frequently than adolescents whose parents did identified with a certain religion. It was also revealed that religious teens engage in their first sexual experience 8% later than non-religious adolescents (Erum, Logan, Manlove & Moore, 2008, p.113). The reasons for these results are numerous. This specific study found one of the largest reasons was because religious adolescents have a closer connection with their families and their parents often have a stronger influence over their actions and decisions. By teens possessing a close relationship with their parents their parents are much more aware of what is going on in their life and can guide them more easily to make the decisions they believe to be right (Erum, Logan, Manlove & Moore, 2008, p.112). In many religions it is taught and believed that virginity is suppose to be saved for marriage. This belief would obviously be a prominent one in influencing a religious individual to wait for marriage before having sex, which in North America often comes at a later age – being beyond 12-17 years old (Di Mauro & Joffe, 2007, p.70). Greater than the parents influence is the peer’s influence. The individuals who reported as sexually active also reported much higher levels of their peers participating in negative behaviours. The ‘negative behaviours’ identified were smoking, getting drunk, using drugs, being involved with gangs and skipping school. Sexually active teens reported any where from 20-40% more frequently that their peers participated in negative behaviours on a regular basis (Erum, Logan, Manlove & Moore, 2008, p.110). The results of this comparison were much more significant than the comparison of having religious or non-religious parents, which leads me to believe that perhaps parent religiosity and adolescent sexuality are not correlated. There is a third factor that plays a significant role in this hypothesis, peers. Erum, Logan, Manlove & Moore were not the only ones to prove that adolescents with a religious background engage in their first sexual experience at a later age. Brewster, Cooksey Guilkey & Rindfuss also found the same result in their 1998 study. On top of that they found that “young women with ties to established denominations are less likely than their nonreligious counterparts to become sexually involved during adolescence prior to marriage” (p. 494). The reason being that pre-marital sex is often consider deviant as it violates the social norms, rules or laws associated with religion (Brock, 2003, p.IX). Adolescents, as well as any individual, tend to avoid being associated with behaviours labeled as deviant because of the negative connotations attached to it. Non-religious teens on the other hand usually do not have the same normative beliefs pressed upon them causing them not to be concerned with violating any type of norm and being labeled as deviant (Steele, 2005, p.4). Therefore it is the creation of this norm that sex should be saved for marriage that causes religious adolescents not to participate in pre-marital sex (Brock, 2003, p. X). Although religious teens choose to engage in sexual activity at a later age and are less likely to engage in pre-marital sex, it was found that they choose to use contraceptives less regularly than non-religious teens once they have chosen to engage in sexual activities (Erum, Logan, Manlove & Moore, 2008, p.114). This same result was by Brewster, Cooksey, Guilkey, & Rindfuss in 1998. The assumed reasons behind this observation are wide. The study done by Erum, Logan, Manlove and Moore done in 2008 tied this result back to adolescents reflecting the “desire to avoid sanctions associated with publicly acknowledging sexual activity, personal discomfort or ambivalence about being sexually active or disapproval of contraceptive use in some religious communities” (Erum, Logan, Manlove & Moore, 2008, p. 114). Meaning that adolescents avoid buying condoms or birth control because they are embarrassed and fear their actions will be labeled as deviant. Another reason for this result could be because of the common historical belief many religious denominations side with (Katz, 2005, p. 51). They believe that sex is reproduction purposes; therefore, there is no need for the use of contraceptives (Di Mauro & Joffe, 2007, p.70). Regardless of the decision or the reason for it, I think this is a problem. If adolescents are engaging in pre-marital sex they should be aware of contraceptives and using them on a regular basis regardless of there religion. There should be no shame or deviance attached to the use of contraceptives, instead this action should be applauded for the responsibility it holds and for being aware of the potential consequences of not using any type of contraceptives (Di Mauro & Joffe, 2007, p.80). The research explained above proves that religion does have a strong impact on the decisions adolescents make in regards to sexuality. It was found that North American religious adolescents choose to engage in sexual activity at a later age, are less likely to engage in pre-marital sex and use contraceptive les often than North American adolescents that are not affiliated with any type of religion. Regardless of the underlying reasoning, whether it be the closer ties to family, the influence of peer behaviours or the fear of being labeled as deviant, religious teens are choosing to make different decisions than non-religious teens. “Religious institutions should understand their potential role in reducing adolescent sexual activity. In addition to discouraging sex outside of marriage religious organizations may reduce risky sexual behavior by fostering opportunities for parent and teens to interact in shared activities, promoting stronger family cohesion and potentially increasing awareness of networks.” (Erum, Logan, Manlove & Moore, 2008, p.115) Along with that religious institutions must consider the main goal of sexual education “to provide youth with the knowledge they need to protect themselves against any potential harm.” By avoiding the topic of proper contraceptive use or associating its use with deviance, youth are not fairly being educated to protect themselves (Di Mauro & Joffe, 2007, p.80). Although religious groups often seem to believe in essentialism, I think the results above prove the concept of social constructionism. By making different decisions based on your religious background proves that “our understanding of the world around us, including our values, norms, attitudes, and knowledge systems, derive from our social relations” (Steele, 2005). This paper and the research found show that teens brought up in a religious environment make different choices then someone brought up in a non-religious setting proving that based on our values, norms and attitudes we make up our own specific understanding about the world around us.

Bibliography
Brewster, K.L., Cooksey, E. C., Guilkey, D. K., & Rindfuss, R. R. (1998). The Changing Impact of Religion on the Sexual and Contraceptive Behavior of Adolescent Women in the United States. Journal of Marriage and Family, 60(2), 493-504.
Brock, D. (2003). Moving Beyond Deviance: Power, Regulation, and Governmentality. Making Normal: Social Regulation in Canada. Toronto: Thomson/Nelson.
Erum, I., Logan, C., Manlove., J. & Moore, K. (2008). Pathways from Family Religiosity to Adolescent Sexual Activity and Contraceptive Use. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 40(2), 105-117. di Mauro, D., Joffe, C. (2007). The Religion Right and the Reshaping of Sexual Policy: An Examination of Reproductive Rights and Sexuality Education. Sexuality Research & Social Policy: Journal of NSRC, 4(1), 67- 92.
Katz, J. N. (2005). Constructing and Critiquing Sexual Categories. The Invention of Heterosexuality.
Randall, B. A., Rostosky, S. S., Wilcox. B. L. & Wright, M. L. C. (2004). The Impact of Religiosity on Adolescent Sexual Behaviour: A Review of the Evidence. Journal of Adolescent Research, 19(6), 677-697.
Steele, T. (2005). Introduction. Sex, Self and Society. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Uecker, J. E. (2008). Religion Pledging and the Premarital Sexual Behaviour of Married Young Adults. Journal of Marriage and Family, 70(3), 728-744.

Bibliography: Brewster, K.L., Cooksey, E. C., Guilkey, D. K., & Rindfuss, R. R. (1998). The Changing Impact of Religion on the Sexual and Contraceptive Behavior of Adolescent Women in the United States Brock, D. (2003). Moving Beyond Deviance: Power, Regulation, and Governmentality. Making Normal: Social Regulation in Canada Erum, I., Logan, C., Manlove., J. & Moore, K. (2008). Pathways from Family Religiosity to Adolescent Sexual Activity and Contraceptive Use di Mauro, D., Joffe, C. (2007). The Religion Right and the Reshaping of Sexual Policy: An Examination of Reproductive Rights and Sexuality Education Katz, J. N. (2005). Constructing and Critiquing Sexual Categories. The Invention of Heterosexuality. Randall, B. A., Rostosky, S. S., Wilcox. B. L. & Wright, M. L. C. (2004). The Impact of Religiosity on Adolescent Sexual Behaviour: A Review of the Evidence Steele, T. (2005). Introduction. Sex, Self and Society. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Uecker, J. E. (2008). Religion Pledging and the Premarital Sexual Behaviour of Married Young Adults