Americans remain deeply ambivalent about teenage sexuality. Many presume
that such uneasiness is rooted in religion. But how exactly does religion
contribute to the formation of teenagers' sexual values and actions?
What difference, if any, does religion make in adolescents' sexual
attitudes and behaviors? Are abstinence pledges effective? What does it
mean to be "emotionally ready" for sex? Who expresses regrets about their
sexual activity and why?
Tackling these and other questions, Forbidden Fruit tells the definitive
story of the sexual values and practices of American teenagers, paying
particular attention to how participating in organized religion shapes
sexual decision-making. Merging analyses of three national surveys with
stories drawn from interviews with over 250 teenagers across America,
Mark Regnerus reviews how young people learn .and what they know.about
sex from their parents, schools, peers and other sources. He examines
what experiences teens profess to have had, and how they make sense of
these experiences in light of their own identities as religious, moral,
and responsible persons.
Religion can and does matter, Regnerus finds, but religious claims are
often swamped by other compelling sexual scripts. Particularly
interesting is the emergence of what Regnerus calls a new middle class
sexual morality which has little to do with a desire for virginity but
nevertheless shuns intercourse in order to avoid risks associated with
pregnancy and STDs. And strikingly, evangelical teens aren't less
sexually active than their non-evangelical counterparts, they just tend
to feel guiltier about it. In fact, Regnerus finds that few religious
teens have internalized or are even able to articulate the sexual ethic
taught by their denominations. The only.and largely ineffective-.sexual
message most religious teens are getting is, "Don't do it until you're
married." Ultimately, Regnerus concludes, religion may influence
adolescent sexual behavior, but it rarely motivates sexual decision
making.
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