Adolescent Sex, Religion, Education, and Social Class

When Sarah Palin announced in September 2008 that her 17-year-old daughter Bristol was pregnant and was going to marry the father of the baby, it was no big deal to conservative and evangelical Christians. Those Christians are quite used to hearing about pregnancies among their unmarried and underage children. This ho-hum attitude contrasts sharply with the attitudes of better educated, more affluent liberals who would consider such pregnancy a disaster. The explanation is found in a series of surveys that show a major difference in adolescent sexual behavior between the children of conservative and evangelical Christians and the children of better educated social liberals.

In a governmental survey called “The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health” (Add Health), and in studies conducted by Mark Regnerus, a sociologist at the University of Texas, and Janet E. Rosenbaum of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, it was found that conservative and evangelical Christian teenagers are more sexually active than mainline Protestants, Jews, and even Mormons. On average, white evangelical Protestants begin having sex shortly after turning sixteen, which is sooner than most other groups. Moreover, because of the widespread conservative and evangelical Christian belief that contraception is morally wrong, those teenagers were more likely than the other groups to become pregnant and contract sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

The surveys found that abstinence-only sex education is a total failure in stopping premarital sex, unwanted pregnancy, and STDs. Bush has made it governmental policy in the United States and around the world to support the teaching of abstinence-only sex education. According to a 2001 estimate, two-and-a-half million young people have taken a pledge to remain celibate until marriage. This has been done under the auspices of movements such as “True Love Waits” and “The Silver Ring Thing.” Sometimes the pledges are made at “purity balls” where girls in ball gowns exchange rings with their fathers who vow to help them remain virgins until they marry. The surveys show that 82% of those who take such pledges end up having sex before marriage. In addition, other surveys show that communities with high rates of pledging also have higher rates of pregnancy and STDs.

Bristol Palin gave birth to a boy on Sunday, December 28, 2008, but so far, Bristol has not married the father. The problem with teenage marriages is that they lead to higher rates of divorce by conservative and evangelical Christians than among other Christians, Jews, and Mormons. Social scientists have noted that the states with the lowest age of marriage have the highest rates of divorce.

In 2004 the states with the lowest median age of marriage were the (then) red states of Arkansas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Utah, and Idaho. The states with the highest age at marriage were New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Rhode Island. The highest rates of divorce were in the red states of Arkansas, Idaho, Wyoming, West Virginia, and Nevada. The lowest rates of divorce were in the blue states of Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and New Jersey. The highest teen-pregnancy rates were in the red states of Mississippi, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada. The lowest were in Vermont, New Hampshire, Minnesota, and Maine.

The surveys also showed that there is an important social class and educational aspect to adolescent sex. The more affluent, better educated blue state teenagers are more cautious about having premarital sex than conservative and evangelical youths. They are more likely to use contraception when having sex, and are less likely to get pregnant or infected with STDs. Blue state young people are more likely to postpone marriage and children until after they reach emotional and financial maturity.

According to Mark Regnerus: “They (blue state teens) are interested in remaining free from the burden of teenage pregnancy and the sorrows and embarrassments of sexually transmitted diseases. They perceive a bright future for themselves, one with college, advanced degrees, a career, and a family.”