FACTS:
NO, NOT everybody is doing it. Less than half of teens reported having ever had sex as of 2005.
- Teens do not think it is embarrassing to say they are virgins. Almost three-quarters of teens don’t think it’s embarrassing to admit their virginity.
- Most teens who have had sex which they had waited. Almost 70% of teens regret having had sex as early as they did.
- Teens are eager for a strong abstinence message. Ninety-four percent of teens say they want a strong message to abstain until at least after high school.
- Teen males' approval of premarital sex is declining. Guys are less and less accepting of casual sex - the proportion of adolescent males aged 17-19 who approve of premarital sex when a couple does not plan to marry decreased from 80% in 1988 to 71% in 1995.
- College freshmen are less likely to approve of casual sex. 60% of college freshmen disagree that hooking up with a casual acquaintance is ok
Well, at Sheffield Family Life Center, this is an expectation and program they instill in several of their youth. Wednesday evening, I photographed their annual “Purity Ceremony”. Over 100 new & returning youth, teens and young adults made a pledge to God that they will practice abstinence as well as refrain from viewing any pornography until they marry.
During the ceremony, the church members who pledge to practice abstinence signed their pledge certificate, it was rolled tightly, placed in the blue bottles and sealed. The bottles will show as a reminder to those individuals about their commitment to God. On their wedding day, the bottles can be broken and shared with their spouse.
1 comment:
Not only do they make their commitment to God, they are ultimately making it to their future spouse...they pledge to stay pure from all sexual activity & pornography, not just 'sex'. Also this ceremony is the high point or celebration of our 5 week long purity emphasis. So these students are making this choice with information and ammunition to win this fight, not just making a commitment that they can't live up to because they don't know how. In addition to our purity focused youth services, they had to complete a booklet on purity on their own time...so hopefully this is a life long (until they are married) commitment for these incredible students!
Post a Comment