Sex Education: The Lack Of Religious Influence

Sex. Just reading or saying the word demands attention. Sex is the one of the most important things in our species. Humans rely on sex for reproduction, affection, and pleasure. The surprising thing is about sex is the amount of responsibility and consequences involved. The largest part in the responsibility aspect is the decision of when to have sex. One of the greatest issues for a lot of people and politicians is sexual activity by teenagers. Yet through my research I believe society has lost focus on a more important issue in sexual relations. Our society has seemed to over look the moral responsibility of sex. Whether it is a religious or family based sense of morality, sex is an issue for more than just teens. I do not know of any religion that condones sex before marriage, at any age. It seems that morals of all kinds look down on premarital sex, yet it is one of the greatest epidemics that plagues modern society.
Teenagers are definitely a great concern when speaking of premarital sex. I would like to believe that society’s concern for these teens is out of a moral and religious attitude. Yet politicians as well as society seem to care more about the problems after the fact, like health and welfare costs. Ten percent of all 15 to 19 year-old females become pregnant each year. More than 80 percent of pregnant girls under age 17 who give birth and keep their babies end up on welfare, costing society a staggering $21 billion a year. Three million new cases of STDs among teens are reported each year. Every 10 seconds a teenage becomes sexually active for the first time. All the concern over pregnancy and STDs doesn’t seem to be deterring sexual activity. With out a focus on religious or moral responsibility teens will not be discouraged. I mean 55% of students surveyed had sexual intercourse with another student during their high school years. Forty-six percent of those used no form of contraception. Every 26 seconds a baby is born to an unmarried mother. Seventy-three percent of all teens say that the reason they engage in sex is due to the social pressure. Social pressure! By the age of 13, 43% of churched teens had experienced sexual intercourse and 65% of the youth had engaged in fondling breasts and/or sexual intercourse. But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion. [I Corinthians 7:9]. Seems to be that our teens do not know or care about there religious responsibilities.
Again the main focus is to help prevent teens from becoming a burden to themselves, their possible children, and society. What about the LORD? Who is going to teach the unselfish thinking of the religious responsibility to wait for marriage? “ No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. [I Corinthians 10:12-13]
Premarital sex will always be a part of society’s issues, but with proper influences beyond the physical aspects (i.e. pregnancy, STDs) we might be able to create a healthy discussion about it. I recently took a survey, asking four simple questions in regards to people’s opinions about premarital sex and religious influence. I was surprised at a lot of the responses. My four questions were:
1. What is the value of sex in a relationship, married or not? I asked this question because I wanted to know how people viewed the act of sex. I was curious as to whether people believed that sex was just a physical act of intimacy or a deeply personal form of communication. The responses were various but seem to portray three things. One was that sex is just as it is said, sex. Another was that sex represented closeness between two people. Last was that sex is a special bond for married people.
2. Is it ok to have sex before marriage? I thought this was