Some Evangelicals Link Messages Of Younger Marriage, Abstinence

Main Category: Women's Health / Gynecology
Also Included In: Sexual Health / STDs
Article Date: 12 Aug 2009 - 5:00 PDT

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Some evangelical Christian groups are promoting marrying at a younger age as a way to reconcile tensions between the religion's abstinence teachings and societal trends toward later marriage, the AP/USA Today reports. Pastors say the trend has spread from a relatively small number of churches to the broader evangelical community. Most recently, Mark Regnerus, a sociologist at the University of Texas, recently authored a Christianity Today cover story, "The Case for Young Marriage." According to Regnerus, evangelicals "have made much ado about sex" but are hurting the institution of marriage by discouraging and delaying it. "I think marriage is just a fantastic institution for people who think rightly about it, have realistic ideas about it and put the requisite work into it," he said, adding that although he disapproves of teenage marriage, marrying in the early 20s is less risky than most people believe.

According to the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, 80% of conservative Protestants ages 18 to 23 who are active in their faith and in romantic relationships are having sex. Jimmy Hester, co-founder of True Love Waits, part of the Southern Baptist Convention's LifeWay Christian Resources, said that remaining abstinent until a relatively late age should not be seen as impossible. "There are too many examples of people who have done it," he said, adding, "And not out of their own strength, even, but out of a relationship with God who gives them strength." Andrew Cherlin, a sociologist at Johns Hopkins University who studies families and public policy, said changes in the economy and women's roles in society make early marriage less attractive than it was 50 years ago for most people. In addition, some critics of early marriage contend that its promoters are trying to revert to 1950s-era gender roles (Gorski, AP/USA Today, 8/9).

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