Religion and Sexuality:
Do They Matter To Teens and Young Adults?
By: Ccep
dews_ccep@yahoo.com
www.myspace.com/ccepvanity
I’m 20 years old and consider myself more spiritual than “Christian”. My personal relationship with God surpasses anything the Bible could tell me. At 16, I lost my virginity to the man who is now my husband. I have friends of different sexual orientations and I love them all.
Here is what other youths have to say about religion, sexuality, and how society views us:
12 year-old female:
“I think religion is a good thing because it helps me stay on track and do
what’s right […] I think it’s a sin for a boy to like a boy and a girl to like a
girl, but it’s their choice and I don’t have a problem with it or them […] I
think society thinks [with youth] sex is happening all the time and everyone is
doing it, but that’s not true at all.”
13 year-old male: “[I practice my religion] because I want to go to Heaven […Society] thinks they can rule our lives. Society thinks there are dumb kids and smart kids. We are smart in our own way.”
15 year-old female: “I don’t even think we have a Bible […] I need a mixture [of religions] to account for every part of me […] I hate when a belief is forced on you […] Society keeps making excuses for us and letting us run wild without beliefs or a solid foundation of morals.”
“In reality the youths are really into sex, but aren’t too familiar with the word ‘sexuality’.”
Two17 year-old females:
“I’m not completely open
about my sexuality because I don’t like people in my business. However, I am
comfortable with it.”
“I am a lesbian who believes in God. People make it seem like those two absolutely can not go hand in hand […] I think religion is trying to bully its way on to youth that are not ready to handle it, which is totally unfair […] If I am a homosexual and it is said I am going to hell, then the woman having sex out of marriage or the man always swearing should be there too.”
19 year old female: “[I lost my virginity] at 14 because my friends were having sex […] I don’t think youth care about religion. It’s more because their parents make them.”
Two 19 year old males: “Religion condemns gays… I don’t like the structure. I just like spirituality […] I’m proud to say that I am homosexual. I am completely comfortable with it. I lost my virginity at 14 with a girl.”
“I have a different relationship with God than [my parents] do, but at the same time we follow many of the same principles […] I guess I could compare religion to the veins in the human body. It isn’t the main focus of the body, but without it, life just wouldn’t be the same.”
Several 20 year-old females: “I base my life on my beliefs and it’s hard to talk about [religion] with other people without getting opposition […] I don’t agree with homosexuality or bisexuality simply because the Bible does not condone it […] Sex is all that today’s youth think about. It’s a feeling that everyone sooner or later is going to get.”
“I feel that heterosexuals
should be less homophobic towards homosexuals. I think bisexuals are just greedy
and can’t make up their mind of a male/female and there are differences between
the two to differentiate if you’d prefer a male/female. I don’t really think
anything negative when it comes to someone’s sexual orientation […] In reality
the youths are really into sex, but aren’t too familiar with the word ‘sexuality’.”
“While I still intend to get
married in the Catholic Church for purposes of pleasing family members, it means
nothing to me. With that said,
I do believe in a higher being and spirituality […] I simply feel that
differences in the way we act out our sexuality are due to either personal
choice, traumatic events or simply biology […] The key point is that sexuality
should not be forced upon someone.”
“I believe people have the right to believe in whomever and whatever they want […] I believe religion is overrated and people need to realize just because you go to church every week, that’s not going to stop your sexual desire or curiosity. When I went to Sunday School one Sunday, I was shocked that I was the only virgin in the room. And everyone else was younger than me.”
“Society keeps making excuses for us and letting us run wild without beliefs or a solid foundation of morals.”
Two 20 year-old males: “Sexuality to me is the connecting of mind, body, and spirit, total freedom and openness between two people […] I lost my virginity at 19… I wanted to know if I could really do all the things I thought I could do […] Teens have always acted on what they feel and felt curious about it throughout the history of America. We need to accept that reality and move on from there or the mistakes made by passionate but uninformed kids will continue to be made.”
“…Most of my important
decisions I pray about first […] I lost [my virginity] at 15. I think I was just
curious to see what sex felt like […Sex] should be done with someone you love
[…I feel] society is much more accepting of younger children being sexually
active.”
Two 21 year-old males: “I follow my belief system because that is what was instilled in me throughout my upbringing […] I feel as though society feels that the youth of today are a generation of lost morals. I believe that young America is perceived to have a weak faith system and prioritize sex above most else.”
“I practice my religion for spiritual growth and to gain everlasting life […]
I can't follow the things of the world. There's only one person I should follow and that's Christ […] The Bible doesn't support homosexuality, so there should not be gay marriages […] If [the youth] see majority of the music and TV networks advertising pimps, players, and hoes, then that's what [the youth are] going to do.”