Ruth Institute Blog

by Catherine Palmer

John Blake’s recent CCN article, “Why Young Christians Aren’t Waiting Anymore,” sparked a flurry of thousands of responses. Released in September 2011, the piece cited an article in Relevant magazine entitled “(Almost) Everyone’s Doing It,” exploring the sexual activity of Christian singles. But one finding, in particular, stood out from the miscellany: According to a December 2009 study by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, 80% of evangelical young adults (18 to 29) reported having had sex—just under the 88% statistic of unmarried adults overall. “Relevant theorizes about why it’s so hard for so many young Christians to wait, including the saturation of sex in popular culture, the prevalence of pornography and a popular ‘do what feels good philosophy,’” Blake writes. But are these listed sociocultural factors solely to blame? Or is there a concomitant reality at play here? Read more…

I admit surprise at this one.

By PAMELA PAUL

THE GIST: Contrary to popular belief, relationship woes bother men more than they bother women.

THE SOURCE: “Nonmarital Romantic Relationships and Mental Health in Early Adulthood: Does the Association Differ for Women and Men?” The Journal of Health and Social Behavior, June 2010. Read more…

I agree. And Ray Guarendi is a real top notch guy who knows his stuff. This makes sense.

by Carolyn Moynihan

Most kids are dating way too early

That’s the opinion of family psychologist Ray Guarendi, and judging from the schoolkids I see smooching on the street and at the mall he is right. Read more…

Right on! This is right up te same alley as what the Ruth Institute is doing with its It Takes a Family conferences and with Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse’s Smart Sex book.

by Carolyn Moynihan

CNN has run a story on the movement among college students to shun the hook-up culture prevalent on campuses and encourage dating and abstinence. Read more…

This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, but still, nice to see some confirmation by someone overtly stating it.

Carolyn Moynihan

A British feminist is sounding the alarm about the effects on teenagers of easy access to pornography, saying that a skewed view of sex is becoming the norm in society and the idea of intimacy is dying. Read more…

To put it simply, porn will cause the destruction of the universe! Or just marriage and real, meaningful relationships, but it’s just the start, I tell you!

Patrick F. Fagan, Mercatornet.com

By undermining marriage and family life, by assailing them on the internet, pornography is doing serious harm to young people.

“Pornography is a visual representation of sexuality which distorts an individual’s concept of the nature of conjugal relations. This, in turn, alters both sexual attitudes and behaviour. It is a major threat to marriage, to family, to children and to individual happiness. In undermining marriage it is one of the factors in undermining social stability.” Read more…