Peering through stained glass windows: how religion colors U.S. adolescents' sexuality

Journal of Sex Research, Feb, 2008 by Patricia Goodson, Jing Zhang

Forbidden Fruit: Sex & Religion in the Lives of American Teenagers By Mark Regnerus. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007, 290 pages. Hardcover, $25.00.

Not since the release of Jeffrey Moran's Teaching Sex (Moran, 2000), and Janice Irvine's Talk about Sex (Irvine, 2002), has such a comprehensive treatment of adolescent sexuality--as we see in Forbidden Fruit--been offered to the public, in language that so clearly translates scientific findings into meaningful and practical accounts. Forbidden Fruit distinguishes itself from these publications, however, on two accounts. Not only does it sidestep one of researchers' and educators' favorite topics regarding adolescent sexuality--sex education--but also it tackles, instead, the subject-matter social science researchers cherish the least: if and how religion might influence or shape adolescent sexual attitudes or behaviors. Forbidden Fruit also distinguishes itself by its language, as it employs a nearly narrative writing style. Regnerus's text, despite the heavy dose of social science, engages more than just readers' intellects. It appeals equally to readers' emotions and personal experiences growing up. To accomplish such evocative tone, Regnerus employs two important strategies: First, he transcribes, verbatim, adolescents' retelling of their own life stories. For instance, an 18-year-old, non-church-attending Black Protestant from New York recalls his first sexual experience:

   When it really happens, it's not all that important. 'Cause you're
   like, man, like, it's, like, it's, I'm not saying it's bad or
   nothing. I'm just saying that it's like, let me see. It's like ...
   the NBA finals. Like, oh yeah, it's gonna be a real important
   thing. And then the Lakers come through and sweep everybody and
   it's not really that important. That's basically how it is. (p.
   130)

Second, Regnerus anticipates the readers' most pressing concerns at every turn of the text, by consistently asking and answering the questions, "So what?" "What does it all mean?" Given such unique communication ability, Regnerus's hope that the book might prove "enlightening and useful" for parents, youth workers, and educators, is certainly realistic, which is more than one can say about most books written by social scientists and published through academic presses! We found Regnerus's ability to craft his text--as meticulously and precisely as an artisan solders myriad tiny glass pieces into a beautiful mosaic--simply put, masterful!

In part, this mastery consists of Regnerus's sensitivity to anticipate readers' potential discomfort with, and questions about, the topic of religion and sexuality. Thus, he begins the text by asking, "So why ruin a good social scientific study of adolescent sexual behavior by focusing on religion?" (p. 5). His answers build a picture, piece by piece, argument by argument, of why religious variables may, indeed, positively contribute to sexual health. In a nutshell, he offers three arguments. First, sex and religion are elemental life pursuits ("not mere window dressings but close to the heart of what it means to be human," p. 6). Second, religion is not merely an "epiphenomenon" as many social scientists would prefer to characterize it, but "remains a primary socialization agent of children and adolescents" (p. 6). Third, human sexuality enjoys--as a social and human phenomenon--more religious relevance "than many other topics" (p. 7).

Once the rationale for focusing on religion and sex is in place, Regenerus presents the purpose of the book in several iterations in the introduction chapter. The best rendition of a purpose statement is this one, capturing the essential themes he addresses throughout the text:

   There are numerous ways in which religion might affect adolescent
   sexuality and its practice.... Yet how religion contributes to
   sexual values and behaviors in reality is not well understood. We
   should not presume that religion shapes how adolescents understand
   and express their sexuality simply by observing that some youth are
   religious. In other words, I want to know how consequential
   religion is among them.... Does religion matter when adolescents
   make sexual decisions and take actions? How so? If not, why not?
   (p. 5)

To answer these questions, Regnerus relies heavily on representative data from the National Study of Youth and Religion (NSYR; a project Regnerus coordinates) and from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), while occasionally making use of information from the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth, the National Youth Risk Behavior Survey, and Monitoring the Future. The reader will find plenty of statistical descriptions of the samples in these surveys, along with occasional statistical modeling of the data (e.g., Appendix A is exclusively dedicated to regression models). Yet, while the most technical aspects of the studies are left to the appendices, Regnerus threads verbatim segments of interviews with adolescents throughout the main text, making not only the author's main points come to life, but also rendering teens' perspectives even more valid.