Saturday, March 7, 1998

God trails fear in reasons teens give for avoiding sex

By LORETTA FULTON Senior Staff Writer

The fact that God came in Number 4 didn't surprise anyone, even if it was a little disappointing.

God's fourth-place finish came in a survey conducted among Church of Christ teenagers nationwide concerning sexual practices and attitudes. Results of the survey, conducted by Dr. Carley Dodd of Abilene Christian University, and Dr. David Lewis, formerly of ACU, were presented during ACU's 14th annual Conference on Youth and Family Ministry.

"We wished God was higher," Dodd said, but "it is good that God came in Number 4."

The rankings related to reasons teenagers abstain from sexual relationships prior to marriage. The Number 1 reason was fear of AIDS, followed by fear of contracting other diseases and fear of pregnancy before finally getting to "wouldn't want to disappoint God."

However, it should be noted that the percentages weren't far apart. Ninety-one percent of the students surveyed listed fear of AIDS as Number 1, and that compared with 90 percent ranking God's disappointment as a factor.

No matter the reason, researchers and youth ministers are delighted with the message of the findings.

"We know there is just a fear motif that motivates teenagers," Dodd said, but added "apparently religious experiences do make a difference."

Another part of the survey, conducted in November and December of last year, showed that 78 percent of the respondents between the ages of 15 and 19 said they had not had a sexual relationship.

That compared with 72 percent responding to a similar survey in 1989 and 48 percent responding in a survey of teens nationally, conducted by the National Institute of Health Studies in 1995.

Dodd said also that results are usually in the upper 60 percent for teens in all religious environments, not just Church of Christ.

"We think religion makes a difference," he said.

The survey also showed that parents make a huge difference in their children's decisions about sex, he said. Also extremely important is church life, prayer, Bible study, or other programs that "help energize or empower a child to make better choices."

That's where Buddy Mills and other youth ministers come in. Mills has been youth minister at University Church of Christ for four years and will use the data the researchers came up with.

He wasn't surprised that the fear of AIDS ranked higher than disappointing God, but he cautioned that the statistics should be tempered.

"I think that's the first thing they say, but a majority may have six or eight reasons," Mills said.

Their thinking may be that "I can can be forgiven by God, but AIDS may be a death sentence."

Mills said he will ask the teens in his church if the survey findings reflect their attitudes. He said he expects most of the teenagers at his church would list a spiritual reason among the top five reasons for abstaining from sex before marriage.

The survey results are helpful to the teens because they let them know they aren't alone, Mills said, and "it allows our kids the opportunity to be honest."

ills leads a sex education class for 9th-12th graders, staggered so that they can take it two times in four years. He is blunt and doesn't shy away from questions and attitudes of the teenagers.

"I try to take all the reasons and de-mystify them and put them into very practical terms," he said.

One thing he emphasizes is that passion is natural and God-given. He also teaches the kids that if they haven't yet felt passion, they will, and they need to be prepared to handle it.

They need to understand that they can control their sexual impulses just as they can keep themselves from cheating on a test or lying. For that reason, instilling a spiritual aspect to sex education, not just fear of disease or pregnancy, is necessary.

Otherwise, "we would just be self-indulgent animals," Mills said.

Even if God did come in Number 4 on the survey, Mills, and probably other youth ministers just like him, are happy that 78 percent of the teenagers said they had not had sex.

"It's good to hear them saying 'no' for any reason," he said.