What do you think?
Rate this book
Forbidden Fruit: Sex & Religion in the Lives of American Teenagers
Americans remain deeply ambivalent about teenage sexuality. Many presume that such uneasiness is rooted in religion. But how exactly does religion contribute to the formation of teenagers' sexual values and actions? What difference, if any, does religion make in adolescents' sexual attitudes and behaviors? Are abstinence pledges effective? What does it mean to be "emotionally ready" for sex? Who expresses regrets about their sexual activity and why?
Tackling these and other questions, Forbidden Fruit tells the definitive story of the sexual values and practices of American teenagers, paying particular attention to how participating in organized religion shapes sexual decision-making. Merging analyses of three national surveys with stories drawn from interviews with over 250 teenagers across America, Mark Regnerus reviews how young people learn-and what they know-about sex from their parents, schools, peers and other sources. He examines what experiences teens profess to have had, and how they make sense of these experiences in light of their own identities as religious, moral, and responsible persons.
Religion can and does matter, Regnerus finds, but religious claims are often swamped by other compelling sexual scripts. Particularly interesting is the emergence of what Regnerus calls a new middle class sexual morality which has little to do with a desire for virginity but nevertheless shuns intercourse in order to avoid risks associated with pregnancy and STDs. And strikingly, evangelical teens aren't less sexually active than their non-evangelical counterparts, they just tend to feel guiltier about it. In fact, Regnerus finds that few religious teens have internalized or are even able to articulate the sexual ethic taught by their denominations. The only-and largely ineffective-sexual message most religious teens are getting is, "Don't do it until you're married." Ultimately, Regnerus concludes, religion may influence adolescent sexual behavior, but it rarely motivates sexual decision making.
Tackling these and other questions, Forbidden Fruit tells the definitive story of the sexual values and practices of American teenagers, paying particular attention to how participating in organized religion shapes sexual decision-making. Merging analyses of three national surveys with stories drawn from interviews with over 250 teenagers across America, Mark Regnerus reviews how young people learn-and what they know-about sex from their parents, schools, peers and other sources. He examines what experiences teens profess to have had, and how they make sense of these experiences in light of their own identities as religious, moral, and responsible persons.
Religion can and does matter, Regnerus finds, but religious claims are often swamped by other compelling sexual scripts. Particularly interesting is the emergence of what Regnerus calls a new middle class sexual morality which has little to do with a desire for virginity but nevertheless shuns intercourse in order to avoid risks associated with pregnancy and STDs. And strikingly, evangelical teens aren't less sexually active than their non-evangelical counterparts, they just tend to feel guiltier about it. In fact, Regnerus finds that few religious teens have internalized or are even able to articulate the sexual ethic taught by their denominations. The only-and largely ineffective-sexual message most religious teens are getting is, "Don't do it until you're married." Ultimately, Regnerus concludes, religion may influence adolescent sexual behavior, but it rarely motivates sexual decision making.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published February 5, 2007
5 people are currently reading
144 people want to read
About the author
Mark Regnerus
7 books39 followersSociology professor at the University of Texas at Austin.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
November 13, 2010
This book was fascinating. Regnerus takes information from two very large national studies, the National Survey of Youth and Religion and National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health, as well as some info from a few smaller bits of research, and subjects it to some rather involved statistics and some rigorous criticism, resulting in the revelation of some very interesting and often surprising data. Many people tend to view the effects of religion on things such as sexual attitudes and bahaviors as simple and obvious, but Regnerus' critique shows that they are far more likely to be comlex and counterintuitive. While written with the intention of mass-consumption in mind, Regnerus writes in a fairly acedemic mannor, which makes the book dry and frankly dull at points. The breadth of data collected and the depth of balanced schaloastic inquiry, however, both make the tiresome parts well worth plowing through. Most people with an opinion on the religion/sex interaction in our society would benefit from reading this book, as just about anyone-religious, athiest, or agnostic-is likely to have at least one, and probably many, preconceptions about the whole thing overturned by the time they're finished reading.
January 29, 2009
Unfortunately the most notable thing about this book is how incredibly dry it is. The author has done little more than spell out in words the numerical findings of some surveys. It's even unclear exactly what his thesis is--something like "we don't really know why teens behave the way they do, and perhaps we never will" wouldn't be too much of an exaggeration of the tepidness with which he sets forth. Some of the statistics are interesting, fortunately, otherwise I would have given up on the book only a few pages in.
August 1, 2023
as someone with a scholarly obsession with sex, this book was particularly helpful in illuminating me to the intricacies of teenage sexual activities, motivations, restrictions, taboos, and norms.
i read this for thesis research and found the new middle class sexual ethic Regnerus describes as one of the most quintessential examples of the effect that the utilitarian market economy has had on both secular sexual activity as well as religiously-informed sexual norms and mores.
i read this for thesis research and found the new middle class sexual ethic Regnerus describes as one of the most quintessential examples of the effect that the utilitarian market economy has had on both secular sexual activity as well as religiously-informed sexual norms and mores.
January 8, 2008
sex-negative, heteronormative, judgemental, essentialist, sexist, ageist. scary.
but i'm glad i read it, it's good to know what the nutjobs are thinking.
but i'm glad i read it, it's good to know what the nutjobs are thinking.
May 9, 2021
A scholarly account of trends in modern teenage sexual behaviour. I was surprised to find that US teenage evangelicals actually have their first sexual intercourse a little earlier than the rest of the population.
September 26, 2012
Skimmed through Forbidden Fruit: Sex & Religion in the Lives of American Teenagers. I say skimmed, because it was a really dense sociological test based mostly on comprehensive surveys of teens and less dependent (or perhaps I should say not as dependent as I would have liked) on in depth interview. The topic fascinates me but the book was a bit too school-ish to capture my attention right now.
July 17, 2007
I suppose it's informative, but kind of boring, and kind of obvious.
Did you know that JEwish parents apparently talk to their children less about sex, sexual morality, and sexual health less than other types of parents?
I didn't either.
Did you know that JEwish parents apparently talk to their children less about sex, sexual morality, and sexual health less than other types of parents?
I didn't either.
January 7, 2011
This is one of the most interesting books I have read in a long time. The author is a professor at UT, so it's quite academic and dry, but the information described in the book is just fascinating. I will be thinking about the contents of this book for a long time.
Read
August 3, 2007i just picked this up at the library when I saw the cover- I'm really intrigued- all about sex, religion and teenagers.
May 27, 2011
Posting my thoughts on this book on my blog.
July 13, 2012
lots of information and statistics which made it slow reading. probably the most valuable part of the book, for me, were the chapter summaries and the reflection in the end.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews