The Sexual Attitudes of Religiously Committed Canadian Youth Within the Convention of Atlantic Baptist Churches

Abstract

This study examines the responses of 645 (257 males and 388 females) religiously committed (attending Sunday church services at least monthly) Canadian Baptist youth (between the ages of 14 and 18 years) to the five-item Index of Sexual Attitudes. The data demonstrated that the majority of thee young people continued to espouse traditional Christian moral values, although a significant minority of them had adopted more liberal perspectives. Oral sex before marriage was judged to be usually or always wrong by 70% of the males and 75% of the females. Sexual intercourse prior to marriage was judged to be usually or always wrong by 82% of the males and 83% of the females. Sexual relations between two individuals of the same sex was judged to be usually or always wrong by 90% of the males and 81% of the females. Abortion was judged to be usually or always wrong by 83% of the males and 90% of the females. Cohabitation was regarded as more readily acceptable: 54% of the males and 61% of the females regarded an unmarried couple living together as usually or always wrong. Such high levels of endorsement for traditional Christian moral values seem to stand in stark contract with the values of many secular youth.