When Values Clash with Faith: Sex-Education in Religious Based Schools”

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Recommended: Importance of gender education among teenagers

Today many teenagers are very sexually active. In fact, According to the Center of Disease Control, 47% of teenagers have reported being sexually active (http://www.cdc.gov 2013). These statistics illustrate the vital need for sexual education to be taught in all types of schools, and the importance of informing the teens on the risk of their behaviors, since this is where teenagers spend most of their time. In January 2014, over half of the states are required by the federal government to teach sexual education (http://www.ncsl.org 2014). Unfortunately, in many religious based schools, students are not instructed in sexual education. In fact they promote abstinence until marriage. According to “School-Based Health Clinics and Sex Education - A Christian View of Sex Education in Schools” The students are taught on a “government-funded abstinence-only-until-marriage education curricula”, and it’s said to “contain false and misleading "medical" statements and teach religious propaganda and theologically driven gender stereotypes to our children.” (http://www.probe.org 2012). Consequently the importance of such curriculum being present in religious based schools is shown through the teenager’s general knowledge of the risk of being sexually active, Sexually Transmitted diseases and Pregnancy prevention , and the studies on the effectiveness of sexual education in schools are topics that are often not taught in religion based schools thus leaving the students at risk. Teenagers are exposed to sex on a daily basis, whether it’s from peers or through social media. Ignorance on the subject has been a huge problem in the community especially when it comes to unplanned parenthood and the contraction of sexually transmitted diseases althou... ... middle of paper ... .... 2012. Web. 13 Apr. 2014. McKeon, Brigid. "Effective Sex Education." Effective Sex Education. Advocates for Youth, 2006. Web. 13 Apr. 2014. "Religious Control of Sex Education Harms Children." Secular Coalition for America. Secular Coalition for America, 2012. Web. 13 Apr. 2014. "School-Based Health Clinics and Sex Education - A Christian View of Sex Education in Schools - Probe Ministries." School-Based Health Clinics and Sex Education - A Christian View of Sex Education in Schools - Probe Ministries. Probe Ministries, 1998. Web. 13 Apr. 2014. "Sexual Risk Behavior: HIV, STD, & Teen Pregnancy Prevention." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 26 Aug. 2013. Web. 12 Apr. 2014. "State Policies on Sex Education in Schools." State Policies on Sex Education in Schools. Guttmacher Institute, 2014. Web. 11 Apr. 2014.

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