Flashback - A Call to Action
by Sarah GibbSynapse 1995
Blast from the Past! This article was published in Synapse ten years ago. My, how times have (somewhat) changed...
Activist members of radical right-wing Christian groups across the United States are working to change the way that Sexuality Education is presented in the public schools. The classroom has become the latest battleground in the religious right's ideological war with America. Youth are the prize they seek. Many powerful religious and political leaders, parents, activists, educators, and school board members associated with the religious right are working to eliminate sexuality education curricula in the public schools and replace them with "abstinence-only" curricula that teach abstinence and heterosexuality as the only options for teenagers. Abstinence-only curricula are largely fear-based, and do not teach youth to cope with the realities of sexuality. They deny the fact that humans, including teenagers have valid sexual feelings. They cast pre-marital sex, masturbation, single parenthood, abortion, and homosexuality in a negative light, lacing these subjects with fear, guilt, and hatred. Many of these curricula do not mention rape, sexual abuse, and sexual exploitation—it's as if these problems don't exists. The religious right is very organized. Their relentless strategic campaigning and fund-raising has resulted in the alteration of many school districts' sexuality education curricula to cater to the right's narrow interpretation of sexuality, and have succeeded in placing their abstinence-only curricula in a few thousand schools and churches nationwide. Fortunately, many Americans support comprehensive sexuality education. They are by far greater in number than those supporting abstinence-only curricula, yet the religious right continues to have its way in school district after school district. We must stop being complacent while our values are trodden upon. We must educate ourselves, define our beliefs, and take action on what we believe in!
Comprehensive sexuality education teaches students the skills to make their own decisions about their sexuality. This kind of education is useful for all students, whether or not they are sexually active, whether or not they plan to marry, whether or not they are heterosexual, whether or not they are Christian. An abstinence-only curriculum is not going to help the teenager who doesn't know how to prevent transmission of HIV and is becoming involved in a sexual relationship. Abstinence-only is not going to help the child who blames himself for the sexual abuse he receives. Abstinence-only does not deal with the realities and complexities of human psychology and sexuality. It does not prepare young people to grow into sexually healthy adults. And by avoiding discussion of contraception and disease prevention for the sexually active, it does not prepare students to survive.
The core values of the Young Religious Unitarian Universalists (YRUUs) and the Unitarian Universalist Association call us to take action to defend the right of youth to comprehensive, reality-based sexuality education. Because we believe in "the inherent worth and dignity of every person," we honor the value of loving relationships, regardless of the genders of the people involved. We are called to challenge actions by the religious right that use the public schools to devalue and degrade people who are "different"—people who do not share the same religion or values as the radical religious right. Because we respect "the right of conscience," we acknowledge that students should not be pressured into ways of thinking that directly contradict their values. Because we believe in "justice, equity, and compassion in human relations," we seek to promote equality and harmony between the sexes. We promote curricula that address the emotional responsibility of relationship. We advocate sexuality education that provides a safe environment for youth to learn, question, and explore—an environment in which youth can affirm their own beliefs and act responsibly.
The Unitarian Universalist Association, in conjunction with the United Church of Christ, is currently developing a comprehensive sexuality education curriculum to be used in the churches of both denominations, as well as in secular settings. The curriculum will include age-appropriate education from kindergarten to adulthood. This new curriculum won't be available for at least three more years. Currently, the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) curriculum, "About Your Sexuality" is taught to numerous junior high-aged Unitarian Universalist (UU) youth by trained UU leaders. Though the audio-visuals are a bit outdated—with pictures of youth and adults with early-1970s hairdos and bell-bottoms—the curriculum is right-on in helping youth foster healthy sexual attitudes and practices.
We cannot let the radical religious right speak for all religious people. And we cannot let only adults speak for youth. As religious youth, we can make a difference. Youth are the most eloquent and powerful youth advocates. This summer, at the UUA's General Assembly in Forth Worth, TX, the Youth Caucus wrote, sponsored, and presented their own resolution to the General Assembly, a body comprised of delegates from UU churches across the continent. When the resolution "Sexuality Education in Public Schools," was presented, the adults were moved. Afterwards, thunderous applause and a standing ovation immediately broke out from the overwhelmingly adult audience. Many of the adults that I spoke to were in awe. The power of youth, standing together, speaking for youth, is immense and should never be underestimated. Get the facts. Define what you believe in. Speak out!
For more information contact youth @ uua.org.
Last updated on Friday, April 18, 2008.
