When doctrine meets data and loses spectacularly
In today’s edition of “Studies Confirm What Everyone Already Knew,” researchers have discovered that religious teachings about sexuality have about as much connection to actual behavior as a gym membership has to actual fitness. The correlation exists in theory, much less so in practice.
The great religion versus reality cage match has been ongoing for millennia, but modern statistics have given us front-row seats to the beatdown. On one side: ancient texts promising spiritual rewards for sexual restraint. On the other: humans being humans with the same consistency as water being wet. Spoiler alert: reality remains undefeated.
Religious institutions have responded to this data the way most organizations respond to inconvenient truths: by pretending it doesn’t exist and speaking louder about their original claims. It’s the organizational equivalent of closing your eyes during a scary movie and hoping the monster disappears.
What makes this particularly entertaining is watching religious leaders encounter comprehensive sex education data showing better outcomes than abstinence-only programs. The cognitive dissonance is so intense you can practically hear their worldviews creaking under the strain. Turns out that treating people like intelligent beings capable of making informed decisions works better than treating them like defective toasters in need of proper programming.
The Isle of Man religious community, bless their hearts, continues insisting that their virginity rates are somehow exceptional, despite all evidence suggesting they’re exactly as exceptional as everyone else’s. It’s like a participation trophy for purity culture: everyone gets one, and they’re all equally meaningless.
Perhaps the most telling aspect of the religion versus reality showdown is how quickly religious objections to sex education evaporate when it’s their own kids at risk. Suddenly, comprehensive information about contraception doesn’t seem quite so heretical when it’s preventing teen pregnancy in your own household. Funny how that works.
SOURCE: https://journonews.com/religion-vs-reality/
SOURCE: Bohiney Magazine (Religion vs Reality: A Statistical Bloodbath)
Gina Mann