Challenges in education; Church attitudes toward sex education

The attitudes of eight major American Protestant churches toward sex education have become more positive in the last decade. Historically the main stance of the churches has been primarily negative and judge mental. This study has clearly revealed that the estimate of a decade ago has to be greatly revised. All denominations have provisions for sex education on one or more age level. In fact I would declare that a major breakthrough is taking place in an area where unfortunately taboos have reigned for generations. And I think also a much deeper involvement as promised the speaker is Dr. J. Phillips who study of sex education and church is quite revealing more of his findings and a moment. Challenges in education presented by Duke University. Here with today's feature is Charles Prasad Dr. J.H. Phillips a

professor in the Department of Religion at Duke has found that eight of the largest protestant denominations with a membership of about 40 million. And the church school enrollment of about 21 million are showing an impressive awakening to both their responsibilities and opportunities in sex education. A change from its negative approach of the past. I would say that when it has spoken and it often has equate equally to sexual behavior with immoral behavior as it were. This of course would connote a very negative attitude toward Saks and any kind of sexual involvement. And this has resulted down through the generations and unfortunate consequences it seems to me and has led most of our young people today to feel that this that the church really has nothing significant. A way to say about sex. Thus many young people simply have not been looking to the churches for answers to their own questions in this area.

Dr. Phillips says there has been tremendous increase in instruction in the church. Sexuality is in all of the material that I reviewed described in its broad dimension. Nowhere in any material is it identified narrowly in what might be called instinctual or genital terms rather. Sexuality means the understanding of sex as an expression of the whole person through human relationships the consistent effort in all the material to have eyes toward an understanding and acceptance of sexuality as a positive means for human creativity and fulfillment. That's we've seen a radical change in the stance of the church from that of what has been described as an end to sexual to sex if any. Dr. Phillips found that the teaching materials had four common approaches. They try to

establish the Christian principles rather than to issue Biblical rules as guides for sexual behavior. They try to promote communication and open discussion between teacher student and parent child and the belief that the confrontation of alternatives provides the best climate for the learning process. The traditional preventive negative approach is minimized. And finally the ultimate end of the learning process is personal confrontation and decision making. Within the Christian context commenting on the major motivations for sex education Dr Philip says the major motivation would be to lead young people to understand their own sexuality in positive terms as a force that is God given. That's natural to them that it is good to help them understand their own sexuality in relationship to other people to the opposite sex and in particular and to develop

their sexuality in ways that will be meaningful to themselves and to society seems to me that this is a highly irresponsible approach to the whole question of sex. This is Charles Braswell with challenges and education from Duke University. This program was distributed by the national educational radio network.