I’m presenting a series here called Exposing the Religious Right.

The introduction/first installment is here.

The second installment, discussing the motivations/starting points of the RR is here.

I’m hoping that, through this series on the Religious Right (RR), I can shed some light on the RR, especially to other conservatives and Republicans who are wary of the RR.  This is not necessarily to defend the RR and every typical policy position of the RR, but to explain that there IS a logic and practicality to the positions and activism of the RR, as opposed to mere animus and ignorance, as critics allege.

I want to wrap up the sex-related issues that the RR addresses – teen sexuality, gay-straight alliances at school, prostitution, and “transgenderism.”  Again, the foundation for all but the last of these is that the RR maintains that Sex is For Marriage.

Teen Sexuality

This is about unmarried teens.  I don’t recall seeing literature from the RR discouraging teen marriages.  I would be interested in seeing statistics regarding teens who personally identify with the RR (especially ones that save sex for marriage) and whether or not they tend to get married younger than the population as a whole.

The RR rejects the resignation of many that “teens are going to have sex anyway.”  Their position is that if parents, the religious community, the local community, the schools, and the media all impress upon teens that saving sex for marriage is the right - and best - way to go, supervise them, and equip them with coping skills, most teens will avoid sex.  The RR sees authority figures such as schools teaching sex ed without traditional morality, surveying teens about their sex experiences, distributing contraception, and facilitating abortions as encouraging teens - who are already dealing with peer pressures, media influences, and raging hormones - to engage in sexual activity.  The RR sees these things as creating titillation and an expectation of sexual activity.  Sexual activity brings distractions, broken hearts, disease, pregnancies, and other issues the RR believes underage persons should not be facing.

Gay-Straight Alliances at School

Along these lines, many in the RR also believe that a school has no business officially hosting a club for students that is focused on their sexual attractions, such as “gay-straight alliances.”  Since the RR also believes that homosexual behavior is wrong, such clubs, in the view of the RR, promote harmful behaviors.

The RR has a big problem with much that goes on in the tax funded school system, and as long as their taxes are supporting those schools, they will have a reason to speak up about their objections, whether or not they have children of their own in such schools.  However, I’ll discuss that more in depth in a subsequent posting.

Prostitution

Prostitution is one of those areas where libertarian Republicans would disagree with the RR, but in a truly libertarian world, a prostitute could not walk a street without the permission of the private party that would own the street.  The RR’s opposition to prostitution and support for legally banning it goes back to the belief that sex is for marriage, and that the practice treats the body and sex as something to be bought and sold, degrades women, facilitates the abuse of women, and in the case to streetwalkers, is a blight on a neighborhood.  Some libertarian minded people ask if a line can really be drawn between prostitution and much of modern dating (a man pays for x, a woman sleeps with him), but the RR position reverts back to “sex is for marriage,” paid or not, and prosecuting prostitution that can be proven (such as when money is exchanged) should continue.

“Transgenderism”

As for “transgenderism,” the RR believes men and boys should identify as males, and women and girls should identity as females.  The Bible states that God purposely created the two different sexes.  The RR does not support anyone dressing as the opposite sex any more than it would support someone dressing as a police officer who isn’t a police officer.  It doesn’t support someone having surgery on their genitals and getting hormone treatments to pretend to be someone of the opposite sex.  People who want do such things, the people in the RR tend to believe, need psychiatric help just like the people who want to amputate perfectly healthy limbs or believe they were born a tree trapped in a human body.