AN INTRODUCTION TO THE PURITY CULTURE

By Shantal Palacios

Some time ago, in the middle of a chat with a friend, a topic came up that was unknown to me but that had directly or indirectly affected my life as a Christian woman. She told me about the so-called Purity Culture that had arisen in the evangelical church in the United States a few decades ago and that to this day is quite influential. While the concept of the Purity Culture was completely new to me, I was able to identify that several of the characteristics it has and the teachings it imparts had been adopted in some way or another not only in the United States where it originated, but also in my country, Bolivia, and I have no doubt that it has also had an influence in many other Latin American countries. 

If you are one of those people who, like me, did not previously know what the “Purity Culture” is and the influence it still has on youth around the world, I invite you to read the following exposition about its origin, characteristics, influence, and criticism it received throughout all these years. It is very likely that in the course of reading you will recognize some of the teachings that have been imparted to you in the church, or at home, and likely that you will relate to the positive and/or negative criticisms that have been given to the movement.

Let us begin!

What is the Purity Culture?

The Purity Culture is a movement that emerges from the Evangelical Church in the United States, gaining strength since its inception three decades ago, generating not only principles for sexual purity based on morality from a Christian-biblical worldview, but also gaining countless criticisms both outside the Evangelical Christian Church and within. All this as a result of the impact it had on the generation of that time and which also had a scope in time and space until today.

However, to recognize the importance that this movement had in its heyday and the teachings that persist to this day, whether beneficial or harmful, it is necessary to take a brief overview of the main aspects and characteristics that make up this movement.

Historical, Cultural, and Religious Context

The birth of the Culture of Purity dates back to the late 80s in response to the sexual immorality derived from the initiation of the “Hippie” movement and consequently the sexual revolution of the 1960s. This manifestation of sexual liberalism promoted both free love, pro-choice activism, and birth control, as well as the use of the famous contraceptive pill. The result of these practices caused increased numbers and percentages of multiple sexual partners, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), teenage pregnancy, and the emotional consequences derived from all this. Thus, the Evangelical Christian Church decided to face the attack to which the traditional family was subjected, specifically within the evangelical community, emphasizing teachings that will lead to the application of sexual purity through different “methods” of teaching and dissemination of them. 

Key Features

The Purity Culture promotes abstinence before marriage and protects sexual relationships within heterosexual marriages solely. Likewise, it categorizes as sinful any sexual act that takes place outside of marriage, thus avoiding other sources of influence on sexuality that are not based on these biblical principles. This large structure that aimed for the protection of sexuality and the nuclear family was advancing and facing each of the attacks presented over time by the sexual revolution, for example, standing for the rejection of abortion and its legalization and also, confronting the well-known LGBTIQ movement that is growing slowly. 

Likewise, within the Church, sexual education programs were implemented, with the well-known promises of purity, where adolescent children made a public promise to their parents to remain sexually pure until marriage. 

Accessories such as purity rings were also developed, used as an external symbol of those who made the promise of purity, and the spheres of purity that were deposited inside a container each time the person overcame a sexual temptation, thus saving themselves for their future spouse and showing him/her once engaged the entire cluster of spheres as proof of their purity. This entire protocol of sexual protection for minors became an increasingly solid custom within the churches in the United States. 

One of the most visible promoters of this movement was Joshua Harris with his book “I Kissed Dating Goodbye,” written in 1997. Harris with only 21 years and without having been in any amorous relationship wrote this book, selling millions of copies and thus having a great influence on countless single people and couples as well. His book focuses on presenting a set of ideas and tips for healthier, more biblical dating in order to cope with the casual and often purposeless dating of the time. Thus, the term “courtship” became known as an alternative to “dating.” 

Richard Ross is also an outstanding author in the context of the Purity Culture, as the founder of the organization “True Love Waits” in 1993, which aimed to encourage adolescents to abstain sexually before marriage. Both representatives mentioned, received both positive and negative criticism for the great impact that their teachings had on the society of that time and until today, but the negative comments took more weight in the media.

In the case of Joshua Harris, after almost two decades of the launch of his book, he ordered to discontinue the publication, then apologizing to all those negatively affected by the message expressed in his book. However, in an interview, he describes the true approach he wanted to give to the message and clarifies that it was mismanaged by many of his readers. The “True Love Waits” Organization, on the other hand, continues to have followers from some evangelical circles, despite the negative criticism they received and which was also visible in the media. 

Effects on youth

Among the outstanding positive effects of the Culture of Purity, is the decrease in cases of sexually transmitted diseases, mentioned above among the results brought by the sexual revolution. It is important to note that this movement encouraged the protection of the nuclear family, the respect of adolescents and young people towards their own bodies and that of others, to have control and dominance over their own bodies, to develop a more respectful and intentional vision when starting a romantic relationship, and even to set healthy limits within it.  

However, the negative criticisms of this movement were very notable and numerous since people outside the evangelical Christian sphere defined this movement as retrograde and discriminatory. There were also comments from people who grew up within the Purity Culture, who were part of the evangelical Christian church, who in interviews claim to have been emotionally damaged by the movement, presenting as the main characteristics mostly: shame and confusion.

The main problem lies in the approach that people receive from these teachings, mainly women since they were the ones most affected by the Purity Culture. Proof of this are the numerous testimonies from women, who tell of the negative effects they experienced with this culture. There are testimonies that expose that the movement generates superstitious ideas since it falsely promises that if the method of sexual purity is complied with, the couple will enjoy a healthy, adequate, and almost perfect relationship when they get married, but when many begin to experience the opposite – repudiation of sex and everything related to sexuality for example – as a result of the teachings imparted by the movement, they get a sense of disappointment and at the same time the lack of a biblical focus is made more notorious. 

As a result, many people decided to move away from the faith, religion, and evangelical churches to escape so much pressure and shame on their sexuality, others sought to approach God through a more personal means avoiding ecclesiastical environments. Comments and testimonies also emerged that relate an exaggerated emphasis on these purity teachings, which implied that sexual purity is synonymous with a greater spirituality and even an additional requirement for salvation, which is far from biblical truths. However, the problem that directly affected women was that they were receiving little or wrongful instruction about their sexuality since women’s sexual drive was not recognized as something true and important as it is in the case of men. On the other hand, women were made the carriers of the responsibility of not causing men to fall into sin or being sexually tempted. Many women admit that “it was a very heavy burden.” The truth is that this type of culture has spread to many countries and persists to this day within the Protestant Christian Churches, at different levels, but in many cases with the same approach. 

It is evident that although the Purity Culture imparts biblical teaching regarding sexual purity, it also undermines sexuality or even omits biblical truths about healthy sexuality within and outside of marriage. Its vision is not a biblical vision of sanctification and true purity, which starts from the heart of the Christian and should be focused on pleasing Christ as a priority, but is based on a set of external and superficial methods that, lacking biblical teachings that complement and balance these methods, are no more than customs incapable of truly transforming lives.

It is clear that you cannot take control of the direction to which the learners will direct any teaching and in this case, the sanction should not fall solely on the presenters of the movement. Therefore, it is the responsibility of each one to discern the type of teaching that we will adopt, and in this particular case, to search in the Scriptures what is the true purity to which Christ has called us, it is not one that brings frustration, trauma, and fear; but one that produces delight, freedom, and peace in the heart.

“I delight to do your will, O my God;
your law is within my heart.”” 

Psalm 40: 8, NLT

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References:

• Joe Carter. 2019. The FAQs: What You Should Know About Purity Culture.
• Richard Ostling. 2019. What is Purity Culture?
• Danielle Latour. 2021. Unbuckling Purity Culture’s Chastity Belt [Archivo PDF].
• Christine E. 2019. Crouse-DickPromoting sexual purity in a call-out culture era: One purity movement leader’s strategies in navigating critiques of the #MeToo/#ChurchToo movement [Archivo PDF].
• Erin Olson. 2019. Deconstructing Purity Culture: A Review of Pure [Archivo PDF].
• Sheetal Malhotra, M.B.B.S., M.S. 2008. Impact of the Sexual Revolution: Consequences of Risky Sexual Behaviors. Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons, Vol. 13 Nro. 3.
• Olivia Stanley. 2020. A Personal Encounter with Purity Culture  [Archivo PDF].