This article discusses the effectiveness evangelicals have had on teen pregnancy. One fact that is not discussed is the socioeconomic status of most evangelicals. My observation is that they are lower working class/working poor (I originally typed /middle class) and that opens up another can of worms. Having had a child as a teenager, I can testify to the (I originally typed its) debilitating economic effects on the child and mother. Glad to see that others are looking at its effect too. When you are talking about whether or not a teen will get pregnant (I originally typed teen pregnancy) you need to examine the economic class too (I did not say this originally). Poverty is a huge indicator of pregnancy in an actively sexual teen (guess which class has the most evangelicals).
When I was in AmeriCorps we tried to bring a program that helped teen girls explore their self-image in a way that precluded them from acting out sexually. Only one teen girl came back with a signed permission slip. The school received lots of calls condemning our attempt at helping these girls see beyond their bodies as a way of expressing themselves. I would have signed 100 slips of paper to get my daughter to one of those events. Enough said. Just read the dang article.
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