People of Faith for REAL - The Responsible Education About Life Act

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For nearly 35 years, the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice has united a broad range of religious groups in support of reproductive justice. Our members ground their commitment to reproductive rights in their deeply held convictions about religion and values, personal relationships and respect for women. Our members include the Episcopal Church, Presbyterian Church (USA), United Church of Christ, United Methodist Church, Unitarian Universalist Association, and Reform, Reconstructionist and Conservative Judaism.

The Coalition’s effective and well regarded programs and services – Clergy for Choice, All Options Clergy Counseling, the Black Church Initiative and Spiritual Youth for Reproductive Freedom – are connecting with people from all walks of life and traditions who are concerned about teen sexuality, unintended pregnancies, and the high rate of sexually transmitted diseases.

The REAL Act

The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (RCRC) supports the Responsible Education About Life Act (REAL), (H.R. 1653, S. 972), federal legislation to provide $204 million to states for programs that provide honest, medically accurate, complete, age-appropriate sex education; programs that the public almost universally supports and that studies show can be effective in helping teens stay healthy. As people of faith, we believe it is a moral imperative to provide children and teens with all the information they need to make responsible and informed decisions about their health.

WHY THE REAL ACT IS NEEDED

• Each year, there are 750,000 teen pregnancies, 82% of which are unintended.
• The sons of teen mothers are 13% more likely to end up in prison.
• Teen daughters are 22% more likely to become teen mothers themselves.
• 31% of young women become pregnant at least once before the age of 20.
• Teen mothers are less likely to complete high school.
• Each year, 9 million teens and young adults acquire an STD.

WHAT REAL WOULD DO

Provide states with much needed funding for programs that would:

• be required to be age-appropriate and medically accurate;
• teach that abstinence is the only sure way to avoid pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases and stress the value of abstinence while they also teach about the benefits of contraception and protection;
• encourage family communication about sexuality;
• refrain from teaching or promoting religion;
• teach negotiation skills for young people;
• teach young people about the effects of alcohol and drug use on responsible behavior.

OTHER SUPPORTERS FOR REAL
America’s leading medical and public health experts support responsible sex education including: The American Medical Association, the American Nurses Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Public Health Association, and the Society of Adolescent Medicine, support responsible sexuality education that includes information about both abstinence and contraception as well as leading education experts such as the National Education Association, The American Federation of Teachers, The National School Boards Association, and the American Association of School Administrators.

Polls consistently show support for balanced, responsible sex education above 80% in nearly every demographic. Some polls even show support for sex education that includes information about contraception and abstinence to be above 90%.

AS PEOPLE OF FAITH:

• We seek a society that values human life and human dignity and honors individual conscience.

• We believe the ability to make moral decisions—including about reproductive issues—is the very basis of an individual's dignity.

• We seek to correct the conditions that underlie the high rate of unintended pregnancy and abortion, through comprehensive sex education, affordable family planning services, and high-quality, accessible medical care.

• We strive to make reproductive justice a reality by furthering the medical, economic, and educational resources necessary for healthy children, families and communities.

• We believe that government must never mandate the tenets of one religious viewpoint.

For more information contact Public Policy, at The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, 202-628-7700
or The Coalition’s website at www.rcrc.org.

Revised 3/28/08

Religious Support for Sexuality Education
In recent years, hundreds of millions of federal dollars have been poured into unproven abstinence-only education for teens. While most sex education programs teach the value of abstinence, abstinence-only education does not provide basic information on reproductive health such as method of preventing sexually transmitted diseases or pregnancy. Advocates of abstinence-only education oppose reproductive choice and women’s equality and seek to make narrow religious beliefs the law of the land. Make no mistake—they don’t represent most people of faith, who overwhelmingly support providing accurate information about sexuality.

Major faith traditions representing millions of Americans support comprehensive sexuality education.  In keeping with our nation's constitutional guarantee of freedom of religion, they oppose civil laws that would impose specific religious views about sex education on all Americans.

American Baptist Churches in the U.S.A.
"We are committed to providing programs of education and support to guide and nurture persons making choices about singleness, marriage, divorce, remarriage and parenthood."

"We are committed to working with others for public policies and practices which enhance the status of families and empower them to do their unique work of nurturing succeeding generations of citizens."

From the:
American Baptist Policy Statement on Family Life No. 7036:6, June 1984

Central Conference of American Rabbis
" . . . Experience with the Reform Movement's youth programs indicates that Reform Jewish youth are as sexually active as their peers. In addition, every scientific study that breaks down participants by religion shows the same results.

"Therefore, the Central Conference of American Rabbis resolves to:
Support federal, state, provincial, and local legislation to provide for the inclusion of comprehensive and age-appropriate sexuality education in the public schools on all levels (from grade school through high school), while opposing federal, state, provincial, and local funding exclusively for abstinence-only programs."

From:
Sexuality Education, Adopted by the 114th Annual Convention of the Central Conference Of American Rabbis (organized rabbinate of Reform Judaism) March 2003

Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
"THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the General Assembly of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) meeting in Ft. Worth, Texas, July 21-25, 2007, encourage all manifestations of the church to participate in proactive prevention by:
Engaging in age appropriate health and sexuality education paired with Christian spirituality for adults and youth."

From:
General Assembly Resolution NO. 0725 (SENSE-OF-THE-ASSEMBLY) PROACTIVE PREVENTION: SEEKING COMMON GROUND ON THE ISSUE OF ABORTION

Church of the Brethren
"Education for family life is appropriate also within the public school. It is needed to supplement instruction in the home and church.  Public school instruction should include information about the body, sex organs, and the reproductive system, but the emphasis should be on values and relationships. Teachers who are responsible for this task should be well trained and themselves be worthy models of mature and responsible sexuality. The church supports responsible family-life education in the public school as long as the religious commitment of all students and residents of the community is respected.  Family-life education will not solve all sex, marriage, and family problems. The task requires the coordinated efforts of home, school, and church."

From:
Statement, 1983 Annual Conference Human Sexuality from a Christian Perspective, Family-Life Education 1983

 Episcopal Church
"Resolved, That the 73rd General Convention of the Episcopal Church strongly urge dioceses and congregations to provide a safe, hospitable environment for frank conversation with youth and young adults about human sexuality, to share and teach accurate information, and to promote dialogue, within the context of the Baptismal Covenant;"

From:
General Convention, Journal of the General Convention of…The Episcopal Church, Denver, 2000 (New York: General Convention, 2001), p. 202.

"Resolved, That we encourage the members of this Church to give strong support to responsible local public and private school programs of education in human sexuality."

From:
General Convention, Journal of the General Convention of…The Episcopal Church, Detroit, 1988 (New York: General Convention, 1989), p. 687. No. 1988-A089, 1989

Evangelical Lutheran Church of America
People of all ages need information and experience to understand and responsibly live out their sexual identity in the varied relationships of their lives -- as child or parent, sister or brother, spouse, friend, co-worker, neighbor, or stranger. This church affirms the importance of ordering society and educating youth and adults so that all might live in these relationships with mutual respect and responsibility.

Education about sexuality should emphasize monogamy, abstinence, and responsible sexual behavior, as well as practices intended to prevent the transmission of disease during sexual intercourse.

From:
Sexuality: Some Common Convictions Adopted by the Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America on November 9, 1996.

Islam
"Islam is explicit about many aspects of human sexuality. Also, based on the numerous hadith showing the Prophet's willingness to discuss these matters openly, it should be obvious that education about matters related to sex is acceptable."

"Explaining anatomy and the changes one's body experiences during puberty are essential for enabling young people to grow up with a healthy self-image. Also, in an age where sexual activity in many countries begins at an early age, Muslim adolescents must be informed to better enable them to deal with peer pressure. Sex education can be taught in a way that informs young people about sexuality in scientific and moral terms."

"Regardless of the challenges of each society, young people must be adequately informed. Also, in some Muslim communities, individuals are encouraged to marry at young ages. They need to be educated regarding sexuality prior to the marriage such that they know what to expect and can consider their options for birth control prior to consummating the marriage."

From:
An Islamic Perspective on Sexuality by Muslim Women's League September 1999

Jewish Council for Public Affairs
The JCPA believes that public schools have an obligation to provide young people with accurate and effective sexuality education and, therefore, that current, ineffective abstinence-only-until marriage
sexuality programs in public schools should be replaced by comprehensive, medically accurate, age-appropriate sexuality education that does not promote any particular religious viewpoint on sexuality.

From:
Task Force Concern on Comprehensive Sexuality Education in Public School
Adopted by the 2008 JCPA Plenum

Mennonite Church USA
"We call on pastors and congregational leaders to address issues of sexuality and appropriate sexual expression in sermons, in Sunday school classes, and in premarital counseling." 

"We commit ourselves to provide Christian education about human sexuality for both young and old and to foster understanding of various means by which pregnancy can be prevented when it is not desired."

From:
Statement on Abortion Adopted by Mennonite Church USA Delegate Assembly Atlanta, Georgia
July 2003

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
The 206th General Assembly (1994):

1. Supports the United States Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Surgeon General in planning and implementing comprehensive school health education that includes age and developmentally appropriate sexuality education in all grades as a part of human growth and development curriculum for youth.

2.  Calls upon state legislatures to require that all schools provide comprehensive kindergarten through twelfth grade human growth and development education that is complete, factual, accurate, free of bias, and does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, national origin, ancestry, creed, pregnancy, marital or parental status, sexual orientation, or physical, mental, emotional, or learning disability.

From:
1994 Statement-PCUSA, 569-570 “The Challenge of Choice: 30 Years of Affirming Reproductive Choice; Presbyterians and Roe v. Wade, 1973 to 2003” November/December 2002

Reformed Church in America
General Synod recommended the following:
To request that regional synods and classes "develop regional and local strategies for sexuality education.”

From:
Summary of General Synod Statements on Abortion (Minutes of the General Synod 1990, p. 101).

Unitarian Universalist Association
"WHEREAS the REAL Act (Responsible Education about Life) will establish the first ever federal funding stream for medically accurate, comprehensive sexuality education;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the delegates of the 2007 General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association call upon Congress to support passage of the REAL and PATHWAY Acts and urge member congregations and individual Unitarian Universalists to immediately petition congressional representatives to co-sponsor these bills;"

From:
Support Comprehensive Sexuality Education Legislation
2007 Action of Immediate Witness

"Be It Further Resolved, that the 1994 General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association urges member congregations to advocate the availability of comprehensive, objective, unbiased, up-to-date, age-appropriate, sexuality education curricula in public schools, including information about:

• The reproductive system and its functions;
• The proper use of all forms of contraception, including the option of abstinence;
• Sexually transmitted diseases, their prevention and treatments;
• Sexual abuse, sexual assault, sexual harassment, rape (including date rape), and incest, as well as their prevention and treatment through counseling, information, and resources;
• Pregnancy counseling and options including information about organizations such as Planned Parenthood and Birthright."

From:
Sexuality Education in Public Schools
1994 Resolution of Immediate Witness

United Church of Christ
IV. A STATEMENT OF CHRISTIAN CONVICTION

5. "Sex education beginning early in elementary school, as called for by the Surgeon General, is a major component of the effort to contain the AIDS pandemic. Curricula need to address the physical, social and ethical nature of human sexuality and teach skills for responsible personal decision-making."

6. "Government funding of research, service, education, treatment and prevention must become a global priority."

From:
A Pronouncement  Health and Wholeness in the Midst of a Pandemic, Adopted by the Sixteenth General Synod June 25-30, 1987

 The United Methodist Church
"We recognize the continuing need for full, positive, age-appropriate and factual sex education opportunities for children, young people, and adults. The Church offers a unique opportunity to give quality guidance and education in this area."

From:
Human Sexuality The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church 2004

"Children, youth, and adults need opportunities to discuss sexuality and learn from quality sex education materials in families, churches and schools."

From:
Pornography and Sexual Violence Adopted 1988; Revised and Adopted 2000 The Book of Resolutions of the United Methodist Church
2004

The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that United Synagogue supports comprehensive sex education;
Encourages parents to talk to their children about sexuality and sexual health in a Conservative Jewish context; Calls upon the U.S. Congress to cease funding of abstinence only education; Opposes funding of abstinence only education on federal, state, provincial and local levels; Encourages the support of the inclusion of components of age appropriate comprehensive sex education in public schools; and encourages components of age appropriate comprehensive sex education in Solomon Schechter schools, Camps Ramah, Kadima, USY and Koach.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that United Synagogue will develop age-appropriate educational materials to be used in day schools, synagogue schools, youth groups and homes.

From:
Comprehensive Sex Education (2007)
Resolution passed at the international biennial convention 2007

National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.
"The Committee assists participating denominations and organizations in:

• The life-long nurturing task of families
• Strengthening marriage, parenting and familial living through programs of education and leader development
• Addressing human sexuality throughout the life cycle
• Supporting families in a time of many cultural changes
• Providing remedial strategies for problems affecting families, preventative strategies for enhancing the health of families, and advocacy regarding public policies that impact families."

From:
Committee on Family Ministries and Human Sexuality, Education and Leadership Ministries Committee Mission