Amy DeRogatis

Do it for Christ

by Kel Munger

It might surprise non-evangelicals to know that books about good sex for Christians—“marriage manuals”—are extremely popular; in fact, Tim and Beverly LaHaye's 1978 book The Act of Marriage remains a bestseller in Christian bookstores. In Saving Sex: Sexuality and Salvation in American Evangelicalism (Oxford University Press; $24.95), Amy DeRogatis, a professor of religion at Michigan State University, examines these “marriage manuals” and other evangelical Christian books on sexuality to establish that evangelicals are far from being prudes. The difficulty arises in the prescriptive nature of this discussion: Sex must be done in the “correct” way. Evangelicals also have complicated rules about how to have sex. This is a fascinating look at a surprisingly large subculture that's as obsessed with sex as the rest of us.

Reviewed in the Sacramento News & Review: http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/do-it-for-christ/content?oid=15530311… (mere)

A research project / clinical exploration into the ethics and pragmatics of American Evangelical Christian sexual culture and instruction. The author would like to attempt to tie their understanding of sexuality to their understanding of salvation but in the reviewer's estimation cannot be said to have been successful to any significant degree.

The author approaches the wide variety of literature and philosophies on sexuality within American Evangelicalism from the perspective of the rationalist expert outsider. The book throughout has a clinical feel: one can perceive that the author is attempting to maintain objectivity, perhaps even attempting to be sympathetic at moments, but in general her personal loyalties seem elsewhere.

The author features analyses of purity balls/daughters as princesses/transfer from father to husband, emphasis on purity in teen literature, the Titus 2 household philosophy, Quiverfull philosophy, the Pearls, the LaHayes, and finally Bynum and Jakes. She points out the varieties of opinions on birth control, the ultimate purpose of sex, how to treat those who have been less than pure, the sacred and/or demonic sides of sexuality, and the roles of men and women in sexuality. In general the author keeps in mind that many of these groups and views are on the fringe of mainstream or are outside of it but does lavish disproportionate attention on them.

As a believer who would probably be lumped in with Evangelicalism but who has many critiques of its philosophies and subculture there are many times I want to disagree with the author because of the unstated yet present antagonism toward the entire enterprise. Yes, the Evangelical sexual ethos is absolutely a reaction to a lot of cultural trends; those cultural trends are not examined in this work with any level of critical analysis. I grant that such was not the author's purpose or intent; beyond that it would not really "work" coming from one who is an outsider as it is. Nevertheless, it is hard to disagree with the author because a lot of the views are extreme, woefully incomplete, and/or woefully imbalanced. Emphasis on purity has its merits but many dark, distressing detractions. Male sexuality is portrayed as a cultural caricature and there's little room for any male who would have performance or desire issues. Female sexuality on the whole is also expressed in the cultural caricature of the 1950s with very little room given to the idea that the woman could enjoy the sex life on her own terms. Many of the anti-feminist reactions do stray a bit too far into the patriarchy; emphasis on the procreative purpose of sexuality to the minimization of the expression of intimacy distorts a Christian view of sexuality, and its expectation ostracizes those who take the call of celibacy a la 1 Corinthians 7 very seriously. The author is given no reason to understand Christian celibacy as confidence in the resurrection and finding family in God and among His people; it remains a strange thing because it's a strange thing in the Christian evangelical subculture. The final chapter is telling: even the religiously conservative reader is left sympathizing with the more realistic albeit more worldly wisdom of Bynum and Jakes, giving space for repentance, empowering single women, as a more productive way forward.

The book has value for Evangelicals to get a chance to see how they are being viewed from as "objective" and a "sympathetic" hearing as they're going to get from The Rationalist Experts From On High. I am afraid that a more secular reader is going to come away with many false impressions because the tendency is going to exist to make much more of the fringes than is appropriate and to equate the literature as written with the views of all who would read them. Yes, there are many who read the materials described in this book and imbibe them thoroughly; I know of plenty of others who read a wide assortment and take a bit here or there. But yes, in general, the Evangelical Christian sexual ethos is a mess of contradictory philosophies with most people somewhere in the middle.

**--book received as part of early review program… (mere)