Conservative States Have Higher Teen Birth Rates

More opposition to contraception and more teen marriages may be causes.

SUMMARY: States with more conservative religious beliefs appear to have higher rates of teen births, according to a new study. Mississippi headed the lists for both conservative religious beliefs and teen birth rates. Data from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was used in the study.

Study researcher Joseph Strayhom of Drexel U. and the U. of Pittsburgh could only speculate on the reasons for this link because the results of the study don't say anything about cause and effect. "We conjecture that religious communities in the U.S. are more successful in discouraging the use of contraception among their teenagers than they are in discouraging sexual intercourse itself," Strayhom said.

The researchers say they accounted for abortion rates in their study, even though the results showed more abortions among teenagers in less religious states. Other factors that could affect the results include income levels, ethnic backgrounds, and earlier marriages. In the south where people tend to be more religious, there is a higher rate of marriage among teenagers.

(Picture from Wikimedia Commons)

To read the entire article, click on this link to LIVE SCIENCE.

COMMENT: At first glance, the relationship between more conservative religious beliefs and higher teen birth rates may seem an embarrassment for Bible-based Christianity. But the possible reasons for this relationship--more resistance to abortions and contraception as well as earlier marriages--puts it into a different light.

Still, births to unmarried women are never a good thing. In regard to teens, the temptations that come to young girls are powerful. Peers, television shows and movies, the internet, even cell phones offer plenty of bad advice and avenues to indecent behavior.

Parents, teachers, counselors and even society as a whole have their work cut out for them. Certainly churches should not be sitting on the sidelines. I believe the creation account as well as the Ten Commandments should be stressed so that young people can see that God intends that a marriage between a man and a woman should precede sexual activity. I believe the church should also consider teaching creation science so that every young man and woman can understand he/she is not some slightly more advanced animal who has the freedom to act like one.

May God bless our young people and those who work with them, especially in showing them the road to heaven which comes only through faith in Jesus Christ, our Savior.

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QUESTION OF THE DAY

What percent of the Earth’s water is fresh water?

About 3%.

Source: Live Science

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