Exploring The Damage Caused by the Evangelical Purity Culture

What exactly is the motivation, and the theology, behind the evangelical so-called “purity culture”? Does it actually work in reality, or does it result in psychological and sexual harm being done to those who follow its tenets? And finally, we want to know: has it contributed to creating a culture of sexual abuse in the church?

According to Joe Carter of The Gospel Coalition, a helpful definition of the so-called “evangelical purity culture” is as follows. He states that “‘Purity culture’ is the term often used for the evangelical movement that attempts to promote a biblical view of purity (1 Thess. 4:3–8) by discouraging dating and promoting virginity before marriage, often through the use of tools such as purity pledges, symbols such as purity rings, and events such as purity balls.”

The purity culture certainly seems to be an evangelical phenomenon, particularly in the United States. Christian celebrities such as Justin Bieber and Hailey Baldwin announced they would wait until marriage to have sex; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and his then-fiancée Ciara spoke often in public about their abstinence prior to marriage, as did model Ashley Graham and her then-fiancée Justin Ervin.

Sexual abstinence teaching has been popularized by such movements as The Silver Ring Thing…