Federally-Funded Religious Abstinence Program Challenged

The Silver Ring Thing is a federally-funded program that encourages abstinence to teens. It also apparently promotes evangelical Christianity and, because of that, the ACLU is challenging the USD $1 million it has received from the taxpayers.

Yahoo reports:

In an interview two years ago with Agape Press, a conservative Christian news service, Pattyn was quoted as saying the federal funding "is a blessing, but also puts some restrictions on what the ministry can do with its sexual abstinence program." "We don't ever want to take the gospel out of our message because we believe the power for abstinence is a changed heart, not a ring on a finger," Pattyn was quoted as saying.

In its latest newsletter, the program reports on the number of youths who "made commitments to Christ" at the conclusion of recent presentations — for example, 95 at a March event in Detroit, 65 at a February event in Immokalee, Fla.

The ACLU lawsuit says youths attending the presentations are given the opportunity to divide into secular and religious groups for the final portion of the event. The suit contends that students are encouraged to choose the religious option and to enroll in a Bible-based follow-up program — and it alleges that organizers make no effort to use the federal money only for secular purposes.

The suit also complains that the silver rings sold to youths who take the abstinence pledge are inscribed with a reference to a biblical verse which says, "God wants you to be holy, so you should keep clear of all sexual sin. Then each of you will control your own body and live in holiness and honor."

The Silver Ring Thing says on their own website:

Silver Ring Thing uses high-tech lighting, video and sound displays, along with comedy and skits, to preach its abstinence-only message. At the end, it asks teens to take a vow of chastity until marriage. Those who take the vow get Bibles and silver rings as a token of the pledge.

Teens can choose to hear either faith-based or secular versions of the group's message, but Pattyn said most teens opt for the religious message. For teens who already have been sexually active, the program includes a message about committing to a "Second Virginity".

Critics have charged that abstinence-only education doesn’t work, but they are missing the point because abstinence isn't the point.

We already know that advocates of abstinence-only programs would support them even if it were proven that they don't work because preventing disease and pregnancy doesn't matter. The real point is to "win souls" for Jesus, and that's exactly what the founder of the "Silver Ring Thing" program, Denny Pattyn, has admitted:

Though the group now claims to offer a token "secular alternative" for students who want to hear about abstinence without hearing about Christianity, Silver Ring describes its mission as religious outreach to unchurched youth and Pattyn himself admitted that abstinence wasn't the goal in itself, but faith. "'Abstinence is the tool that we’re using to reach children.'"

Their mission is to reach unchurched youth (using federal funds), not promote sexual abstinence. Their goal is to win souls for Jesus (using federal funds), not decrease rates of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. They may have added a token secular aspect to the program, but it's only there in order to make the program look legal to investigators — the true goals of the program haven't been changed.

Read More:

• Separation of Church and State 101
• Church and State News
• Religion in Public Schools
• Secularism 101