Religious group searches for ways to talk to teens about sex
Submitted on July 14, 2005 - 12:00am.
Aleea S. Slappy - Summer 2005
WASHINGTON – As the world speaks out about sex and sexuality, the black church is recognizing its role and speaking out – although the message is not always clear.
Whether the topic was HIV/AIDS, reproductive health, teen pregnancy prevention or domestic violence, the ninth annual sexuality summit “Breaking the Silence: Restoring Sacred Relationships” had a workshop to discuss it. The summit was sponsored by the Black Church Initiative of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice and was held at the Howard University School of Divinity.
“Sexuality was a taboo subject in African-American churches. There were high rates of teen pregnancy and denial about HIV in the black community,” said Marjorie Signer, the coalition's director of communications. “We wanted to talk about it within the community.”
Whether the topic was HIV/AIDS, reproductive health, teen pregnancy prevention or domestic violence, the ninth annual sexuality summit “Breaking the Silence: Restoring Sacred Relationships” had a workshop to discuss it. The summit was sponsored by the Black Church Initiative of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice and was held at the Howard University School of Divinity.
“Sexuality was a taboo subject in African-American churches. There were high rates of teen pregnancy and denial about HIV in the black community,” said Marjorie Signer, the coalition's director of communications. “We wanted to talk about it within the community.”
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