Cultures of restraint fare better than cultures of mere consent
“One of the key shared ideas [at Christian schools] is that sex needs boundaries or restraint—a radically countercultural affirmation in a society where most affirm sex need have no limits if it is consensual,” wrote sociologist Jim Vanderwoerd from Redeemer University College in Ontario.
In a 2017 study, Vanderwoerd and Harvard University’s Albert Cheng found that female students at evangelical colleges in Canada fared significantly better than at secular ones, with fewer reports of unwanted sexual contact (18% compared to 21%–31%) and rape (less than 1% compared to 3%–5%). Students at Christian schools in the US also reported lower rates of such incidents in the Campus Climate Comparison Study conducted the same year.
Despite restrictions against drinking, alcohol usage remained a significant risk factor associated with sexual violence at the Christian campuses surveyed: eight schools...
