Understanding Purity Culture Part 1: What is Purity Culture and Why is it Important to Understand?

The young females who came of age under the teachings of the Evangelical Purity Movement (Purity Culture) are now in their thirties to forties. Some are now wives and mothers, having achieved all the goals set out for them by purity culture, yet the messages they received as teenagers can still be found in their struggling mental health, almost non-existent sex drives and the inability to stay present in their own bodies. Others made it to their wedding day but discovered that purity culture could not hold true to its promises as their marriages fell apart or their bodies would not allow them to be a mother. And still, others have waited and waited for a promise of marriage that has never arrived. This series is an invitation to join on a journey; visiting the places in Scripture that speak of purity and God’s presence, discovering the messages of purity culture and how that has impacted the church, and finally arriving at what call to action this information means for the Church.