Purity Culture: A Primer
Many deconstructing Christians and exvangelicals who grew up in the 90s discuss the horrors of purity culture. They talk about the Silver Ring Thing, purity balls, and courtship, and speak of Josh Harris as the spokesperson for their sexual repression and trauma.
Purity culture was (and is) a dangerous cultural movement both within and without fundamentalist Christianity, for multiple reasons. However, many people don’t know the breadth of purity culture’s dogmas and how harmful they are. Even people who grew up a part of purity culture may not realize everything it stood for.
As I’ve gone on my own deconstruction journey, I’ve come to realize just how entrenched this theology is, both in our mainstream churches and the fringe fundamentalists. It even spills out into pop culture, with the Duggars on TLC and current Christian influencers espousing purity culture ideals.
Here is a brief guide to the dogmas of classical purity culture and how it has lingered in Christianity throughout the years.
Purity Culture: The Basic Beliefs
The main four tenets of purity culture are as follows: celibacy before marriage, courtship instead of dating, modesty for women, and traditional gender roles. While the most touted dogma is celibacy, the other tenets create a backbone of rules and a culture that discourages…
