Despite the ongoing spread of STDs worldwide, most main religions around the world still negate the use of condoms and other forms of contraception, despite pre-marital sex being on the rise. The truth be told, whatever your religion, chances are that even talking about sex ranked way up there on the ‘things-we-don’t-talk-about-at-dinner’ list. Even growing up in a semi-relaxed Moslem family, my parents still entrusted their children’s sex education to chapter three of the school science textbook and, when they felt up to the challenge, short, inaccurate, stork stories.
The underlining truth of the matter is that religion is not equipped to deal with sex, much less with the more pressing matters that come along with it. Religion’s attempts to address sexual issues with young people are typically narrow in scope and fail to satisfy basic needs for knowledge and reason. Religion isn’t the only culprit when it comes to the ban on contraception. In many cultures worldwide, mindsets are formed against it. In Africa, there is a general unfavorable disposition towards contraception and homosexuality in general. In Islam, progeny are seen as a divine blessing in which any attempt to prevent pregnancy is seen as rejecting God’s blessings, unless health issues are involved.
Effectively, a new religion is emerging on the horizon: education. In impoverished nations, however, sex education still takes a backseat to much more prominent issues such as war and famine. Efforts to reach out to impoverished nations by NGOs and charity bodies now also include handing out free condoms to sex workers and the women of large families overburdened to the point of starvation.
The term ‘the lesser of two evils,’ being bandied about by the Roman Catholic Church is a turning point for one of the worlds largest religions and instigates the use of condoms when abstinence is no longer an option. Religion beliefs aside, society must be made to understand that the main issue is not about outlawing contraception, but opposing extramarital sex.