Purity Culture, Married Sex, and Navigating Intimacy (w/ Jenni Brooker)

Purity culture was/is a movement that started in the 1990s primarily within Evangelical American Christianity which emphasized individual "purity," generally associated with female chastity.  Purity culture places a strong emphasis on abstinence before marriage. In some circles, dating was discouraged entirely to avoid pre-marital sex (the book, “I Kissed Dating Goodbye” by Josh Harris promoted abstinence and popularized the concept of “courtship” as an alternative to dating. This book sold over a million copies).

It’s pretty obvious from the Scriptures that God wants Christians to live lives of sexual purity. But did purity culture promote a Biblical vision of sexuality? Or did it use shame and fear?

Or even worse…did it promote soft prosperity gospel- in that a certain methodology of relationships would deliver a happily-ever-after ending—a great marriage, a great sex life—even though this isn’t necessarily promised by Scripture?