Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, April 16, 1994 TAG: 9404180124
SECTION: RELIGION PAGE: A-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By DAVID BRIGGS ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Drawing from his experience of more than 25 years of in-depth interviews as a psychotherapist and other studies, the dean of the School of Psychology at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, Calif., says in a new book that religion has a generally positive effect on male sexuality.
In his own study of 600 men who describe themselves as religious, large majorities said their religious views increased their sexual self-control, respect for women and understanding of the role sex plays in human life, while relatively few respondents said it produced a lot of guilt, Dr. Archibald Hart reported in ``The Sexual Man,'' due out next month from Word Publishing.
``It is very possible that the other values communicated in a deeply Christian home such as love, respect for women, care for the whole family and an essentially high standard of morality have positive effects on a man's adult sexuality,'' Hart said.
In addition to his own work as a psychotherapist, Hart said in his 16 years of teaching at the seminary, students were required to write a confidential paper addressing personal issues including their struggles with sexuality.
For the book, Hart also conducted his own study by distributing questionnaires at two conferences and mailing them to 1,000 men on a seminary mailing list. One hundred fifty men returned surveys at conferences and 450 responded to the mailed questionaires. The respondents, many of them Protestant clergy, ranged in age from 17 to 72.
He said the sample he studied does not in any way represent the national male population, but does offer a glimpse into how men who consider themselves to be religious and of high moral standards experience sex.
The results were encouraging, he said.
Most respondents, including an especially high number of people brought up in religious households, described their sex lives as excellent or good. Only a handful of respondents said their current religious views distorted their sexuality, Hart reported.
``I expected more men to blame their religious upbringing for sexual problems,'' Hart said. ``But most report they're healthier sexually because of a religious upbringing.''
The Rev. Andrew Greeley, a Catholic sociologist from the University of Chicago, said because the study was not made of a random sample, no scientific conclusions can be drawn.
``I don't think he's wrong, but I don't think he's made the case either,'' Greeley said.
Lawrence Young, a sociologist at Brigham Young University, said as long as it is understood the survey was done among a ``fairly biased sample,'' the research is revealing of the sexual fulfillment reported by conservative Protestants.
``Their world view is monogamous, but it is certainly not sexually repressed in a Victorian sense,'' Young said.
In addition to the values of respect and self-control noted by Hart, Young said other characteristics of conservative Protestants that would lead to a better sex life include a shared understanding ``of the rules of the game'' that reduce uncertainty and promote confidence between partners.
Despite the positive findings, Hart said guilt and a failure to recognize the power of the male sex drive still causes unnecessary loss of self-esteem among many men.
``I hardly ever encounter a good man who doesn't have some sexual damage because of a deeply rooted, false sense of guilt. Many have learned to ignore it, but it is there nevertheless, working its damage in the background,'' Hart said.
Even if some people will be disappointed he did not use the book to mount a tirade against sexual sin, Hart said that was not his purpose.
``Good men'' are already too tough on themselves when it comes to sex, and he hopes the book will help men understand themselves and come to terms with how God has made them, Hart said.
``Perhaps that will enable them to rest content in the knowledge that they are, in fact, perfectly and completely normal,'' he said.
by CNB