The most conservatively religious states have the highest teen birth rates, according to the U.S. Religious Landscapes Survey and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“We conjecture that religious communities in the U.S. are more successful in discouraging the use of contraception among their teenagers than they are in discouraging sexual intercourse itself,” says study researcher Joseph Strayhorn of Drexel University College of Medicine and University of Pittsburgh. Religious states also typically have lower abortion rates, which would increase the number of births, as well.[1]

Sources:

[1] “Teen Birth Rates Highest in Most Religious States” (Jeanna Bryner) MSNBC Online. September 16, 2009

[2] National Vital Statistics Report. Volume 57, Number 12, Page 16. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services / Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) March 18, 2009

[3] “U.S. Religion Map and Religious Populations” / U.S. Religious Landscape Study. (The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life)

A French Muslim woman, identified only as Carole, was banned this week from her local pool, after trying to swim in a burkini. The full-body suit, also spelled ‘burqini’, was designed specifically for Muslim women, so they could maintain Islamic modesty while swimming in public.

“I thought that it could enable me to enjoy the pleasure of bathing without uncovering myself, as Islam recommends,” Carole told Le Parisien newspaper. “I understand that it might shock people, but I am annoyed because I have been told that it is a political matter. I didn’t set out to cause a stir. My only aim was to be able to go swimming with my children.” [1]

The Burkini was designed by Aheda Zanetti, a Lebanese-Australian.

Officials say it’s not a matter of religious discrimination, but rather an issue of hygiene. It’s illegal for anyone to wear street clothes or loose-fitting swimwear in French public pools. “The lady was almost fully dressed,” Daniel Guillaume, the head of sports facilities for the Seine-et-Marne département, said. “The personnel simply applied the rules that are in effect in all pools in France.” [1]

While many westerners disagree with the Islamic dress code for women, France has been among the few to take legal action against it. France is predominately Roman-Catholic, but has the largest Muslim population in Western Europe, so racial tensions are nothing new.

In 2004, Islamic headscarves were banned from French state schools. The law passed by a Senate vote of 276-20, and prohibits any religious symbols from being worn on public school grounds, categorizing the headscarf as one such symbol. Muslim groups spoke out against the ban, saying it was motivated by anti-Islamic sentiments. A top lieutenant of Osama Bin Laden even released a tape shortly thereafter, in which he called it “another example of the Crusader’s malice, which Westerns have against Muslims.” [2]

The debate flared up again in June of this year, when French president Nicolas Sarkozy publicly supported a ban on burkas altogether. “We cannot accept to have in our country women who are prisoners behind netting, cut off from all social life, deprived of identity,” he said. “The burka is not a sign of religion, it is a sign of subservience. It will not be welcome on the territory of the French republic.” [3]

Whether or not the restriction of burkinis is a political choice, there is no doubt that it’s only fueled further tension between Christians and Muslims in France.

Sources:

[1] “French Muslim Woman Wearing ‘Burkini’ Banned from Paris Swimming Pool” (Charles Bremner) The Times Online UK. August 13, 2009

[2] “France Bans Headscarves in School” (Bootie Cosgrove-Mather) CBS/Associated Press. March 3, 2004

[3] “Sarkozy Speaks Out Against Burka” BBC News Online. June 22, 2009

Former President Jimmy Carter is leaving the Southern Baptist Church after 60 years of service. The reason? Gender equality.

Last week, he released an open article entitled “Losing My Religion For Equality”, where the man whose “faith is a source of strength and comfort … to hundreds of millions of people around the world,” said he’s finally fed up with the church’s derogatory views of women.

It was “an unavoidable decision” when, on the grounds that “Eve was created second to Adam and was responsible for original sin, [Southern Baptist leaders] ordained that women must be ’subservient’ to their husbands and prohibited from serving as deacons, pastors or chaplains in the military service.” He said it was painful to sever ties, but he could no longer participate in such a rigorously sexist organization.

Carter’s criticism extends beyond just the Southern Baptists, saying that many faiths hold prejudicial views of women.

“The justification of discrimination against women and girls on grounds of religion or tradition, as if it were prescribed by a Higher Authority, is unacceptable,” Carter says. “The impact of these religious beliefs touches every aspect of our lives. … [It] excuses slavery, violence, forced prostitution, genital mutilation and national laws that omit rape as a crime. But it also costs many millions of girls and women control over their own bodies and lives, and continues to deny them fair access to education, health, employment and influence within their own communities.” [1]

Aside from being the 39th President of the United States, a former officer in the U.S. Navy, and offering consistent religious service as a deacon and Bible Study leader, Carter is also a member of The Elders. This group, assembled by former South African president Nelson Mandela, is an assembly of global peacemakers, who have recently focused on the relationship between human rights and religion.

Carter was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, during which he maintained that God was a still a major presence in his life: “I worship Jesus Christ, whom we Christians consider to be the Prince of Peace.” [2]

Carter offers no reason to believe he will denounce Christianity altogether, but he believes that many misguided people are making unjustifiable discriminatory choices in the name of their higher power.

It’s an unequivocal display of backbone and humility for such a staunch Christian to stand up and initiate change. Faith and feminism are too often considered to be polar opposite mentalities. And with successful books like Lorraine Murray’s “Confessions of an Ex-Feminist”, it’s obvious that gap is continuing to widen. There is no doubt that change is necessary, and Christian activists like Jimmy Carter are perhaps the best equipped to take on the challenge.

Sources:

[1] “Losing My Religion For Equality” (Jimmy Carter) The Age Online. July 15, 2009

[2] “Jimmy Carter – Nobel Lecture” (The Nobel Foundation) NobelPrize.org. Oslo, December 10, 2002

[3] “Biography of Jimmy Carter” WhiteHouse.gov