June 17, 2005
Here's a story that comes as a surprise only to the media and political elites, but not to those with common sense.
Teenagers who take virginity pledges have lower sexual disease rates and are less likely to engage in sex than are those who don't take the pledge.
The findings by the Heritage Foundation use the same research, but reaches a different conclusion than a report published earlier this year which claimed such pledges make no difference in teen sexual activity.
I'm not going to get into the details of the activity studied, because this is a family station.
Here's the main point.
With so many cultural messages coming at kids about how great sex is at anytime with anyone, and especially between unmarried people, anything that puts them on a different track is valuable - for them, for their families and for society at large.
If people think virginity pledges mean nothing, why have marriage vows or promises at all.
For people who take them seriously, they can be life-transforming and a protection against the increasing numbers of promiscuous sexual messages trumped by culture.
I'm Cal Thomas in Washington.
Cal Thomas is a nationally syndicated columnist based in Washington, D.C. Watch his television show, After Hours with Cal Thomas, on the Fox News Channel, Saturdays at 11 p.m. Eastern Time.
