Purity Culture Archives - Kristin Kobes Du Mez

hope college dimnent chapel tower and building

Hope College: History Department Lecture

March 3, 2020 Martha Miller Center for Global Communication, Fried Hemenway Auditorium 135 257 Columbia Avenue, Holland, MI 49423-3692 "Purity And Patriarchy: Christianity And The Struggle For Women's Rights In America " The history of Christianity and women’s rights is…

Kristin Kobes Du MezMarch 3, 2020

American Evangelicalism Articles & Essays Christian Women Purity Culture

Sex, Outrage, and American Religion: Miss America’s God

This year’s Super Bowl halftime show sparked outrage among a contingent of American Christians. Although the halftime show is rarely considered a purveyor of American moral values, this year’s performance by Shakira and Jennifer Lopez provoked new levels of opposition.…

Kristin Kobes Du MezFebruary 20, 2020

image of people gathered in a field dressed in clothes associated with Amish communities

Articles & Essays Christian Thought Purity Culture

Simple Truth: Sex Abuse, the Amish, and the Evangelicals

Last week, journalist Sarah McClure published an investigative report in Cosmopolitan—yes, Cosmopolitan—on the prevalence of sexual abuse among the Amish. Based on a year-long investigation, the report contains disturbing details that are difficult to stomach; I’d call it shocking if we didn’t already have…

Kristin Kobes Du MezJanuary 23, 2020

Articles & Essays Christian Women Purity Culture

The Problem of Timeless Sexual Morality

The church today might benefit from the wisdom of Lina Herrick and her fellow female preachers. Those asserting and defending a “historic, timeless” sexual ethic might do well to keep in mind that the ideal has masked imperfect—and even immoral—applications…

Kristin Kobes Du MezSeptember 6, 2019

Articles & Essays Purity Culture Spirituality

American Christianity Needs More Sin

Sola gratia. By grace alone. With the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, Protestants around the world have been revisiting this revolutionary concept. And rightly so. But with the festivities behind us, let’s set grace aside for a moment, and focus on…

Kristin Kobes Du MezNovember 2, 2017

image of wax figures carrying military flag and drums

Articles & Essays Christian Women Purity Culture

The Problem with Protecting our Wives and Daughters

Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad many evangelicals are lining up to condemn Trump’s vulgar behavior, revealed most recently (and incontrovertibly) in the appalling video tape released by the Washington Post last Friday. Jerry Falwell Jr., a staunch Trump supporter, had this to…

Kristin Kobes Du MezOctober 30, 2016

Articles & Essays Christian Women Purity Culture

“Strong in Body, Mind, and Spirit”: Purity Movements and Sexual Aggression

A disturbing new study by Marquette University sociologist Heather R. Hlavka reports how young women today have “normalized” sexual assault to the point that they are often unable to identify harassment and rape for what they are—criminal acts. Based on an examination…

Kristin Kobes Du MezApril 25, 2014

Purity Culture

Hope College: History Department Lecture

Sex, Outrage, and American Religion: Miss America’s God

Simple Truth: Sex Abuse, the Amish, and the Evangelicals

The Problem of Timeless Sexual Morality

American Christianity Needs More Sin

The Problem with Protecting our Wives and Daughters

“Strong in Body, Mind, and Spirit”: Purity Movements and Sexual Aggression

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