purity ring

Unaltered, known until 2019 as Silver Ring Thing (SRT), is an American virginity pledge program founded in 1995 by Denny Pattyn. The program encourages teens and young adults to remain sexually abstinent until marriage. For a few years, it was partially funded by the U.S. federal government.{{cite news

| last = Connolly

| first = Ceci

| title = Federal Funds For Abstinence Group Withheld

| newspaper = The Washington Post

| publisher =

| date = 2005-08-23

| url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/22/AR2005082201230.html

| access-date = 2010-07-11}} Drawing on Christian theology,{{cite web |title=Silver Ring Thing |url=http://www.silverringthing.com/ |access-date=2009-03-29 |archive-date=2009-03-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090316004309/http://www.silverringthing.com/ |url-status=dead }} SRT uses rock/hip hop concert-style events in an attempt to appeal to 21st-century teenagers. During the gathering, participants commit to a vow of sexual abstinence until marriage by purchasing rings. The organization's theme verse is {{bibleverse|1 Thessalonians|4:3-4|NIV}}.

In 2004, SRT began expanding operations into the United Kingdom, with mixed results. While some teenagers in the UK embraced the message of abstinence, some critics rejected and ridiculed SRT, saying it was anti-sex or unrealistic, and that it seemed unlikely that abstinence programs would attract widespread support in the UK because of the UK's differing attitude toward sexuality and sex education. The group's Assistant National Director for the UK, Denise Pfeiffer, said there was a real need for such a movement in the UK to curb what she sees as the ever-increasing rates of sexually transmitted infections and teenage pregnancies, both of which she claims are the highest in Western Europe.{{cite news |last=Zoepf |first=Katherine |title=A Plea for Chastity, but Will It Play in Randy Britain? |work=The New York Times |date=2004-07-07 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/07/nyregion/a-plea-for-chastity-but-will-it-play-in-randy-britain.html |access-date=May 1, 2021 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210501193440/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/07/nyregion/a-plea-for-chastity-but-will-it-play-in-randy-britain.html? |archive-date=May 1, 2021 }}{{cite news |last=Rice-Oxley |first=Mark |title=US charity crusade gets cool response in secular Britain |work=The Christian Science Monitor |publisher=Christian Science Publishing Society |date=2004-06-23 |url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0623/p01s03-woeu.html |access-date=2008-08-26 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130102121306/http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0623/p01s03-woeu.html |archivedate=2013-01-02 }}

In 2005, the ACLU of Massachusetts sued the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services because it believed SRT used tax dollars to promote Christianity.[https://www.aclu.org/reproductiverights/sexed/12603lgl20050516.html American Civil Liberties Union : ACLU of Massachusetts v. Secretary of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services] SRT presented a two-part programme: the first part about abstinence, the second about Christianity's role in abstinence. The ACLU claimed federal funding given to this program violated the separation of church and state. On August 22, 2005, the Department suspended SRT's US$75,000 federal grant until it submitted a "corrective action plan".{{cite news

| last = Sostek

| first = Anya

| title = Abstinence group loses federal grant over 1st Amendment

| work = Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

| publisher = John Robinson Block

| date = 2006-02-24

| url = http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06055/660512.stm

| access-date = 2008-08-26 }} In 2006, a corrective action plan was accepted by the department. The lawsuit was dismissed, and SRT received federal funding.

In the 2007 case R (Playfoot) v Millais School Governing Body, 16-year-old Lydia Playfoot from the United Kingdom alleged that her school had violated her rights by forbidding her from wearing a purity ring.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6900512.stm |title='Chastity ring' girl loses case |work=BBC News |date=July 16, 2007 |access-date=November 11, 2011}} The case was funded by the group Christian Concern. On July 16, 2007, the High Court ruled that Playfoot's human rights were not violated. Her father, Phil Playfoot, was the British pastor for Silver Ring Thing at the time,{{cite news |url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0%2C2933%2C286395%2C00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070625173343/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,286395,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 25, 2007 |title=Teen Girl Banned From School for Chastity Ring Heads to Court |work=London Times |publisher=Fox News |date=June 23, 2007 |access-date=November 11, 2011}} and was ordered to pay £12,000 towards the school's costs.

In 2019, Silver Ring Thing changed its name to Unaltered.[http://www.pittsburghyouthworker.com/blog/the-silver-ring-thing-presents-something-new-the-unaltered-tour The Silver Ring Thing presents something new... THE UNALTERED TOUR ]

True Love Waits (TLW) is an international Christian group that promotes sexual abstinence outside of marriage for teenagers and college students. TLW was created in April 1993 by the Southern Baptists, and is sponsored by LifeWay Christian Resources.[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/roger-friedland/guilty-pleasures-religion_b_649887.html Guilty Pleasures: Religion and Sex Among American University Students], Huffington Post, July 20, 2010 It is based on conservative Christian views of human sexuality.

The True Love Waits pledge states: "Believing that true love waits, I make a commitment to God, myself, my family, my friends, my future mate and my future children to be sexually abstinent from this day until the day I enter a biblical marriage relationship." In addition, they promote sexual purity, which encompasses not only abstaining from intercourse before marriage, but also abstaining from "sexual thoughts, sexual touching, pornography, and actions that are known to lead to sexual arousal."

By the late 1990s, Christian music groups were promoting the program, and events similar to youth rallies were held at Christian music concerts, providing an opportunity for adolescents to sign pledge cards.{{cite magazine|last=Price|first=Deborah Evans|title=Crosse walks many miles to support new reunion set|magazine=Billboard|date=5 July 1997|volume=109|issue=27|pages=9–12|issn=0006-2510}}

In the first year of the campaign, over 102,000 young people signed the pledge, which was also taken up by other church groups including the Roman Catholic Church and Assemblies of God. The campaign spread across the US, making the use of occasions such as Valentine's Day to gain attention.[http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=WT&p_theme=wt&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB0F25854EE32B8&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM True Love Waits achieves Valentine's Day presence], The Washington Times, February 15, 1997

By 2004, groups supporting abstinence numbered in the hundreds. During the preceding decade, approximately 2.5 million American youth took the pledge of abstinence.{{cite news|title=How effective are abstinence pledges?|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/3846687.stm|accessdate=10 May 2012|newspaper=BBC News|date=29 June 2004}}

Various individuals advocate for purity rings, or have previously advocated for them.{{cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/02/celebrities-purity-rings_n_3535439.html|title=9 Celebrities Who've Worn Purity Rings|date=2 July 2013|work=The Huffington Post|access-date=19 June 2014|quote=Believe it or not, wearing a purity ring was once a thing Miley Cyrus strongly believed in. Of course, the former Disney star wasn't alone in her conviction in waiting until marriage to have sex. In the past decade, scores of teen stars have talked about their pledge to abstinence by wearing it on their finger, from Jessica Simpson to the Jonas Brothers.}}

{{div col}}

• BarlowGirl{{cite web |last1=Barlow Guidi |first1=Rebecca |title=Photo |url=https://www.instagram.com/p/CFmhOrFnc0B/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/s/instagram/CFmhOrFnc0B |archive-date=2021-12-24 |url-access=limited|website=Instagram |access-date=September 29, 2020 |date=September 26, 2020 |quote=Trust in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Be still and know He is working for you behind the scenes and in a moment…}}{{cbignore}}
• Miley Cyrus
• Selena Gomez
• Group 1 Crew
• Blanca
• Jonas Brothers
• Demi Lovato
• Stacie Orrico
• Rebecca St. James{{cite web |last1=Mueller |first1=Jim |title=Rebecca St. James on Marriage |url=https://www.marriagetrac.com/rebecca-st-james-marriage/ |website=Growthtrac Ministries |access-date=June 18, 2023 |date=June 12, 2011}}
• Jessica Simpson
• Jordin Sparks

{{div col end}}

Some studies of the efficacy of virginity pledges have found they may be effective in delaying vaginal intercourse but ineffective in reducing the rate of sexually transmitted infection. They also reduce the likelihood of contraceptive use.{{cite web | title = Virginity Pledges Don't Cut STD Rates | work = WebMD.com | url=http://www.webmd.com/sexual-conditions/news/20050322/virginity-pledges-dont-cut-std-rates}} Additionally, it has been reported that pledgers replace vaginal intercourse with other sexual activities, such as oral or anal sex, thinking they "don't count".{{Cite journal

| last1 = Brückner | first1 = H.

| last2 = Bearman | first2 = P.

| doi = 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2005.01.005

| title = After the promise: The STD consequences of adolescent virginity pledges

| journal = Journal of Adolescent Health

| volume = 36

| issue = 4

| pages = 271–278

| year = 2005

| pmid = 15780782

| s2cid = 10150529

| doi-access = free

}} At least one study has found no difference in the sexual behavior of pledgers and non-pledgers after controlling for pre-existing differences between the groups.{{Cite journal

| last1 = Rosenbaum | first1 = J. E.

| title = Patient Teenagers? A Comparison of the Sexual Behavior of Virginity Pledgers and Matched Nonpledgers

| doi = 10.1542/peds.2008-0407

| journal = Pediatrics

| volume = 123

| issue = 1

| pages = e110–e120

| year = 2009

| pmid = 19117832

| pmc =2768056

}}

David Bario of the Columbia News Service wrote:

Under the Bush administration, organizations that promote abstinence and encourage teens to sign virginity pledges or wear purity rings have received federal grants. The Silver Ring Thing, a subsidiary of a Pennsylvania evangelical church, has received more than $1 million from the government to promote abstinence and to sell its rings in the United States and abroad.{{cite web |url=http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050329/NEWS/503290315/1027 |title=Power to the pure: Rutland Herald Online |publisher=Rutlandherald.com |date=2005-03-29 |access-date=2011-12-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222152956/http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20050329%2FNEWS%2F503290315%2F1027 |archive-date=2014-02-22 |url-status=dead }}

According to a study conducted by Peter Bearman and Hannah Brückner published in 2005 in the Journal of Adolescent Health, 21% of young adults who had taken the pledge had vaginal intercourse, 13% reported having practiced oral sex and 4% anal sex.Hannah Brückner, Peter Bearman, [https://www.jahonline.org/article/S1054-139X%2805%2900055-8/fulltext After the promise: The STD consequences of adolescent virginity pledges], jahonline.org, USA, April 1, 2005 In the 2011 book Making Chastity Sexy: The Rhetoric of Evangelical Abstinence Campaigns, Christine Gardner criticizes True Love Waits{{Cite journal|journal=Metapsychology Online Reviews|title=Review - Making Chastity Sexy|author=Hennie Weiss|date=March 27, 2012|volume=16|issue=13|url=http://metapsychology.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=book&id=6465|accessdate=March 21, 2013}} for "using sex to sell abstinence" by promising more satisfying sexual activity within marriage for those who abstain from premarital sex; she argues that this rhetoric reinforces selfish desires for gratification, sets people up for divorce and dissatisfaction with marriage, and simply adapts "secular forms for religious ends".{{Cite journal|journal=Christianity Today|author=Sarah Pulliam Bailey|title=The Rhetoric of Chastity: Making Abstinence Sexy|date=November 18, 2011|url=http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2011/november/making-chastity-sexy-interview.html|accessdate=March 21, 2013}} In 2014, Jimmy Hester, one of the main founders of the program, said that although some studies have shown that many young Christians have broken their commitments, it has served as a benchmark for some who have returned to the faith.Morgan Lee, [https://www.christianpost.com/news/did-the-abstinence-movement-actually-help-christians-save-sex-for-marriage.html Did the Abstinence Movement Actually Help Christians Save Sex for Marriage?], christianpost.com, USA, February 21, 2014

The Jonas Brothers made an abstinence pledge through True Love Waits as teens. The band and pledge are satirized in the 2009 South Park episode "The Ring".{{cite web|last1=Oshmyansky|first1=Rosalyn|title=Nick Jonas Reveals One Regret About Losing His Virginity|url=http://www.etonline.com/news/163621_nick_jonas_reveals_one_regret_about_losing_his_virginity/|website=Entertainment Tonight|accessdate=February 3, 2017|language=en|date=April 28, 2015}} In 2013, Morgan Lee, a journalist of The Christian Post, conducted an interview with Joe Jonas and wrote:{{cite web | url=http://www.christianpost.com/news/joe-jonas-talks-about-relationship-with-god-frustration-with-purity-rings-in-raw-revealing-interview-109886/ | last=Lee | first=Morgan | title=Joe Jonas Talks About Relationship With God, Frustration With Purity Rings in Raw, Revealing Interview | date=December 2, 2013 | accessdate=January 16, 2015}}

{{blockquote|In an exceptionally raw and frank interview, Jonas also mentioned that although he had made a good-faith, preteen, commitment with Christian abstinence organization True Love Waits to keep his virginity until marriage and donned a "purity ring" as an 11-year-old, he was overwhelmed when this became the focus of media attention when the band started to blow up.}}

In 2019, the Lutheran minister Nadia Bolz-Weber called for people to send her their unwanted purity rings so that she could cast them into a sculpture of a vagina.{{Cite web|last=Falsani|first=Cathleen|date=6 January 2019|title=Authors want to kiss 1990s-era purity rings goodbye|url=https://www.theoaklandpress.com/lifestyles/authors-want-to-kiss-1990s-era-purity-rings-goodbye/article_56a46704-063a-11e9-8645-13796f6e7390.html|access-date=5 July 2020|website=The Oakland Press|language=en}} Apologetic minister Alisa Childers criticized Bolz-Weber for her project, but acknowledged that purity ring campaigns needed to improve.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/03/purity-culture-evangelical-church-harms-women/618438/|title = The Flaw at the Center of Purity Culture|website = The Atlantic|date = 28 March 2021}}

{{Portal|Evangelical Christianity|}}

• Celibacy
• CTR ring
• Fornication
• Purity ball
• Virginity pledge

• Virgin Nation: Sexual Purity and American Adolescence by Sara Moslener, Oxford University Press, 2015.
• {{cite news

| last = Alisha

| first = Hipwell

| title = Federal grant to fund message of abstinence

| work = Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

| publisher = John Robinson Block

| date = 2003-12-10

| url = http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/03344/249392.stm

| access-date = 2008-08-26 }}

• {{cite news

| title = 'Purity' ring case in High Court

| work = BBC World News

| publisher = British Broadcasting Corporation

| date = 2007-06-22

| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6229098.stm

| access-date = 2008-08-26 }}

• {{cite web

| last = Cole

| first = Sean

| title = With This Ring - Pledging Abstinence

| work = Inside Out Documentaries

| publisher = WBUR

| year = 2004

| url = http://www.insideout.org/documentaries/withthisring/synops.asp

| access-date = 2008-08-26 }}

{{reflist|30em}}

• [http://www.unaltered.org Unaltered] official website
• "[http://defendreason.blogspot.com/2007/06/chastity-ring-ban.html Chastity Ring Ban]", "[http://www.blogger.com/profile/14569326774736717270 Edward Baker]". Archived by WebCite at [https://web.archive.org/web/20080916094147/http://defendreason.blogspot.com/2007/06/chastity-ring-ban.html webcitation.org/5aLToXu2m].
• {{cite news

| title = Honesty about abstinence-only

| work = The Christian Science Monitor

| publisher = Christian Science Publishing Society

| date = 2007-04-24

| url = http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0424/p08s01-comv.html

| access-date = 2008-08-26 }}

• [https://lifeway.com/en/product-family/true-love-waits Official Website]
• [http://www.articleworld.org/index.php/True_Love_Waits ArticleWorld's page on True Love Waits and Yale/Columbia study]

Category:1990s introductions

Category:Christianity in the United States

Category:Evangelicalism in the United States

Category:Sexuality in Evangelicalism

Category:Modesty in Christianity

Category:Rings (jewellery)

Category:Sexual abstinence and religion