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Admittedly, religious faith does not guarantee protection from scourges such as HPV. The sexual behavior of Christian teenagers is unfortunately not all that different from that of their non-Christian peers. According to researcher Mark D. Regnerus in his new book, Forbidden Fruit: Sex and Religion in the Lives of American Teenagers (Oxford), "Evangelical teenagers don't display just average sexual activity patterns, but rather above-average ones."

Still, abstinence programs such as True Love Waits, primarily aimed at Christians, have produced limited but measurable results in lowering STI rates, delaying sexual activity, reducing the number of sexual partners, and helping some teens abstain until marriage.

The potential health benefits of this vaccine should not be pursued in opposition to the spiritual guidance that mothers and fathers are charged by God to give their children. Until the drug gets cheaper and more effective long-term, we favor policies that allow parents to opt in.

In the meantime, we Christians continue to live in a culture that is deeply confused about sex. And like our culture, our knee-jerk reaction to learning that our teenager has had sex is to fear possible disease. We talk about sex as if it had little to do with conceiving children and everything to do with a fulfilling experience. We treat marriage vows as blithely as the rest of our culture, divorcing at close to the same rate.

While we must respond wisely to political policies that press upon us—like the HPV vaccine—we need to spend more time discerning how to get our own house in order, so we can bring Christ's light to a culture losing its way in sexual darkness.

Copyright © 2007 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Also see "'Tell Someone'? We Tried" on the response to information about the HPV-cancer link.

The Centers for Disease Control and have more information about HPV and Gardasil.

The National Conference of State Legislatures has a list of all states' legislation on the HPV vaccination.

The University of Pennsylvania's center for bioethics blog summarizes and links to recent ethics news about vaccines like Guardasil.

Other related articles include:

How a Vaccine Search Ended in Triumph | the 70-year history behind the creation of a vaccine against human papillomavirus, which causes cervical cancer, is more fraught than most with blind alleys, delicate moments, humor and triumph. (The New York Times)

States Consider Requiring HPV Vaccine for Girls | Texas has become the first state to require girls to be vaccinated against the human papilloma virus. (NPR's All Things Considered)

Pro-Family, Pro-Vaccine -- But Keep It Voluntary | As expected, the advisory committee to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently recommended that adolescent girls and young women receive Gardasil. (The Washington Post)

The Ethics and Politics of Compulsory HPV Vaccination (The New England Journal of Medicine)

Vaccine for Girls Raises Thorny Issues | Parents Weigh Anti-Cancer Benefits Against Concerns About Cost and Lost Innocence. (The Washington Post)

Defusing the War Over the "Promiscuity" Vaccine | In a recent battle in the culture wars, conservative groups were reported to be opposing a great medical breakthrough on the grounds that it might encourage kids to think that casual sex just got a little bit safer.

Merck to Halt Lobbying for Vaccine for Girls | Reacting to a furor from some parents, advocacy groups and public health experts, Merck said yesterday that it would stop lobbying state legislatures to require the use of its new cervical cancer vaccine. (The New York Times)

A Merck-y Business | The case against mandatory HPV vaccinations. (The Weekly Standard)

Other Christianity Today articles on sexuality are available on our site.

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April 2007, Vol. 51, No. 4