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Action Item: Do you know what real love is? Then tell us! :) Go to the Reel Love Challenge Poster Contest page and participate! More information is to your right!

Talking Point: More family brokenness in family of origin and less frequent worship correlate positively with homosexual activity. (Taken from this week's feature article.)

Jamie Gruber on Reel Love Challenge  Bill Brooks, president of the North Carolina Family Policy Council, interviews our executive director Jamie Gruber about Ruth Institute's newest project, Reel Love Challenge. It's a 30-second film contest aimed at college students--the films should answer the question "How is lifelong love possible?" $4500 and 5 flip video cameras will be given out as prizes; for more information, please visit ruthinstitute.org/reellovechallenge. (Click the POD icon.)

"You and your colleagues are doing fine work and are an inspiration." ~Chris

Where in the world is Dr. J? Now you can find her with the Ruth Institute Calendar. Mark the dates she'll be near you on your calendar!

Lutheran Public Radio: Dr. J is usually on live on Tuesdays from 2-2:15 p.m. Pacific Time (Click the link to listen live or find a station near you.)

October 12: 9:30-10:00 a.m. EST, Ave Maria radio with Teresa Tomeo. This show is syndicated, so check here for your local station. 

October 12: The bishop’s radio hour in Sacramento. 9-10:00 a.m. PT. 1620 AM

October 16: Speaking at the Catholic Women’s Conference in Kalamazoo, MI

October 20: Radio show with Dennis O'Donovan 3:30-4:30 p.m. Eastern Time WLVJ AM 1040 Pompano Beach, FL

October 21: Sacramento, CA "Same Sex Marriage: Why Not?" 7-9:00 p.m. Open to the public! See flier with info here.

October 28: Duke University, North Carolina 

Miss an issue of the newsletter? You can find recent main articles by going to the Ruth blog and selecting the category, Newsletter Articles. 

Do you need advice on how to improve your marriage or relationship, or on how to find the right person for you? Expert Dr. J is here for you. Click here to ask your question, which may be featured anonymously in this newsletter for the benefit of all.

Read past questions and answers here.

Need help with your marriage? You can also check out Dr. J's "101 Tips for a Happier Marriage!"

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In Case You're Wondering, yes, this newsletter is coming to you one day early. Lucky you! The reason behind this unbeatable start to your week, is that Dr. J will be on radio shows around the country TOMORROW, THAT'S TUESDAY, that we would like you to know about. Please see the "Where to find Dr. J" column on the left.

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October Quiz

A young man at Rutgers University committed suicide. His roommate had filmed him having sex with another man, and posted that film on the internet. In the wake of this tragic incident, the question of electronic sexual harassment has become more urgent. This week’s quiz is about the phenomenon known as “sexting.” The term “sexting” can include sending suggestive photos, videos or messages of yourself, receiving messages with images of someone you know, and receiving sexually suggestive messages that were originally intended for someone else. Such images can become the basis for harassment, teasing and bullying. At least two high-profile suicides of teen girls have been attributed to the fall-out from sexting.

So, how common is “sexting” among teens?

A. Less than 5%

B. 15%

C. 20%

D. 38%

Click here to take the quiz. Then send it on to your friends to inform them of this issue, too.

In last week's newsletter we announced the Reel Love Challenge, a contest in which we ask young adults ages 18-24 to answer the question, "Is lifelong love possible?"  in 30 second videos. The prizes are $2,000, $1,500 and $1,000 to be awarded after the contest closes on February 1, 2011.

But you don’t want to wait to get involved! Start creating your video right now! Every month, we will have miniature contests to generate enthusiasm and hope for lifelong love.

This month, the contest is, fill in the blank: “Reel Love Is _________.”

We have created signs that you can download or that you
can order from us. Fill in the blank, take a picture of yourself and send it in. At the end of October, we
will award a free flip camera to the best sign entry! So don’t delay! And, older people take note: this part of the contest has no age limit, so you can fill in the blank and take a picture of yourself, too! What do you think Reel Love is?

Our Mapping America entry shows correlations between same sex sexual activity and the structure of family of origin, and current religious practice. Growing up in a married, intact household appears to be a protective factor against having same sex partners in the last year. And women who had a same sex partner in the last year were less likely to attend weekly church services.

The way to read the numbers is this: Of those women who grew up in an intact, always married family, only 4% had a same sex partner during the year prior to being asked, while among those who grew up in a cohabiting stepfamily, almost 10% (9.6% to be exact) had a same sex partner in the previous year.

These numbers raise questions about the impact of environment on same sex practice and vice versa. It is easy to believe that those women who have had same sex relationships are less likely to currently attend church services. Church attendance may have nothing to do with whether a person engages in same sex relationships, but such individuals may not want to go to church.

On the other hand, the family structure of one’s family of origin may be a causal factor. These data are consistent with the claim that growing up in an intact family “reduces” the likelihood of same sex partners, but these data do not conclusively prove this claim.

It is all very suggestive food for thought.

-Dr. J

by Pat Fagan, Ph.D. and D. Paul Sullins, Ph.D.
Dr. Fagan, a Ruth Institute Board Member, is senior fellow and director of the Marriage and Religion Research Institute (MARRI) at Family Research Council. Dr. Sullins is an associate professor of sociology at The Catholic University of America.

Women (aged 14-44) who had homosexual sexual partners in the past year are more likely to worship infrequently and to have grown up in non-intact families. Women (aged 14-44) who have not had a homosexual sexual partner in the past year are more likely to worship at least weekly and to have grown up in intact families than those who have had a homosexual sexual partner in the past year.

According to the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG), 2.1 percent of women who grew up in intact married families and attend religious services at least weekly have had a homosexual sexual partner in the year prior to being asked, followed by women who grew up in other family structures and worship at least weekly (4.6 percent), those who grew up in intact married families and never worship (7.3 percent), and those who grew up in other family structures and never worship (9.5 percent).

Examining structure of family of origin only, four percent of women who grew up in intact married families have had a homosexual sexual partner in the year prior to being asked, followed by women who grew up in intact cohabiting families (4.3 percent), those from married stepfamilies (6 percent), single divorced parent families (6.6 percent), always single parent families (6.6 percent), and cohabiting stepparent families (9.6 percent).

Examining current religious attendance only, 2.8 percent of women who worship at least weekly have had a homosexual sexual partner in the year prior to being asked, followed by women who worship between one and three times a month (2.9 percent), those who worship less than once a month (6.9 percent), and those who never attend religious services (8.7 percent).

Several other studies throw some light on why this might be so. Michele Dillon of Yale University reported that 44 percent of frequent Catholic church attendees “said that sexual relations between two adults of the same sex were wrong,” compared to 10 percent “of those who attended occasionally or never.”

Keep reading.

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