AlleyCat
2021-01-29 01:26:50 UTC
Roy Moore's scandal is just the tip of American evangelical Christianity's
child bride problem
When Alabama GOP Senate nominee Roy Moore was accused of sexually molesting
children as young as 14, his fellow hardcore evangelicals shrugged at the
scandal -- it was "common knowledge" that Moore had a fondness for young
teens.
Moore isn't alone in liking very young girls as sexual partners. The grooming
of children to marry adult men is a common practice in American evangelical
circles, and infamous child-bride advocates are celebrated on the lecture
circuit, especially among home schoolers.
These "courting" experts counsel parents to encourage their children to seek
marriage with adult men, advocating for marriage in the "middle-teens."
It's a widespread view among the hard right evangelical world, mainstream
enough that Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson has publicly advised his fans to
marry 15- or 16-year-old girls, because "you wait until they get to be 20
years old, the only picking that's going to take place is your pocket." This
view was defended by mainstream Republicans, and Robertson has continued to
enjoy success in right-wing media, with a new show on CRTV.
Predictably, adult men who are caught having sex with children blame the
children for "seducing" them, and in the Independent Fundamentalist Baptist
sect, these children are forced to repent for having "sinned" by tempting
adults to commit statutory rape, making public confessions to their
congregations.
As a teenager, I attended a lecture on courtship by a home-school speaker who
was popular at the time. He praised the idea of "early courtship" so the girl
could be molded into the best possible helpmeet for her future husband. The
girl's father was expected to direct her education after the courtship began
so she could help her future husband in his work.
In retrospect, I understand what the speaker was really describing: Adult men
selecting and grooming girls who were too young to have life experience.
Another word for that is "predation."
Much of the sexual abuse that takes place in Independent Fundamentalist
Baptist, or IFB, churches involves adult men targeting 14- to 16-year-old
girls. If caught, the teenage victim may be forced to repent the "sin" of
having seduced an adult man. Former IFB megachurch pastor Jack Schaap argued
that he should be released from prison after being convicted of molesting a
16-year-old girl, asserting that the "aggressiveness" of his victim
"inhibited [his] impulse control." In the wake of the Schaap case, numerous
other stories emerged of sexual abuse cover-ups involving teenage girls at
IFB churches. In another high-profile case, pregnant 15-year-old Tina
Anderson, who was raped by a church deacon twice her age, was forced to
confess her "sin" to the congregation.
child bride problem
When Alabama GOP Senate nominee Roy Moore was accused of sexually molesting
children as young as 14, his fellow hardcore evangelicals shrugged at the
scandal -- it was "common knowledge" that Moore had a fondness for young
teens.
Moore isn't alone in liking very young girls as sexual partners. The grooming
of children to marry adult men is a common practice in American evangelical
circles, and infamous child-bride advocates are celebrated on the lecture
circuit, especially among home schoolers.
These "courting" experts counsel parents to encourage their children to seek
marriage with adult men, advocating for marriage in the "middle-teens."
It's a widespread view among the hard right evangelical world, mainstream
enough that Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson has publicly advised his fans to
marry 15- or 16-year-old girls, because "you wait until they get to be 20
years old, the only picking that's going to take place is your pocket." This
view was defended by mainstream Republicans, and Robertson has continued to
enjoy success in right-wing media, with a new show on CRTV.
Predictably, adult men who are caught having sex with children blame the
children for "seducing" them, and in the Independent Fundamentalist Baptist
sect, these children are forced to repent for having "sinned" by tempting
adults to commit statutory rape, making public confessions to their
congregations.
As a teenager, I attended a lecture on courtship by a home-school speaker who
was popular at the time. He praised the idea of "early courtship" so the girl
could be molded into the best possible helpmeet for her future husband. The
girl's father was expected to direct her education after the courtship began
so she could help her future husband in his work.
In retrospect, I understand what the speaker was really describing: Adult men
selecting and grooming girls who were too young to have life experience.
Another word for that is "predation."
Much of the sexual abuse that takes place in Independent Fundamentalist
Baptist, or IFB, churches involves adult men targeting 14- to 16-year-old
girls. If caught, the teenage victim may be forced to repent the "sin" of
having seduced an adult man. Former IFB megachurch pastor Jack Schaap argued
that he should be released from prison after being convicted of molesting a
16-year-old girl, asserting that the "aggressiveness" of his victim
"inhibited [his] impulse control." In the wake of the Schaap case, numerous
other stories emerged of sexual abuse cover-ups involving teenage girls at
IFB churches. In another high-profile case, pregnant 15-year-old Tina
Anderson, who was raped by a church deacon twice her age, was forced to
confess her "sin" to the congregation.