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SEXUALITY , CLAI AND THE CHURCH

Experiences in Latin America and the Caribbean
Dr. Eduardo Campaña

Eduardo Campaña serves as health programme coordinator for the Latin . American Council of Churche s (CLAI), workinq from his base in Quito, Ecuador.

A few considerations

The reproductive function of sexuality is vital for maintaining the species . It is considered to be of lesser importance than the other functions necessar y to maintain life, such as breathing, eating and defecating. Sexuality is more than biology; it touches on and directly affects psychological, emotional , social and spiritual aspects of human life.

It is impossible to deny or not to recognize the inf luence of sexuality on all aspects of our l ives. However, throughout human history, for many reasons, sexual i ty has been suppressed and hidden; it has been disguised with false images; the same images that have managed to spoil it, mythologize it and even make it taboo.

Historically, mainly for philosophical and religious reasons (mind-body dualism), there was a long period of sexual repression, to such an extent that even marital sex was repressed -any sexual stimulation was considered to be a sin.

This sexual repression gave rise to various sexual deviances, many of which passed unnoticed, allwith in the context of a punit ve and false morality.

The to t all ack of sex education meant that instinct, whatever that was, often replaced knowledge. Genital sex, rather than being a source of pleasure and satisfaction , became synonymous with pain and duty for the woman as, unaware of her needs, her husband used her as an object for his own pleasure. This heavy burden was borne stoically in the name of marital love and motherhood, and often resulted in frigidity.

This led many men t o see prostitution as a source of sexual pleasure. At the same time prostitutes became the first source of " sex education".

This continued for many centuries, until the beginning of the 20th century, when scientific and medical interest in human sexual behaviour grew.

In the 1930s, the lack of training for doctors and gynaecologists off sexuality was recognized. In the following decades, this led to a wealth of scientific research into sexuality, such as the famous Kinsey and Hite reports and the research of Masters and Johnson.

At the same time, there was increasing interest in researching the impact of sexuality being repressed for centuries on the fields of psychology, sociology, pedagogy, politics and economics.

The sexual revolution of the 1960s, triggered by the invention of the contraceptive pill, sawm a new worldwide culture. Sexual customs relaxed and the media and the entertainment industry eroticized society by making films, advertisements, books and magazines using images with a high sexual content. So the world proved the "pendulum theory" - that is, very rapidly swinging to the opposite extreme: from liberty to libertinism; from sex education to pornography; from scientific interest to exploiting an unhealthy curiosity.

This was also the period when sex education began, with some resistance as many societies considered it counter productive, that is to say there was a fear it could promote sexual libertinism. Educational programmes and publications with dubious intent appeared, considered in some sectors to be "hidden pornography".

Today, being aware o f and having an adequate experience of sexuality has become a life-and-death matter. Many phenomena show th is:

. Every day in the world 16,000 people become infected with H 1V, leading to AIDS, of whom 50 percent (that is 8000 people) are young people aged 15-24.

. Each year 60 million abortions are performed worldwide, 20 million dangerously, killing 70.000 women.

. The alienation which we in the third world are proneto as a consequence of economic and social globalization, which pushes us towards individualism, dehumanization, the destruction of the family, idealization of money above people, exerts a great influence over sexuality.

. Growing male and female prostitution amongst younger and younger people, as a form of exploitation and survival .

. The quest for pleasure for pleasure's sake as a false paradigm of status, freedom and machismo or feminism.

. The loss of spiritual, cultural, ethical and moral values.

. The lack of functional alternatives based on principles and values, which has harmful effects. As well as the harsh reality of HIV/AIDS: unwanted pregnancies, the growing number of single mothers, very young forced marriages (of which the majority end i n divorce), sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

. Mass i ve psychological damage, often involving things that go beyond the law, like sexual abuse, and its physical and psychological consequences.

. On the other hand, our eroticized society is sending out messages every day promoting distorted views of the true purpose of sexuality.

Questions

In light of this, for the past few y ears, we at CLAI have been asking ourselves: What is and what should be the role of the church? What have we done about it? What has the church contributed and what has it neglected to do?

In this part of the world the responses were neither abundant nor encouraging.

The first thing we noticed was a great silence. For centuries the church kept quiet and this contributed to the myth that sexuality is wrong and sinful and made it taboo.

Second, what was taught (if anything) was mostly repression, condemnation and g ui l t. Even today, many churches are still like this.

Premarital sex and masturbation are tacitly forbidden and condemned for young people, but no alternatives are suggested . This puts one in mind of something that o ft en happens on the streets of Quito. When you try to park, the police immediately forbid it, but when you ask where you can park, they do not give you an alternative or direct you to somewhere you can park.

In light of this, our conclusions were and are that it is absolutely necessary to introduce the subject of sexuality in church and through the church to the family, couples, children, young people and teachers, etc., in a complete, clear and responsible manner, putting an end to the traditionalschemes which for the most part focus only on the biological side of things.

Once again the churchfaces a great challenge: to commit to a serious and responsible effort to explain this taboo subject, which people are talking about anyway - usually in a distorted manner. We must not continue to make the mistake of neglecting it.

In the age of AIDS, it is time that the church raised up its prophetic voice once again to talk openly about sexuality from Gods perspective, to rediscover why God created it,

Faced with these worrying realities, CLAI feels that it has been given a challenge and is looking for ways to respond to the needs of society and of the church. This is why since 2000 CLAI has been proposing and developing a process of reflection and facilitation for teachi ng sex education and reproductive health with churches and related organizations through­out Latin America and the Caribbean. .

The scheme

When we began drawing up the scheme, aware oft he need to work on it, given how delicate and how important the subject is, the question that kept coming up was: How? After more t han sixty workshops with teenagers and young people between the ages of 11 and 18, we were able to get an idea of both the methodology and the content.

The material that was originally worked on by a team comprised of two doctors and a facilitator contained both biblical and scientific elements, bringing them together in a manual originally called "Sex Education and Reproductive Health" and which was revised and expanded under the title "Male and Female He Created Them".

Three thousand copies of the first manual were printed and 2000 of the second, but along­side the second manual were translations into French and Portuguese to be used in Haiti and some French-speaking African countries and in Brazil, Angola and Mozambique, respectively.

This scheme is designed to allow participants to work through various sessions, which in succession allow them to ref lect both individually and collectively and at the same time build up their biblical and scientific knowledge.

The main object ives ot the scheme are the following:

1) to give the church, through pastors and la y leaders, a tool that will allow them to facilitate study and reflection, to reach an understanding and adequate experience of the human sexuality that God intended;

2) to challenge the church to resume its therapeutic and prophetic role in the held sexuality, in today's harsh climate;

3) to f acilitate the Kiltilment of Gods mandate: changing your behaviour by "the renewing of your mind" (Rom. 12:2), that is changing our attitudes to sexuality by changing our thinking; a modern Spanish version of the Bible puts it like this: "change the way you think to change the way you behave".

As we mentioned above , the main idea is to tram "facilitators", people who are committed to "facilitate" (make easy) reflection and understanding of sexuality in their churches, educational institutions and groups, etc.

We aim to call on pastors, church leaders, teachers, Bible students, youth groups , etc. to commit to running it at least five times over the next two years, in their churches and/or communities. Participants are required to have Alevels or equivalent, they would preferably be university students, but these requirements should not be exclusive - people with good communication skills can also participate.

The training programme lasts 32 hours, over a period of four days. Our preferred method is to do it as a retreat, so that people spend the whole time in t he workshop, which f its the methodology the best; however, in student centres it could be split by subject, spending four to six hours on each subject.

The t i me spent go i ng through each subject in succession allows us to familianze ourselves with the methodology and use theoretical elements to understand sexuality. The subjects are the following:

Jesus the Facilitator

One of the important basic elements in facilitating sex education is the methodology used, the "how". In this first part we share the methodology we are workin g with and which we recommend using to facilitate understanding of sexuality. This is based on a constructivist view, which has a lot in common with the way Jesus taught.

The method used to deal with the subjects is constructivist. This is a particularly practical method and corresponds to the C3 model. It is based on Facilitating learning beyond people's existing knowledge and takes account of the perceived need of participants. It involves all sides of the human being: physical, psychological, social and spiritual. This methodology has its neurophysiological basis in the functions of the two cerebral hemispheres.

You shall love your neighbour as y ourself

In this second subject we work on t hings relating to self esteem and its importance in fulfilling the great commandment to love the Lord your God and love your n ighbour as your­self (Mark 12:28-31). We teach skills to improve self-esteem and facilitate the development of self-esteem in others. We think about the responsibility of caring for ourselves and others as a determining factor in an adequate experience and enjoyment of sexuality.

Image and likeness

The biblical bases of sexuality. Sex and sexuality were created by God. We reflect on the whys and wherefores of sexuality. In developing this subject we look at the orig in of the differentiation of the sexes, and the purposes ot sexuality a biblical perspective.

Wonder of creation

Reflecting on and recognizing the essence of how we are made is fundamental and vital to understanding sexuality. We develop our knowledge of human bio-psychosexual development. We assess the biological, psychological, social and spiritual dimensions of man and woman and recognize the importance of developing our resources as integral beings.

My sexual being

This subject works on understanding the various implications of being created as sexed and sexual beings: sex, sexuality, sensuality, sexualactivity. It also deals with the different levels on which we experience sexuality: individually, in a couple, in a family and in society. We address the process of the human sexual response and its importance for the life of a couple in God's plan.

Males and female God createdt hem

This subject deals with the psycho-sexual aspects particular to each gender (male, f emale), their individual characteristics and differences, focusing on the understanding that we are created different but not unequal, which leads us to accept and respect the opposite sex. There is a time to reflect on the media and its influence on the distorted understanding of sexuality. We also work on communication skills .

Youre ap what you sow

Everything that human be i ngs do has a consequence, wherher positive or negative. We do not believe in retribution, but we do believe in taking responsibility for what we do or do not do. We are not in control of everything, but it is our duty always to try to do the best for ourselves and others. We deal with issues like sexually transmitted infections (STIs), HIV/AIDS, abortion, etc. We think about the importance of taking care of ourselves and others, and the responsibility that every human being has to prevent these things.

Be fruitful and multiply

What does the Bible tell us about reproductive health? Reflecting on this biblical commandment , we analyze the principles of adequate reproductive health and study the various methods of family planning.

All the issues are laid out in a manual, as is the teaching methodology.

The manual is set out in two parts. The first is made up of:

. Introduction and background.

. The ei ht subjects mentioned above . Each one consisting of three parts: (1) an instruction sheet listing the basic components needed for that subject; (2) the basic theory contained in that subject; (3) guidelines for planning the workshop, to be developed by adults.

The second part is made up of:

. A description of human psycho"sexual development from infancy to adolescence, in different age groups.

. Instructions describing: the objectives , a brief outli ne of the scheme, the activities to be undertaken, and the materials needed for each workshop,

. Guidelines setting out the steps to take when developing the workshops tor each age group.

. Appendices with useful materials for facilitating the activities.

Our experience

1. Over the last four years, we have worked in the twenty countries where CLAI operates in the region.

2. We initially planned to do one workshop in each country, but we have planned and utilized our trips in such a way that we have done between two and Four per trip in some countries, such as in Cuba, Bolivia, Panama, Brazil, Dominican Republic and Venezuela.

3. We have published the following:

- three Span i sh editions of the "Sex Education and Reproductive Health" manual: "Male and Female He Created Them" , two published by CLAI and one by World Vision Latin America;

- one Portuguese edition published by World Vision and CLAI in Brazil;

- one French edition published by World Vision Latin America to be used in Haiti and Africa;

- a booklet on the prevention of sexual abuse,

4. Around one thousand two hundred facilitators have been trained.

5 . We have established collaborative working relationships with more than thirty institutions across Latin America and the Caribbean, most significantly with World Vision and ClEMAL (Council of Evangelical Methodist Churches of Latin America).

6. Several theological training institutions have put the scheme on their curriculums.

7 . We have been involved with more than one hundred churches i n the region.

8. Several workshops have been run specifically for young people, under a new scheme to work on sexuality and AIDS as a priority over the next few years.

Some testimonies

Cuba

These are transcriptions of some of the reports with key phrases written in bold, and the comments sent in by Dr Anita Mayor from Cuba.

"... Here is some fresh data from this weekends seventh national meeting of Christian health workers, where Noemi told me that reports of the basic work they are doing both in church and community bases were impressive, specifically in sex education and reproductive health, tor which you know we include the education programme, the pastoral care and the advisers.

"... Here are a few general points of encouragement in return for what you have done here. As you know, every place is different and the trained staff here have a different model which is of courseduero the particularities of our health and education systems compared to other Latin American countries. However, Ih a ve seen the material being used a lot but I cannot guarantee that it is used systematically from beginning to end; it is easy to use in churches as a whole, and it has been adapted for use in t he community. In both settings the subjects are used in accordance with local needs."

Commen t s from a partic i pant in the Nicaragua 2000 workshop

"Well, on the sub j ect of the workshops... the one you mentioned has been held many times in my church with young people locally and nationally... Locally we held a monthlong

workshop combining it with the issue of AIDS, which was the workshop I got in Honduras h'om Dr Campana, a imedatthirty young people , and nationally we did it over two days.

"...I f-ound out that ayoung Baptist held the workshop over f i ve Sundays for young peo­ple and adults in the Methodist church. A fortnight ago I spoke to one of the leaders of the Me t hod i st Church who said that the workshop had been very useful and that the young people wanted a nother one. I will see how I can support them."

Lessons and conclusions

. The perceived need to promote and work on the subject of sexuality with the churches in Latin America and the Caribbean has been proved right through the interest and response of many churches and institutions throughout the whole region.

. The scheme allows biblical principles and science to be brought together without oppo­sition or contradiction.

. The proposed methodology lets us work with heterogeneous groups, whether in knowl­edge , age or culture,

. Generally participation has been from pastors, laymen, leaders, students, doctors, teach­ers, laboratory technicians, nurses, lawyers, theologians, and many more from a wide variety of professions and occupations.

. We have been able to work with people from the Aymara and Quechua cultures in Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador.

. The sche me allows us to work with all age groups, as it takes account of peoples needs , based on psycho-sexual development at the various stages of life.

. The methodology is open and flexible, which enables it to be adapted to the different contexts in Latin America and the Caribbean while at the same time promoting creativity in the facilitators.

. The schemes constructivist methodology guarantees a high level of learning and the com­mitment of the facilitators. The participants become active rather than passive learners.

. The scheme begins by working on self-esteem which empowers and values each person, motivating them to take care of themselves and others, and to commit to the work.

. The scheme allows us to go from the basics to the most complicated issues, which does not provoke resistance Irom t he more conservative camp but on the other hand helps us to open up a forum for more delicate matters.

- The methodology promotes an atmosphere of trust, respect and fraternity between part ici pants and facilitators which gives people the opportunity to talk freely about any related topic, in this case particularly about sexual activity.

- The most controvers i al subjects are generally masturbation and homosexuality. However, if they arise naturally these subjects can be dealt with without conflict or interjection. They are also the subjects that people disagree about most often.

Th i s work was made possible only by the support of the people and institutions who strongly believed in the scheme.