Read a U.S. News and World Report article that asks whether schools are giving students too much – or too little – information about sexual matters. The magazine says California, Pennsylvania and, most recently, Maine have turned down federal money for abstinence-only curricula so they can teach what they believe is best.

The National Center for Health Statistics posts statistics about teen births.

Read the federal government’s report on preliminary births data for 2006. It says that the birth rate for teens rose in 2006 – the first increase since 1991. This is the full report by the National Center for Health Statistics is also available. The 2006 increase came on the heels of a record low set […]

A federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report on teenage sexual activity and contraceptive use.

A report from the national Center for Health Statistics that includes figures on sexual behavior among U.S. teens. It says, among other things, that 25 percent of 15-year-old boys have had vaginal intercourse, and the figure jumps to 62 percent for 18-year-old males. The corresponding figures for girls were 26 percent and 70 percent, respectively.

Sept. 14, 2011, First Things column by Joe Carter where he dismisses the idea of an oppressive American theocracy ever materializing

August 28, 2011, The New York Times op-ed by Ross Douthat where he provides journalists pointers on how to approach writing about religion and politics.

Written by Michelle Goldberg (W.W. Norton, 2006). Goldberg investigates the increasing religious radicalism that led to the re-election of George W. Bush in 2004.

Written by Rabbi James Rudin (Thunder’s Mouth Press, 2006). Rudin looks at what he believes is a systematic campaign by Christian fundamentalists to co-opt and take over every facet of American society.