efore marriage? I thought this was the perfect follow up question for a couple of reasons. First, because I was interested in responses that showed a religious or moral background. Second, I was wondering if anyone had a personal experience to conflict his/her beliefs. The responses I attained were very simple. Some thought that sex should wait for marriage because of either a religious or moral influence. Others thought that premarital sex is dependent on love and commitment rather than marriage or morals. Yet the responses that intrigued me the most were regrets of not following religious beliefs. That is to say that some people appeared to think one way and act another.3.Do you feel premarital sex affects intimacy after you become married? Why or why not? I asked this question in anticipation of regretful responses to the previous question. The majority felt that there would be no negative effects if the partners stayed the same. An almost, but not quite, equal amount suggested that a certain amount of trust is lost by not waiting for marriage. Others viewed things as promiscuity being a greater opposition than simple experimentation. 4.How important is your religious beliefs in regards to premarital sex? This was my most relevant question. I asked this last because I wanted people to reflect on their previous answers and maybe look at them different. I was extremely disturbed at these responses. They seemed to be very casually for religious/ moral attitudes, yet very accepting of the contrary. Americans, at least tacitly, have all but given up on the notion that the appropriate premarital state is one of chastity. The Bible may have warned that like the denizens of Sodom and Gomorrah, those who give "themselves over to fornication" will suffer "the vengeance of eternal fire." Yet for most Americans, adult premarital sex has become the "sin" they not only wink at but also quietly endorse. Most people, about 74 percent, have serious ...
