AUTHOR=Hendriks Jacqueline , Francis Neil , Saltis Hanna , Marson Katrina , Walsh Jenny , Lawton Natasha , Burns Sharyn 

TITLE=Parental opposition to comprehensive sexuality education in Australia: associations with religiosity and school sector

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=15

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1391197

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1391197

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=<sec id="sec1"><title>Purpose</title><p>To empirically examine associations between parental opposition towards comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) and religiosity.</p></sec><sec id="sec2"><title>Methods</title><p>A nationally representative survey of Australian parents (<italic>N</italic> = 2,418) examined opposition towards 40 CSE topics, by parental religiosity and secular/religious school sector.</p></sec><sec id="sec3"><title>Results</title><p>Whilst opposition to most CSE topics correlated positively with religiosity, even amongst <italic>very</italic> religious parents, disapproval was minimal (2.8–31.2%; or 9.0–20.2% netted against non-religious parents). Parents with children enrolled in a Catholic school were less likely than secular-school parents to oppose CSE. Those with children at other-faith-schools were more likely to oppose CSE, but again disapproval was minimal (1.2–21.9%; or 1.3–9.4% netted against secular-school parents).</p></sec><sec id="sec4"><title>Discussion</title><p>Only small minorities of <italic>very</italic> religious parents and parents with children in religious schools opposed the teaching of various CSE topics. Decision-makers should therefore be cautious about assuming that CSE delivery is not widely supported by particular families.</p></sec>