Generation Life, a Pennsylvania-based organization, has been actively promoting its message of chastity and opposition to abortion for over two decades. Every summer, it sends out college-aged students to do “beach outreach” along the Jersey shore. This year, activists Chiara MacGillivray and Jon Sechuk burst onto the scene. They are seen above, deftly avoiding the beachgoers that came out for a stroll after an afternoon thundershower. The group aims to engage young people in conversations about relationships, love, and sexual ethics, despite the shifting cultural landscape that challenges their message.
The beach outreach initiative represents Generation Life’s commitment to its core mission: advocating for chastity before marriage. As societal attitudes toward premarital sex evolve, evidenced by a record 77% of 18- to 34-year-olds believing that sex before marriage is “not wrong at all,” the organization’s activists find themselves facing an uphill battle in communicating their beliefs. Project partners MacGillivray and Sechuk illustrated this challenge in their recent outreach, which had beachgoers responding with a wide range of emotions.
Engaging Beachgoers with a Challenging Message
And although the skies were as rain-soaked as the grounds, and beachgoers much scarcer, Generation Life’s activists wouldn’t be shaken. They then broke into small groups and dispersed along the beach. Their mission was to start a dialogue with everyone who would listen. This approach allowed them to stretch their dollars further and reach a much broader area. They just wanted their message to hit home with one or two people.
After finishing one such circuit, MacGillivray and Sechuck walked over to a seated young man who was relaxing in a beach chair. Conversation around their tables soon shifted to the heart of the mission of Generation Life. MacGillivray posed a thought-provoking question:
“What do you think love is?”
This exchange was emblematic of the chasm between Generation Life’s lofty aspirations and what many young people actually think and feel today. The activists discussed chastity as their deep belief in chastity came through. As advocates for youth, we need to focus on love being more than infatuation or lust.
“Is it like for a video or something?”
The activists’ efforts were met with intrigue as well as apathy. On a second pitch, an interested young man wanted to know if they were affiliated with a church. The question underscored the difficulty in conveying the beauty of chastity in a non-religious context.
Our attempt to learn revealed just how embedded false assumptions about chastity are, even in sex-positive spaces, coloring sexual ethics conversations.
“Or are you with the church?”
Generation Life’s outreach occurs amidst a broader shift in society’s perceptions of relationships and sex. As of today, the median age of first marriage sits at almost 30. This represents a profound change in the willingness of young adults to invest in long-term pursuits. This demographic shift makes the organization’s work even harder, as younger generations overwhelmingly see premarital sex in a positive light.
The Broader Cultural Context
The statistics reveal a stark reality for Generation Life’s activists: only 30% of Americans aged 18 to 39 identify as white Christians. This demographic shift emphasizes the challenges faced by those who advocate for traditional values in a society that increasingly embraces diverse perspectives on relationships and sexuality.
Within this context of an abstinence-only framework of sex education, the organization has achieved significant success. Despite over $2 billion in federal funding supporting this approach since 2000, it has been consistently ineffective at changing young people’s behaviors. The continuing notion permeating our culture that sex outside of marriage is okay makes Generation Life’s work even more tough.
Once the rain passed, Generation Life’s activists moved on to the Wildwood boardwalk, where they would face much bigger crowds. The energy was infectious and the room buzzed with discussion and possibility as the creative minds dreamt of what lay ahead on the Jersey shore. Here, MacGillivray and Sechuk rounded out their outreach efforts, looking to attract as many people as possible to their mission and message.
Moving to More Populated Areas
Indeed, a jolly fellow transmitting from Atlantic City’s boardwalk loudspeakers only contributed to that colorful scene of the day by joyously declaring,
This flippant remark was a complete 180 from the substantive conversations that Generation Life advocates were hoping to start. The activists continued to dog their targets, making their best efforts to engage strangers and start productive conversations about romance and relationships in the midst of all the revelry.
“You’re gonna have a blast on the boards! Morning, noon and night!”
This focused approach emphasized how serious they were about getting their ideology across in a loud and provocative way.
One activist remarked,
“The Word will know who you’re talking about,”
in an attempt to connect deeply with potential listeners. This intentional approach underscored their commitment to conveying their beliefs clearly and effectively.