An overview of religious socialisation and its relationship to Northern Irish women’s sexual experiences

Description

Northern Ireland has been described as having a morally conservative outlook on all issues related to sex, sexuality, and reproductive rights. It is suggested that this is due, in part, to religions influence in the history of conflict, over the political system, the development of sexually progressive policy and in essence all major socializing institutions in Northern Ireland. The sexual health education in Northern Ireland is explicitly informed by religion but more specifically a Christian doctrine, it mostly promotes a heteronormative understanding of sex, advocating abstinence from sex until marriage and sex only for procreation within marriage. This lecture will present an overview of Ruth Flanagan’s PhD research titled ‘The Panopticon of Pleasure: An Exploration into Religious Cultural Upbringing and the Sexual Experiences of Northern Irish Women’. It will cover a short background on religion and sex research in Northern Ireland, the rational for the research. A glance at the creative method used to combat researching the sensitive topics of religion and sex. A summary of the themes that emerged from research and finally a discussion of the implications of religions influences on sexual health education and Northern Irish society as a whol

Period	10 Oct 2022
Held at	Göteborgs Universitet, Sweden