On the Periphery in Two Ways: the Sexuality of 'Highly Religious' Protestant Singles in between a Secular Society and Their Religious Context

Abstract

This paper is based on specific interpretation of the results from a triangulated, empirical study on Protestant and mostly 'highly religious' singles. It demonstrates that 'highly religious' Protestant singles in Germany are on the periphery in two ways. Firstly, they are 'highly religious' individuals in a secular society and secondly, they are singles in a couple society. Furthermore, they are a minority in the context of their 'highly religious' groups not only in terms of numbers, but also in terms of deviation from the conservative norms of family and partnership. This double deviation is most evident in the area of sexuality-hence the focus of this paper are descriptive findings concerning the sexuality of Protestant-Christian singles.