The Great Sex Rescue
New book is helping marriages and making waves
in the spring of 2019, three Canadian women decided to conduct a research project to identify the impact popular evangelical teachings have on women’s sexual satisfaction and marriages. In March 2021 they released their findings in a book called The Great Sex Rescue.
Previously author Sheila Wray Gregoire had explored questions surrounding harmful teachings in evangelical resources on her Christian marriage and sex blog (ToLoveHonorAndVacuum. com). The blog was soon inundated by hundreds of stories from readers about how these types of messages had harmed them, even enabling abuse. Gregoire and her co-writers, Rebecca Gregoire Lindenbach and Joanna Sawatsky, began wondering how widespread these teachings were.
“One of our concerns was that marriage and sex books and teachings in the Church have predominantly been based on opinion and doctrine,” says Gregoire. “Nobody has looked at whether this stuff is healthy, like what sort of health-based outcomes it has.”
The three women surveyed 20,000 women to see what they believed about sex and how it impacted them. They reviewed Christian marriage bestsellers using a 12-point rubric for healthy sexuality and conducted focus interviews with a smaller group of women. The resulting research suggests certain beliefs contribute to sexual pain, lack of female orgasm and women feeling alone, unheard or without value.
The authors hope their book will prompt people to critically evaluate resources and seek out credible scientific research. They’re working on getting their research in peer-reviewed journals and in the hands of relevant professionals. “To me it is a public health intervention and a mass education campaign,” says Sawatsky.
“We’re trying to challenge the Church to re-evaluate: What is a successful marriage? What is a biblical sexual ethic?” says Lindenbach. “Is your sex life a humanizing and dignifying one? Do you feel seen and loved? Is it satisfying?”
The book was reviewed by The New York Times in an article titled “Looking for Sexual Healing?” Within the Church it has cracked open a simmering conversation about how Evangelicals talk about sex. It’s received both heavy pushback and emphatic support.
The authors are encouraged by the feedback they’re receiving from abuse survivors, women who are finally experiencing sexual pleasure and Christians who’ve been hurt by purity culture. “The number of people who email and tell me, ‘I’m still following Jesus because of your blog.’ That’s really hopeful,” says Gregoire.