The UCBHM develops and implements policies and programs in several human
sexuality-related areas. After a 1985 survey, Ask the Churches About Faith
and Sexuality, indicated that UCC members wanted churches to address human
sexuality concerns, the UCBHM published an adult human sexuality education
program, Created in God's Image: A Human Sexuality Program for Ministry
and Mission. In the 1993, in response to the AIDS epidemic, the UCBHM
published a kindergarten through adult HIV/AIDS-prevention series, Affirming
Persons, Saving Lives. The UCBHM also produces books and other publications
that help individuals, families, and society to understand human sexuality,
identity, and relationship issues.
The UUA first undertook the development of a sexuality education program
for adolescents in 1968. About Your Sexuality (AYS), by Derek Calderwood,
was published in 1971. The program's openness to all areas of sexual questioning,
its commitment to helping young people develop healthy, positive attitudes
and feelings, and its acceptance of a variety of sexual lifestyles made it
a pioneer in the field of sexuality education. Unlike other curricula of the
era, the course was taught to boys and girls together in the same class, with
teachers serving primarily as facilitators and resources rather than instructors.AYS
was the first curriculum to require male and female co-facilitators; to mandate
that all teams attend a weekend training session; and to require a promise
that curriculum buyers would use the materials only in educational settings.
AYS was published in three revised editions before it went out of print
in 1997. It was used in a variety of settings, including UU congregations,
UCC congregations, other religious groups, private schools, group homes, and
adolescent hospital units.
The development of Our Whole Lives was motivated by the need to replace
the aging AYS with a sexuality education curriculum for the twenty-first
century. It was felt that the AIDS epidemic, the rapid increase of other sexually
transmitted diseases among youth, the rising birthrate among teenagers, the
explosive debate over abortion, the growing knowledge of the tragedy of sexual
abuse, and the appearance of shame- and fear-based sexuality curricula in
the schools all demanded a new curriculum. Rising awareness of social issues
such as gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender rights; gender identity; abortion
rights; and AIDS policies increased the need for a curriculum based on respect,
compassion, justice, and action.
It was at this point that Gene Navias, then the director of the UUA Department
of Religious Education, and Faith Johnson, the UCBHM minister for family life
and human sexuality, began the conversations that led to the formation of
the Sexuality Education Task Force. In 1992, the Task Force began the process
of assessing the denominations' needs, determining the scope and structure
of the curricula, raising funds for curriculum development, and hiring authors.
One of the group's greatest challenges was balancing the desire for a common
curriculum with the need to acknowledge each community's distinctive religious
traditions and beliefs. The Task Force eventually decided to publish a single
core curriculum without explicitly religious material, along with companion
UU and UCC religious supplements. In this way, Our Whole Lives would
be appropriate for use in a wide range of secular and religious settings,
but, through the companion resources, would still provide specifically religious
content for UUA and UCC congregations.
The Task Force commissioned several outstanding sexuality educators to write
the Our Whole Lives curricula. Each holds extensive background in both
classroom sexuality education and curriculum development. (For more information,
see "About the Authors" in the About Our Whole Lives booklet, also
in this packet.) After the curricula were written, they were tested "in the
field." Our Whole Lives: Sexuality Education for Grades 7-9 was tested
in twenty UU congregations, as well as in UCC congregations and secular sites,
during the 1996-97 church year. The other curricula for Grades K-1, Grades
4-6, Grades 10-12, and adultswere also extensively field-tested in 1997-98.
After these tests were evaluated, the curricula were revised and edited.
The centerpiece of the series, Our Whole Lives for Grades 7-9, was
published in June 1999, with the other curricula following over the 1999-2000
school year.
Now that the curricula are in use, the UUA and the UCBHM plan to continually
evaluate the program. Future revisions will be based on these evaluations.
Throughout its work, the Sexuality Education Task Force has been guided by
these words from its philosophy statement: "We come together as representatives
of two denominations to create a vision for a positive and comprehensive life-span
sexuality education program. . . . a safe environment within which people
can come to understand and respond to the challenges facing them as sexual
beings." It is our hope that, in Our Whole Lives, this goal has been
realized.
Curricula
