'With Utmost Caution and Restraint.' The Making of Roman Catholic Sex Education in the German-Speaking Area, 1900s to 1930s
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| Title: | 'With Utmost Caution and Restraint.' The Making of Roman Catholic Sex Education in the German-Speaking Area, 1900s to 1930s |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Paul M. Horntrich (ORCID |
| Source: | Paedagogica Historica: International Journal of the History of Education. 2025 61(3):462-481. |
| Availability: | Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 20 |
| Publication Date: | 2025 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Evaluative |
| Descriptors: | Sex Education, Educational History, Lay People, Clergy, Catholics, Church Role, Guidelines, Religious Factors, German, Social Change, Contraception, Sexuality, Interpersonal Relationship, Ethics, Moral Values, Gender Differences, Political Influences, Foreign Countries |
| Geographic Terms: | Germany, Austria, Switzerland |
| DOI: | 10.1080/00309230.2024.2359682 |
| ISSN: | 0030-9230 1477-674X |
| Abstract: | While the emergence of sex education in the early 20th century is well studied, religious reactions to it remained under-studied. The paper addresses this gap by analysing the emergence of Roman Catholic sex education in the German-speaking area from the turn of the century to the 1930s. It explores official doctrinal guidelines, inner-Catholic debates, and the growing body of Catholic sex education publications. The paper argues that for the Roman Catholic Church, sex education was not a mere pedagogical problem but a topic that raised overarching questions such as how to deal with modern natural sciences, female emancipation, or the secular school system. The findings suggest that lay people and clergy working in pastoral care were the driving force for the modernisation of the discourse vis-à-vis a more conservative church authority. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2025 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1474118 |
| Database: | ERIC |
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| FullText | Links: – Type: pdflink Url: https://content.ebscohost.com/cds/retrieve?content=AQICAHj0k_4E0hTGH8RJwT4gCJyBsGNe_WN95AvKlDbXJGqwxwE-Emru5VPk8rjd-5iDmZN2AAAA4zCB4AYJKoZIhvcNAQcGoIHSMIHPAgEAMIHJBgkqhkiG9w0BBwEwHgYJYIZIAWUDBAEuMBEEDEI9SQcf7Jk_nhNf3AIBEICBm9cVffs729Qz2aQknXlNr-DKUHrwjuWIQmLX4t4tRWIfJiSb-IsT_iJamFg-Ea1_CFLdyrZicL1OOrAtuQfz6iIBntyZPSrSZz9Q3qErFWj9dYsmxNGJ70vkwl9xJjQykfWB8cUijIaBrBsFUK_XrpFjya56vh3i_rFm2cskDx1PIGXYoZ4Wu5jCXVeVXr9vwihBRnrzUqLIb3rL Text: Availability: 1 Value: <anid>AN0185487945;j5401jun.25;2025May30.06:14;v2.2.500</anid> <title id="AN0185487945-1">"With utmost caution and restraint." The making of Roman Catholic sex education in the German-speaking area, 1900s to 1930s </title> <p>While the emergence of sex education in the early 20th century is well studied, religious reactions to it remained under-studied. The paper addresses this gap by analysing the emergence of Roman Catholic sex education in the German-speaking area from the turn of the century to the 1930s. It explores official doctrinal guidelines, inner-Catholic debates, and the growing body of Catholic sex education publications. The paper argues that for the Roman Catholic Church, sex education was not a mere pedagogical problem but a topic that raised overarching questions such as how to deal with modern natural sciences, female emancipation, or the secular school system. The findings suggest that lay people and clergy working in pastoral care were the driving force for the modernisation of the discourse vis-à-vis a more conservative church authority.</p> <p>Keywords: Catholic Church; German-speaking area; sexuality; sex education</p> <hd id="AN0185487945-2">Introduction</hd> <p>When the first Roman Catholic book in the German language that explicitly devoted a chapter to sex education was published in 1903, the reactions could not have been more contradictory: the Vatican Congregation of the Index, the Roman Catholic Church's highest institution for the examination of ideological writings, started an investigation into whether the book <emph>Die Ehe</emph> (Marriage) transgressed Catholic teachings and if its further publication should be allowed or not. Eventually, the book was accepted. For the mass of believers such concerns obviously did not play a role: it quickly became a bestseller and saw 12 reprints in the following eight years.[<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref1">1</reflink>] This example shows that sex education was as much a pressing concern for the believers as it was a delicate topic for church authorities.[<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref2">2</reflink>]</p> <p>From the late 19th century, "sex became a highly public topic" as Dagmar Herzog has shown.[<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref3">3</reflink>] Natural scientists and scholars, politicians, various pressure groups from diverse political and ideological backgrounds, and not least clerics discussed the "sexual question" and thereby raised the public's attention on topics such as birth control, prostitution, venereal diseases, or sex education.[<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref4">4</reflink>] This had several reasons. Theories like neo-Malthusianism that were starting to be heavily discussed in the 1880s promoted a separation of sex from procreation and advocated contraception.[<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref5">5</reflink>] Especially in Germany, sexual science flourished.[<reflink idref="bib6" id="ref6">6</reflink>] However, "studying sex and reforming sex went hand in hand", as Kirsten Leng has emphasised.[<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref7">7</reflink>] Sexual scientists did not just invent a seemingly "objective" language that helped to publicly speak about sexuality and procreation, but at the same time pressed ahead with their own activist agendas. For example, organisations such as Magnus Hirschfeld's Scientific-Humanitarian Committee, founded in 1897 in Berlin, promoted the scientific study of sexuality while becoming the first LGBT rights organisation worldwide.[<reflink idref="bib8" id="ref8">8</reflink>] Also women's rights campaigners debated sexuality as they believed that only a renewed sexual ethics would promote female emancipation from patriarchal structures.[<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref9">9</reflink>] For Catholicism, the "sexual question" thus raised serious concerns: new authorities like scientists or activists increasingly participated in the discourse on sexuality – a discourse that was traditionally dictated by religion and the law. Especially concerning sex education, the secular claim to leadership became apparent and worried church representatives.</p> <p>Sex education was one of the major demands of various sex reform movements that emerged around the turn of the century. Mainly driven by natural scientists, medical doctors, and women's rights groups – often political leftists – sex reformists demanded the sexual education of the youth along scientific criteria: youngsters should be enlightened about the "facts of life" in a decidedly secular, scientific fashion that entailed education about bodily organs and their functions, the dangers of sexually transmitted diseases, conception, and birth control. Proper sex education, in the hopes of its advocates, would help reduce the high number of syphilitics and combat sexual misery in general.[<reflink idref="bib10" id="ref10">10</reflink>] Some of their ideas were indeed taken into consideration by policymakers. Even though they ultimately failed in introducing sex education in schools until the 1960s, their scientific and secular commitment brought sex reformers almost inevitably into stark contrast to church teachings.[<reflink idref="bib11" id="ref11">11</reflink>]</p> <p>How the church responded to this threat to its authority, however, is virtually unexplored. So far, scholars have produced a quite nuanced body of studies that investigate the making of modern, secular sex education in various Western countries since the late 19th century.[<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref12">12</reflink>] Roman Catholic responses towards these developments, on the other side, have received almost no scholarly attention.[<reflink idref="bib13" id="ref13">13</reflink>] A recent study by Lucia Pozzi sheds light on Catholic responses towards the scientification of sexual discourse. However, regarding sex education her account focuses on French Catholic sex education publications and does not explore the situation in the German-speaking area.[<reflink idref="bib14" id="ref14">14</reflink>] Focusing on the German-speaking area, the few existing studies on Catholic sex education are mostly outdated and of limited scope: written by either theologians or church historians, they focus on moral theological considerations instead of historical contextualisation.[<reflink idref="bib15" id="ref15">15</reflink>] A noteworthy exception is a study by the historian Britta McEwen. In her short exploration, McEwen offers a close reading of five Catholic sex education booklets that were read in Austria during the 1920s and 1930s. Nevertheless, through its constrained source selection, the study is limited in both its geographical and temporal scope and furthermore does not cover inner-church debates on the topic.[<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref16">16</reflink>]</p> <p>The present study builds on recent publications that have highlighted the manifold entanglements and contact points between Catholicism and secularisation. Challenging the long-standing narrative of Catholicism's monolithic renitence towards (sexual) liberalisation, these studies have emphasised progressive Catholics' attempts to reconcile their church with modernity and the many contradictions that existed in Catholic circles.[<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref17">17</reflink>] My study deploys a similar critical viewpoint to show ambivalences and differing perspectives in Catholic discourses on sex education. It aims to investigate how Catholics in the German-speaking area reacted towards the challenge of secular sex education, how Catholic sex education materials were designed, and which questions the engagement in sex education raised. To answer these questions, I have analysed papal encyclicals, episcopal writings and documents, Catholic sex education publications, and articles from Catholic journals that discussed sex education. Catechetical writings or Catholic texts dealing with eugenics were beyond the scope of the paper.[<reflink idref="bib18" id="ref18">18</reflink>] I analysed these sources using methods of Critical Discourse Analysis as put forward by Siegfried Jäger. Jäger proposes a two-step approach: first, data are analysed on a macro level to develop an understanding of key topics, subtopics, typical textual features and so on. In this way, the structure of the discourse is reconstructed. Second, representative text examples are analysed linguistically in detail. Together, the structural and detailed analyses then result in the discourse analysis.[<reflink idref="bib19" id="ref19">19</reflink>]</p> <p>The paper argues that for the Roman Catholic Church, sex education was not a simple problem of pedagogy or pastoral care but a topic that raised overarching questions of how to deal with modernity itself, be it in the form of natural scientific theories, female emancipation, or the emergence of secular schools. As the paper will show, German-speaking Catholics answered these questions in a predominantly conservative way that was meant to fight off secularisation. Given the societal importance of Catholicism in the period under investigation and the comparatively limited reach of secular sex education materials, especially in rural areas, a better understanding of Catholic sex education will help to counterbalance the existing literature with its focus on secular developments. The period under investigation covers the sex education debate from the 1900s until the 1930s, when National Socialist sexual politics put an end to sex reformist's aspirations and reduced religious authority in society.</p> <p>At first, I discuss inner-Catholic debates and the making of guidelines for sex education by church authorities. I then analyse Catholic sex education publications in detail. The penultimate section deals with the topic of gender in Catholic sex education discourse. The paper ends with a conclusion and some reflections for future research.</p> <hd id="AN0185487945-3">Debating and regulating Catholic sex education</hd> <p>When Catholics were confronted with secular sex education for the first time in the 1900s, they could look back at a long history of writings, both moral-theological and pastoral, that addressed sexuality: many prayer and devotion booklets, and the extensive Catholic advice literature covered the topic.[<reflink idref="bib20" id="ref20">20</reflink>] Besides that, sexuality was also an issue of catechetical instruction in schools, where it was addressed in the context of the 6th commandment.[<reflink idref="bib21" id="ref21">21</reflink>] Discussing sexuality was thus nothing new for Catholics. What was new, however, was that secular sex reformers addressed sexuality publicly and in a scientific way that put special emphasis on bodily organs, their functions, and possible diseases, but not so much on moral aspects – and that they claimed that this "naturalistic approach" was superior to the Catholic one. This naturalism triggered protest from the Catholic side.</p> <p>Since the 19th century, the Catholic Church had positioned itself firmly against a rapidly changing and increasingly secularising world whose new ideologies and political currents questioned the established authority of religion. The church sought refuge in an antimodernism that countered modern ideologies and their perceived relativism with the stability of papal infallibility and the sempiternal truth of the magisterium. The backbone of Catholic antimodernism was a long list of papal encyclicals and other doctrinal writings, from the 1864 <emph>Quanta Cura</emph> to the 1910 <emph>Oath against Modernism</emph>, that condemned all "modern heresies" and forbade Catholics any involvement therein. The list of condemned teachings was long, ranging from modern approaches in Catholic theology itself to political ideologies such as liberalism, socialism, or communism, to fundamental rights like freedom of belief or the separation of church and state.[<reflink idref="bib22" id="ref22">22</reflink>] Within the framework of Catholic antimodernism, the demands of the sex reformers seemed like another sad outcome of secular modernity. Speaking about and, even worse, demanding naturalistic sex education, therefore, had only become possible due to the profound "moral decadence" of modern society that ignored traditional religious teachings and public decency altogether, as Catholic commentators put it.[<reflink idref="bib23" id="ref23">23</reflink>]</p> <p>A good example of early Catholic reactions towards secular sex education are the contributions of Jakob Hoffmann, a priest and educator, in the <emph>Katechetische Blätter</emph> (Catechetical Sheets), a monthly that focused on questions concerning Catholic education.[<reflink idref="bib24" id="ref24">24</reflink>] The danger that came from naturalistic sex education, according to Hoffmann, was that their proponents would "seek to put the enlightenment about sexual matters in the service of propaganda for materialism and Darwinism".[<reflink idref="bib25" id="ref25">25</reflink>] The problem with sex education was thus not only that it rendered sexuality a topic of public debate – which would have been enough to violate the Catholic sense of morality – but that it acted as a gateway to popularise "modern heresies" the church had condemned or was highly sceptical of.[<reflink idref="bib26" id="ref26">26</reflink>] For Hoffmann as well as many other commentators of the time, however, the sex reformers' aspirations were misguided because they would overlook the inherent moral weakness of human beings that they had acquired through original sin. Naturalistic sexual knowledge would inevitably excite the "desires of the flesh" and threaten Catholic decency.[<reflink idref="bib27" id="ref27">27</reflink>] Following this logic, Hoffmann warned his readers that sex education had to be regarded as a serious threat to Catholicism itself:</p> <p>Thus, the matter presents itself as a campaign undertaken by unbelieving physicians, naturalists, pedagogues, etc., to transplant, on the ruins of a Christian education based on shame and morality, the naturalistic way of thinking about sexual processes into the souls of children.[<reflink idref="bib28" id="ref28">28</reflink>]</p> <p>Naturalistic sex education would have "the worst consequences for the whole human society: free love, abolition of marriage, with it the dissolution of an ordered community. It would certainly achieve the opposite of what one pretends to advocate, a general moral corruption would arise".[<reflink idref="bib29" id="ref29">29</reflink>] Consequently, Hoffmann accepted sex education only as the lesser evil and emergency measure in cases where a lack of knowledge would endanger Catholic morality. Even then, the education must not focus on biological aspects but on morals, he argued.[<reflink idref="bib30" id="ref30">30</reflink>]</p> <p>Besides Darwinism, Hoffmann and other commentators also feared the popularisation of feminist thinking via sex education. Women's rights activists like Helene Stöcker would use sex education to promote what they called a "New Ethics".[<reflink idref="bib31" id="ref31">31</reflink>] Stöcker was a proponent of the radical wing of the German women's movement, one of the founding members of the <emph>Bund für Mutterschutz</emph> (League for the Protection of Mothers), and one of the most distinguished sex reformers of the early 20th century. She identified the bourgeois sexual morality as the central component in the oppression of women. Only sexual ethics free of oppression and double standards could reconfigure the disturbed relationship between men and women in present society, she argued. Consequently, Stöcker demanded a profound reform of sexual morality as a prerequisite for women's emancipation. This "New Ethics" should allow for the legal recognition of non-marital cohabitation and of children born out of wedlock, the introduction of maternity rights, women's rights including self-determination over their sexuality and their bodies, and access to sex education and contraceptives.[<reflink idref="bib32" id="ref32">32</reflink>] To put it shortly: Stöcker's "New Ethics" challenged Catholic morality on many levels all at once. As in the case of Darwinism, Catholic authors rejected such ideas as a threat to decency and, eventually, society at large.[<reflink idref="bib33" id="ref33">33</reflink>]</p> <p>Even though critical voices dominated the discourse, not all Catholic commentators rejected sex education outright. Johann Valerian Schubert, for example, a teacher from Würzburg in Germany, pledged that teachers should give their students basic sex education since only a proper Catholic understanding of sexuality – and not false prudery that resulted in the total exclusion of all things sexual in religious education – would be a safeguard against immorality. Schubert did not depart from the general antimodern orientation of the discourse. However, he suggested that the crucial point was not whether Catholic educators should address sexuality, but how: by introducing, at first, the procreation of plants and, later, that of animals, teachers could easily proceed to explain the procreative act in human beings just by referring to the analogies that existed between flora, fauna, and human beings. That way, even the delicate task of explaining the sexual act could be solved without going too much into anatomical details and thereby violating decency, Schubert argued.[<reflink idref="bib34" id="ref34">34</reflink>] However, even this well-intentioned suggestion triggered protest. Jakob Hoffmann criticised the birds-and-bees analogies as a dangerous "smuggling in" of Darwinian thought into the minds of Catholic students, and cited Schubert as a warning example that naturalistic theories could diffuse into Catholic circles.[<reflink idref="bib35" id="ref35">35</reflink>] This example shows both how difficult it was for Catholic authors to take a stand for sex education and how strong the opposition towards naturalistic theories like Darwinism was. Sex education, thus, was seen as a gateway for ideologies such as Darwinism and feminism, which had the potential to undermine Catholic teachings, and, in doing so, the Catholic community itself. The Catholic debate on sex education can therefore be interpreted as a reflection on secularisation and its possible effects on Catholicism.</p> <p>At the same time as theorists like Hoffmann discarded any approaches to Catholic sex education, other authors were already publishing sex education brochures that even received a Catholic printing licence. Two early examples are the books by Josef Leute, a parish priest from Bavaria, and Pauline Herber, a female writer, teacher, and founder of the Association of Catholic German Women Teachers.[<reflink idref="bib36" id="ref36">36</reflink>] As motivation for writing a Catholic sex education book, Josef Leute stated that he wanted to counter "the effects of subversive poison, caused by the penetration of reprehensible writings, the so-called popular-medical enlightenment books".[<reflink idref="bib37" id="ref37">37</reflink>] For Herber the motive was similar. Her book was a warning against the alleged collapse of moral values due to secularisation.[<reflink idref="bib38" id="ref38">38</reflink>] The modus operandi chosen by Leute and Herber to publish their books is noteworthy: Leute published anonymously, Herber using her pseudonym "Ernst E". This suggests two things: first, it was people from the grassroots of the church – with direct contact with believers and an understanding of their real-life problems – who deemed it necessary to write such pieces of advice literature. Second, they rightly anticipated that publishing these kinds of texts could trigger criticism by church authorities, and so they sought shelter by publishing anonymously or pseudonymously. Even though these publications were not progressive in any sense but were limited to the reiteration of antimodern sentiments and the traditional Catholic sexual morality, it indicates that the grassroots of the church were far from speaking in unison when it came to the topic of sex education. It was thus up to church authorities to find a clear line in this regard.</p> <p>Church authorities like the episcopate addressed the topic of sex education only reluctantly. The first official statement came in 1909 at the Fulda bishops' conference, the annual meeting of German bishops in which the key questions of the time were discussed. It voiced the hope that the interest in sex education would soon fade, and a more thorough Catholic engagement would thus not be necessary.[<reflink idref="bib39" id="ref39">39</reflink>] However, contrary to this hope, sex education remained a hot topic and in 1913 the German bishops found themselves compelled to issue official guidelines. The guidelines were a direct reaction to the publication of two Catholic sex education books that had been published in previous years. One of the books supported sex education in schools, the other favoured female emancipation. For the bishops' conference, both suggestions went too far.</p> <p>A closer look into the bishops' reactions towards one of the books is enlightening as it illuminates the making of an official line regarding sex education.[<reflink idref="bib40" id="ref40">40</reflink>] The first book was a sex education brochure by Michael Gatterer and Franz Krus, with the title <emph>Die Erziehung zur Keuschheit. Gedanken über sexuelle Belehrung und Erziehung, den Seelsorgern und anderen Erziehern vorgelegt</emph> (Education to Chastity. Thoughts on Sexual Instruction and Education, presented to Chaplains and other Educators), first published in 1910.[<reflink idref="bib41" id="ref41">41</reflink>] Both the authors were Jesuit theologians at the University of Innsbruck in Tyrol, Austria. In their book, they promoted the idea of sex education in school classes. This education, aimed at children from six years onwards, should focus on religious notions of chastity and shame. Biological knowledge should never be discussed in class but only in private tuition.[<reflink idref="bib42" id="ref42">42</reflink>] However, the Fulda bishops' conference adjudicated that "[...] their proposals for enlightenment in school go much too far. The modern principle of telling the youth as much as possible in sexual matters, even in school and in the classroom, without direct annoyance, must be abandoned as misguided".[<reflink idref="bib43" id="ref43">43</reflink>]</p> <p>What the bishops rejected was thus not the book's content per se but the intended place: the public school. Since the age of empire, religious education in public schools has been increasingly criticised by liberals and Social Democrats. They identified religious education as the main upholder of conservative and traditional values, and consequently as an enemy for their reformist agendas. After World War I, the fervour of the debates increased and the whole issue became highly politicised. Especially Social Democrats wanted to establish a school system independent of religious supervision. School reformers and progressive teachers criticised religious instruction in schools as well, sometimes even demanding its complete abolition. Understandably, Catholics and conservatives criticised such ideas and nourished the topos of religious education in schools as the best antidote against political leftists.[<reflink idref="bib44" id="ref44">44</reflink>] The debates over religious instruction in public schools deepened the alienation between the Catholic Church and progressive forces. Interestingly, however, the church did not ignore all criticisms but in fact modernised its curricula and trimmed down many contents of school instruction. In the long run, this helped to maintain the religious influence in schools.[<reflink idref="bib45" id="ref45">45</reflink>] In this context, the prospect of naturalistic sex education in public schools appeared as a further attack on Catholicism itself. The bishops saw their monopoly on moral education in schools in danger and rejected the idea completely.</p> <p>For the bishops, the whole discourse on sex education was proof of the immorality of the modern, secular world. They criticised secular approaches to sex education as</p> <p>[...] based on a foolish overestimation of mere enlightenment and mere knowledge in a matter in which everything depends on the will. The principle [of sex education; the author] is and works doubly fatal in a time in which the whole air is already sexually infected, and the sexual gossip has become an epidemic. What today's youth needs is distraction from the sexual.[<reflink idref="bib46" id="ref46">46</reflink>]</p> <p>The German bishops' understanding of the topic was thus antithetical to that of secular sex reformers: not enlightenment but the containment of the sexual, especially in public, was necessary. As a response, the guidelines highlighted that sex education should only take place if it was unavoidable, and then only face to face. Generally, "the sexual education of the youth has to be treated with the utmost caution and restraint" and should always be an "education to shamefacedness and high esteem of chastity".[<reflink idref="bib47" id="ref47">47</reflink>] Furthermore, the German bishops explicitly rejected sex education in schools. Besides priests, only parents were seen as appropriate contact persons. Ideally, they should teach their children in a gendered fashion: mothers should enlighten their daughters and fathers their sons, respectively. The last point of the guidelines outlawed co-educational physical education as too shameless.[<reflink idref="bib48" id="ref48">48</reflink>]</p> <p>As already mentioned, the realisation of the guidelines is instructive as it sheds light on the making of Catholic sex education. It was the authors of sex education booklets, that means people from the grassroots of the church, who proactively produced educative materials that answered to the needs of the believers (and in some cases pushed the boundaries of what could be said), while church authorities like the bishops at first hoped that the problem would solve itself and then, when this did not happen, reacted in a hesitant and prohibitive way. This suggests a general tendency of at least in parts more progressive grassroots of the church vis-à-vis a more conservative church authority in sexual matters. Sex education could have become an opportunity for adapting to the needs of the believers and for reviewing the church's handling of sexual morality. However, by issuing guidelines that clearly prescribed the limits of Catholic sex education, church authorities escaped probably controversial discussions about sexual morality and hampered any serious inner-church discussions. This prohibitive stance towards sex education would set the tone for decades to come.</p> <p>In 1928, the first Catholic conference explicitly devoted to the topic of sexual pedagogy held in the German town of Düsseldorf basically reinforced the bishops' attitude. The organiser of the conference, the Jesuit Joseph Schröteler, emphasised in his opening lecture what the Catholic standpoint in the whole discussion was: there was more to the "mystery of life" than the natural sciences with their materialistic approach were able to grasp.[<reflink idref="bib49" id="ref49">49</reflink>] They would reduce procreation to a mere physiological act with neither further meaning nor an ethical dimension. The sciences would thus lay the ground on which socialist sex reform could grow. Essentially, these developments would foster the emergence of a new, materialistic morality that propagated the irresponsibility of human beings for their sexuality and that was contrary to Catholic doctrine.[<reflink idref="bib50" id="ref50">50</reflink>] The lectures given at the conference, delivered by theologians, priests, and lay people, all had the same tenor: sex reform was "devised by non-Christians for non-Christians", as one speaker framed it.[<reflink idref="bib51" id="ref51">51</reflink>] The so-called sex reform movement would work towards a revaluation of values that endangered the foundation of society and thus had to be rejected by Catholics. To counter these threats, a proper Catholic sex education should be based on the teaching of moral principles – and especially the traditional Catholic marriage teachings – instead of physiological knowledge: "Generally, sex education is proper marriage preparation".[<reflink idref="bib52" id="ref52">52</reflink>] In lieu of imparting physiological facts and figures, Catholic sexual pedagogy should act as a prophylaxis to immunise youngsters against the dangers of unleashed sensuality.[<reflink idref="bib53" id="ref53">53</reflink>]</p> <p>The first official statement on sex education from the Vatican came with the 1929 encyclical <emph>Divini Illius Magistri</emph> (On Catholic Education), issued by pope Pius XI. The encyclical was the Vatican's reaction towards the introduction of co-educational schools in many European countries, which was considered a threat to the Catholic social order.[<reflink idref="bib54" id="ref54">54</reflink>] In essence, the encyclical reaffirmed the positions that had been established hitherto:</p> <p>Another very grave danger is that naturalism which nowadays invades the field of education in that most delicate matter of purity of morals. Far too common is the error of those who with dangerous assurance and under an ugly term propagate a so-called sex-education, falsely imagining they can forearm youths against the dangers of sensuality by means purely natural, such as a foolhardy initiation and precautionary instruction for all indiscriminately, even in public; and, worse still, by exposing them at an early age to the occasions, in order to accustom them, so it is argued, and as it were to harden them against such dangers.[<reflink idref="bib55" id="ref55">55</reflink>]</p> <p>The quotation shows that the Vatican rejected sex education as understood by progressive sex reformers and scientists (and some church representatives as well). However, the encyclical did not prohibit the discussion of sexual matters for educative purposes entirely but stated conditions under which it was permitted: "In this extremely delicate matter, if, all things considered, some private instruction is found necessary and opportune, from those who hold from God the commission to teach and who have the grace of state, every precaution must be taken".[<reflink idref="bib56" id="ref56">56</reflink>] In other words: if necessary, then priests and Catholic teachers of religion could give some private instruction in a discreet way. The encyclical then went on framing sexuality as a dangerous "fire" that should not be "kindled" but rather "extinguished" by the right educative measures, without going into further detail how such measures could look.[<reflink idref="bib57" id="ref57">57</reflink>] It also forbade any kind of co-education of boys and girls as naturalistic and against the God-given complementarity of the sexes.[<reflink idref="bib58" id="ref58">58</reflink>] "From the top of its hierarchy", as Lucia Pozzi writes on <emph>Divini Illius Magistri</emph>, "the Catholic Church endorsed sexual ignorance as the solution to the sexual question".[<reflink idref="bib59" id="ref59">59</reflink>]</p> <p>The use of this opaque and metaphorical language shows that discussing sexuality was not just for German Catholics an "extremely delicate matter", but especially for the Vatican itself. Two years later, in 1931, this lack of clarity prompted the issuing of a decree for further clarification. The decree explained that the co-education of boys and girls, as advocated even by some Catholic educators, would be forbidden and that youngsters should be kept away from everything that could work as an occasion to sin, such as "dangerous lectures" or "obscene shows".[<reflink idref="bib60" id="ref60">60</reflink>]</p> <p>With the 1929 encyclical, the Vatican set the standards of sex education for several decades. Another important encyclical of the time, the 1930 <emph>Casti Connubii</emph> (Of chaste wedlock), furthermore cemented Catholic sexual morality by forbidding artificial birth control and abortion, speaking out against eugenics, and declaring sexuality as intrinsically tied with procreation. Matthias Daufratshofer characterised <emph>Casti Connubii</emph> as a combination of "previous papal pronouncements and individual curial decisions on marriage and sexual morality in a unique way" that "thus became the authoritative doctrinal foundation work".[<reflink idref="bib61" id="ref61">61</reflink>] A general acceptance of sex education was only proclaimed in 1965 with the declaration <emph>Gravissimum Educationis</emph>, which was proclaimed in the context of the church's opening to the world during the Second Vatican Council. For the first time, the 1965 document allowed young people to receive what it called "a positive and prudent sexual education".[<reflink idref="bib62" id="ref62">62</reflink>] However, all these guidelines and considerations were elaborated in the many books and brochures on sex education that are the topic of the following section.</p> <hd id="AN0185487945-4">Form and content of Catholic sex education publications</hd> <p>This section analyses Catholic sex education publications, from the first books that were published around 1900 to the genre's bestsellers from the 1930s. Since a new stance towards sex education was only reached during the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s, most publications analysed here are quite consistent in both style and content. Typically, Catholic sex education instructions were published in various layouts and sizes, from small softcover brochures with some dozen pages to hardcover books with several hundred pages. Most writers were churchmen such as priests, bishops, or theologians. That means that the books presented the topic from a male perspective, even if writers discussed female sexuality. However, some publications were also written by laypeople or women. Neither the position within the Catholic hierarchy nor the gender of the writers affected the style of the booklets systematically.</p> <p>One of the most interesting features of Catholic sex education publications is their huge circulation. Many of them sold tens of thousands of copies and were reissued for decades. They had thus undoubtedly a much broader impact than secular sex education publications. Due to the universality of Catholic teachings, some publications were also translated into foreign languages. To give an impression of these materials, I have compiled a table that lists some of the publications analysed (see Table 1).[<reflink idref="bib63" id="ref63">63</reflink>]</p> <p>Table 1. Circulation and translations of selected Catholic sex education publications.</p> <p> <ephtml> &lt;table&gt;&lt;thead&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Author&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Title in German original&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Year of first and last edition&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Circulation numbers&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Translations&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/thead&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Schilgen, Hardy&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;italic&gt;Im Dienst des Sch&amp;#246;pfers: Ein Buch &amp;#252;ber die Ehe f&amp;#252;r katholische Braut- und Eheleute&lt;/italic&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;1921/1950&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;300,000 copies&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Polish, French&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Elpidius, P. [= Weiergans, Elpidius]&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;italic&gt;Die sch&amp;#246;ne Zeit der jungen Liebe. F&amp;#252;r M&amp;#228;dchen&lt;/italic&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;1928/1936&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;At least 250,000 copies&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;None&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Berghoff, Stephan&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;italic&gt;Die sch&amp;#246;ne Zeit der jungen Liebe. F&amp;#252;r Jungmannen&lt;/italic&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;1928/1936&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;At least 200,000 copies&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;French, Dutch&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Anonymous [= Leute, Josef]&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;italic&gt;Die Ehe. Aufkl&amp;#228;rungen und Ratschl&amp;#228;ge f&amp;#252;r Erwachsene, besonders f&amp;#252;r Braut und Eheleute&lt;/italic&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;1903/1911&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;At least 13 editions&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;None&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Meyer, Emanuele&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;italic&gt;Vom M&amp;#228;dchen zur Frau. Ein zeitgem&amp;#228;&amp;#223;es Erziehungs- und Ehebuch. Allen reifen T&amp;#246;chtern, Gattinnen, M&amp;#252;ttern und Volkserziehern gewidmet&lt;/italic&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;1912/1923&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;At least 157,000 copies&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Finnish&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt; </ephtml> </p> <p>Generally, Catholic sex education publications aimed at promoting the church's traditional sexual morality. Since sexuality was a major taboo within Catholic discourse and open discussions of sexual matters were considered indecent and dangerous for the purity of morals, Catholic sex education faced a general problem: it had to discuss the undiscussable. Thus, Catholic authors' major guideline for content creation was based on the principal <emph>ignoti nulla cupido</emph>, a Latin saying that translates as "one does not desire what one does not know". The general idea was that sex education brochures should convey just enough information to satisfy curiosity, but so little to not stir up further curiosity. This discrepancy characterised the whole discourse for decades and is mirrored in both form and content of Catholic sex education materials.</p> <p>Interestingly, Catholic authors were quite aware that sex education materials had to approach the topic differently, compared to older theological treatises on sexual morality, should they effectively reach their audience. A mere replication of catechism-like dos and don'ts would not suffice. Thus, sex education brochures emphasised that sexuality was not bad or sinful in principle.[<reflink idref="bib64" id="ref64">64</reflink>] One author contended that youngsters could "no longer find sufficient support in the forbidding norms of the sixth and ninth commandments to shape their sexual life. The eternal 'Thou shalt not!' and 'Thou must not' has put them off".[<reflink idref="bib65" id="ref65">65</reflink>] However, the publications did not feature open discussions of sexuality but basically reiterated the traditional Catholic sexual morality, including the commandment of sexual abstinence out of wedlock. The goal was to teach children and youth a rightly understood Christian chastity and modesty. Once they conceived of corporeality and sexuality in Catholic terms, they were considered educated. Sex education, thus, was not the imparting of knowledge about psychophysical phenomena but the instruction in Roman Catholic sexual morality. One author summarised this understanding succinctly, writing that "enlightenment (<emph>Aufklärung</emph>) must always be transfiguration (<emph>Verklärung</emph>)".[<reflink idref="bib66" id="ref66">66</reflink>] Accordingly, recipients could learn that sexual acts were only allowed within marriage, that sexuality and procreation were intrinsically linked, and that pre- and extramarital sex was a sin.</p> <p>The publications condemned all school-based aspirations for sex education. Secular education materials, be it films, books, or lectures, were forbidden. Typically, it was argued, they would emphasise biological aspects and ignore morality, which would render them useless for proper Catholic instruction.[<reflink idref="bib67" id="ref67">67</reflink>]</p> <p>Many Catholic sex education booklets advised to give the first instructions during infancy when children began to ask questions for the first time. Here, the authors departed from the advice given in the encyclical <emph>Divini Illius Magistri</emph>, which saw an early exposure to sexual knowledge as risky. Denying appropriate answers, it was considered, would be detrimental to the formation of a proper Catholic understanding of sexuality. Moreover, the withholding of the right word at the right time would lead children astray, forcing them to ruminate on their own or to search for answers in illicit ways.[<reflink idref="bib68" id="ref68">68</reflink>] Generally, sex education should be given "not ahead of time, but in time" or "as late as possible, but as soon as necessary".[<reflink idref="bib69" id="ref69">69</reflink>] It was up to parents to figure out when the right time for their children would be.</p> <p>Sex education should be imparted by the parents, preferably in a face-to-face manner. If the parents were incapable or not willing to educate their children, then a priest should take over the task. Such an argumentation clearly aimed for a containment of sexual discourse in the (semi-)private sphere of pastoral care and the family, and to keep it away from the public arena. For a long time, sexual knowledge was seen as so delicate that self-study for children and youngsters was also not an option. Accordingly, Catholic sex education brochures targeted parents or priests as their audience.[<reflink idref="bib70" id="ref70">70</reflink>] However, this changed in the 1930s when bestselling authors like Hardy Schilgen published books for self-study, addressing teenage boys and girls (for a more detailed discussion of his works see below).</p> <p>Following the Catholic tradition, many books assumed women to be destined for motherhood by nature.[<reflink idref="bib71" id="ref71">71</reflink>] Furthermore, since the 19th century women had been seen as the "pious sex" and as a crucial foothold for Catholicism in a society that was becoming increasingly secular.[<reflink idref="bib72" id="ref72">72</reflink>] Since sexuality and procreation were understood as two sides of the same coin, it is no surprise that mothers were presented as prime educators in sexual matters. However, this is interesting insofar as it made women the main mediators of church-sanctioned knowledge, thus granting them a role that was hitherto reserved for the male clergy.</p> <p>When addressing the body and its functions, most writers stuck to a somatophobic rhetoric, as was typical for older Catholic writings on sexual morality. Since humans received their body from God, all licentious usage of body parts would insult Christ himself. Children should learn that the genitals were impure body parts one is not allowed to touch apart from body hygiene. Even on such occasions, authors shied away from using explicit terminology, as can be seen in the following example, in which the author uses an ellipsis to avoid the proper noun: "In your little heart, child, there is a voice that tells you very clearly: One must not touch oneself ... there".[<reflink idref="bib73" id="ref73">73</reflink>] Many publications explicitly warned against the dangers of masturbation, especially for teenage boys, and portrayed it as a severe health threat.[<reflink idref="bib74" id="ref74">74</reflink>] Consequently, authors advised techniques of sublimation like physical training, manual labour, hiking, or singing to distract adolescents from the potential threats of their developing bodies.[<reflink idref="bib75" id="ref75">75</reflink>] However, Britta McEwen has pointed out that even Socialist sex reformers deployed a drastic language that was quite similar to Catholic texts.[<reflink idref="bib76" id="ref76">76</reflink>]</p> <p>Some brochures offered the parents scripts to communicate sexual knowledge to their children. Through these scripts, authors could specify which topics should or could be covered in tuition. Furthermore, the scripts should help parents verbalise knowledge in an area that was probably shameful for many. A graphic account of a representative script can be found in the Austrian theologian Peter Schmitz's sex education brochure <emph>Am reinen Quell des Lebens (</emph>At the Pure Source of Life), published in 1932.[<reflink idref="bib77" id="ref77">77</reflink>] The following passage should help the mother when she "<bold>has to speak the very last word</bold> to make the enlightenment complete".[<reflink idref="bib78" id="ref78">78</reflink>] The script thus acts as a guide to teach about what were considered the most explicit propositions in Catholic sex education. Schmitz gave no clear specifications regarding the proper age for sexual education. Generally, it should be delivered during the age of puberty, but it would depend on the individual development of the youngsters.[<reflink idref="bib79" id="ref79">79</reflink>] The script is directed towards "kids" without further specification of their age. Schmitz suggests taking children's observations as a starting point for the education. Since they most probably had already seen other children naked, this experience could be used to start a discussion about the sexual organs:</p> <p>In these organs, God has placed something miraculous in the father, which, if the father is quite fond of the mother, passes from the father through the special organs of the mother into the womb of the mother; there it meets something equally miraculous, which God has placed in the womb of the mother, and both miraculous things unite with each other; and if God now wants it, then he immediately creates a new little soul and then the child starts its life very, very small in the womb of the mother, until it has become so big after 9 months that it then comes into the world under great pain of the mother. I have already told you that this is something wonderful. No one knows exactly how this happens, only God can know.[<reflink idref="bib80" id="ref80">80</reflink>]</p> <p>The passage leaves no room for doubt that God is the creator of human life. This is also reflected grammatically, since "God" is the agent here, he "has placed" the procreative power into mother and father. If "God now wants it", then he "immediately creates" the soul of the child. Mother and father are realised in each case only as the objects upon which God actively acts. In doing so, the rhetoric mirrors the Catholic worldview in which human beings live their life in a divine world order. A description of the sexual act itself is not given. Instead, one can learn that "something miraculous" "passes" from father to mother and that all these "miraculous things unite with each other" inside the mother's womb. The highly metaphorical linguistic representation offers a quasi-explanation without using any concrete words, for example medical terms for genitals or bodily fluids. Procreation is thus represented as a divine mystery, as something larger than life in which human beings only play a minor role. The only concrete specifications are that children are growing inside their mother's womb and that this process takes nine months. The sexual act as intimate practice is bypassed by saying that it has to do with an unspecified fondness between mother and father. In this clause, grammatically the father is the agent, and the mother is the object. Hence, the clause reflects the traditional Catholic gender ideology that frames men as active and women as passive and – as is suggested here – receptive. The quote presents sexuality as intrinsically linked with procreation. That sexuality could be an intimate practice separated from procreation is blanked out. After the passage, the text goes on, pointing out that the whole process is holy and must be treated with the utmost dignity and respect. The section then closes, stating that the sexual act is only allowed within marriage; out of wedlock it would be a grave sin.[<reflink idref="bib81" id="ref81">81</reflink>] Scripts like these were typical of Catholic sex education booklets until the Second Vatican Council. However, with their opaque language Catholic writers were not alone. Christabella Sethna has pointed out that Protestant sex education pamphlets featured vague language as well, and neither offered any detail regarding the sexual act.[<reflink idref="bib82" id="ref82">82</reflink>]</p> <p>Unlike Pozzi, who claims that "The majority among Catholic writers displayed an open attitude towards a detailed description of reproductive physiology", my analysis has found that the use of medical terms or detailed descriptions of physiological processes was a rare exception in German-speaking Catholic sex education publications.[<reflink idref="bib83" id="ref83">83</reflink>] Josef Leute, the author of the first sex education booklet, indeed used terms like "ovaries", "uterus", "testicles", or "prostate". As mentioned, the book was reviewed by the Vatican congregation for the Index for its moral suitability. However, this was a rare exception. Nearly all books analysed shied away from using medical terminology and refrained from providing details on topics such as reception, pregnancy, or childbirth. This tendency can be seen in the whole period of investigation. Even in the 1920s, the use of medical terms was problematic, as the case of Edelbert Kurz's book <emph>Christlich denken! Ein Hilfsbüchlein zur geschlechtlichen Erziehung</emph> (Think Christian! A Guide to Sexual Education) shows: the author used explicit terminology and faced strong resistance in the book's approbation.[<reflink idref="bib84" id="ref84">84</reflink>] In a study on Catholic marriage pamphlets in the second half of the twentieth century, Alexandra Weiss found that detailed descriptions of the sexual act have become more common only since the 1960s.[<reflink idref="bib85" id="ref85">85</reflink>]</p> <p>In summary, a close look at the design of Catholic sex education publications shows that authors were reluctant to provide anatomical details or clear descriptions of physiological processes since they were understood as "materialist" and thus as a threat to Catholic morality. Instead, the authors attempted to establish a Catholic version of sex education, which was deliberately devoid of any "secular" knowledge.</p> <hd id="AN0185487945-5">Gender in Catholic sex education</hd> <p>The Catholic sex education discourse was gendered, ascribing different characteristics to men and women, as well as boys and girls. Following the Catholic tradition, both genders should complement each other in their duties. As was typical of Catholicism, gender was understood as a God-given and natural category. Sex education booklets thus promoted gender essentialism. Scholars have interpreted the essentialisation of gender since the late 19th century as a conservative reaction to the increased modernisation and secularisation of society that also destabilised traditional gender roles.[<reflink idref="bib86" id="ref86">86</reflink>]</p> <p>In the books analysed, men were ascribed a strong sexual drive that made them compulsive by nature. Since the Catholic sexual morality did not allow the unrestrained acting out of sexuality, male sexuality appeared as a forceful, even dangerous drive, as an eruptive force that needed close monitoring.[<reflink idref="bib87" id="ref87">87</reflink>] Hence, drive control was the keyword in discussing male sexuality. A frequently used metaphor that conveyed this idea was the metaphor of chivalry. A good example in this regard are the books by Hardy Schilgen, a Jesuit author of several highly successful sex education books that reached a very high circulation, were reissued for decades, and saw translations into various European languages.[<reflink idref="bib88" id="ref88">88</reflink>] In his book <emph>Du und Sie</emph> (You and Her), directed towards male youngsters, Schilgen framed the whole of adolescence as the process of becoming a knight: since man's arch enemy was his sexuality, consequently, real knightliness could only be realised by succeeding in "a fight with the most cunning, devious, bitter opponent, who has a powerful ally in man's breast, and who, united at all costs, wants to gain dominion".[<reflink idref="bib89" id="ref89">89</reflink>] The path towards knightliness, to take the metaphor further, was threatened by "shallow reading, frivolous companions, lewd performances at the cinema, theatre, etc".[<reflink idref="bib90" id="ref90">90</reflink>] A knightly man would furthermore withstand indecent and flirty girls. Once a master in knightly self-control, a young man should be able "to enjoy the beauty of the woman without passion overpowering him with its greed".[<reflink idref="bib91" id="ref91">91</reflink>] Such metaphors framed sexuality as a violent drive and implicated the high importance of self-restraint. The booklets informed their male readership that only marriage granted them a safe haven and that fathering children was the proper way to go. Besides such words of advice, the male gender role was not addressed any further.</p> <p>Contrary to male gender roles, female behaviour was discussed in greater detail since it was believed to be of crucial importance for the persistence of the Catholic community and the nation state.[<reflink idref="bib92" id="ref92">92</reflink>] Typically, women were portrayed as the pious sex, as naturally being more devout and morally steadfast compared to men. Mirroring the ideology of gender complementarity, morality was the most important quality a woman had to develop, not least because female conduct would have such a dramatic influence on male behaviour:</p> <p>Indeed, the chastity of the world of women and girls is of the greatest importance for the morality of the whole nation. Above all for the world of men. Man's natural impetuosity is kept in check by the chaste restraint and aloofness of the woman. At the same time, through her modesty, the woman appears to him in a higher light, clothed with a certain spiritual beauty.[<reflink idref="bib93" id="ref93">93</reflink>]</p> <p>However, female gender roles were constructed by recourse to naturalistic assumptions as well, like male gender roles. In the case of women, it was the assumption of a natural, ineluctable desire for motherhood. Therefore, virtually all booklets highlighted that mothers were the most appropriate to provide sex education. Motherhood would grant them a more profound understanding of the mysteries of life. Taken together with their relationship to the children, which was imagined to be much deeper and more intimate than the relationship between fathers and their children, they could talk more easily about procreation with them, it was argued.[<reflink idref="bib94" id="ref94">94</reflink>] This understanding reflects the ideologies of gender complementarity and of separate spheres for men and women. According to this ideology, the public space was reserved for men while the sphere of female activity should be limited to the private realm of the home, the family, and care-giving tasks.[<reflink idref="bib95" id="ref95">95</reflink>] By framing sex education as a primarily female task, Catholic authors automatically tied the sexual discourse to the private sphere and at the same time reinforced the idea of an allegedly "natural" motherhood.</p> <p>When authors expressed ideas concerning gender that could be read as emancipatory, they faced rejection by church authorities. A demonstrative example in this regard is Emanuele Meyer's 1912 book <emph>Vom Mädchen zur Frau. Ein zeitgemäßes Erziehungs- und Ehebuch. Allen reifen Töchtern, Gattinnen, Müttern und Volkserziehern gewidmet</emph> (From Girl to Woman. A Contemporary Book on Education and Marriage. Dedicated to all Mature Daughters, Wives, Mothers, and Educators of the People). Meyer, a Swiss author and medical doctor, argued that women should be given the freedom to choose whatever occupation they want, even if this meant a rejection of motherhood: "Where there is no special preference for marriage and where a strong desire is coupled with an inner love for the vocation, the unmarried woman can be completely fulfilled and made happy by this vocation".[<reflink idref="bib96" id="ref96">96</reflink>] In her vision, caring jobs such as doctors and school teachers were especially appropriate for women. Many childless women would also be more useful for society than many women "who in idle inaction, in vanity and pleasures, even if they are wives and mothers according to their bodies, waste the treasure of time and precious opportunities for work and help!"[<reflink idref="bib97" id="ref97">97</reflink>] Meyer furthermore rejected the idea of gender complementarity because for women this always meant the subjection to a man. Instead, both genders would be of equal value and not dependent on each other for a fulfilled life.[<reflink idref="bib98" id="ref98">98</reflink>]</p> <p>Meyer's progressive notion of femininity was similar to the concept of "spiritual motherhood" that was promoted in the context of the German women's movement. The concept emphasised that the typical educational, emotional, and nurturing work of women was important for society, even if it was applied outside of marriage and motherhood, for example in social professions. By emphasising this "spiritual motherhood", advocates of the concept wanted to improve the social recognition of unmarried and childless women.[<reflink idref="bib99" id="ref99">99</reflink>]</p> <p>For the Fulda bishops' conference, these ideas went too far. Even though her book had gained the official Catholic printing licence, the bishops criticised Meyer's ideas as "social democratic" and as a threat to Catholic teachings as soon as the book was in circulation.[<reflink idref="bib100" id="ref100">100</reflink>] For the bishops' conference, her book had the potential to undermine the God-given patriarchal structure of society, as the following quote shows, in which Meyer is explicitly denounced as "women's rights activist": "Moreover, as a women's rights activist, Meyer not only advocates complete equality for women with all the consequences, e.g. in the field of education, but she now wants women to take over the leading role in society instead of men".[<reflink idref="bib101" id="ref101">101</reflink>] The quote gives a good insight how the bishops' conference understood Meyer's ideas. Throughout the book, she criticised society's double standard that favoured men over women and restricted female life to very close confines. In the interpretation of the bishops' conference, this was understood as a demand for women to lead in society – something that Meyer did not demand with a single word in her book. Obviously, church authorities wanted to avert everything that might be seen as a promotion of "feminist" thinking. Again, this shows that sex education was a topic to deal with societal modernisation and the advance of secular ideas. Even in later years, Meyer did not refrain from voicing her beliefs. Eventually, this brought her a ban on speaking, voiced by the Swiss church authorities.[<reflink idref="bib102" id="ref102">102</reflink>] The majority of Catholic sex education publications emphasised naturalistic gender assumptions and presented women as "natural" mothers, even decades later.[<reflink idref="bib103" id="ref103">103</reflink>]</p> <hd id="AN0185487945-6">Conclusion</hd> <p>In her study on Catholic sex education discourse in 1920s and early 1930s Vienna, Britta McEwen concluded that both the Socialist and the Catholic sex education literature "redefined purity as an informed choice" and saw proper sexual knowledge as decisive for the reproduction of society.[<reflink idref="bib104" id="ref104">104</reflink>] While this is certainly true, the present study wants to add another layer of complexity to this assertion: for Catholicism, sex education raised not just the question of society's reproduction at large but specifically the question of how the Catholic community could be preserved against the tides of secularisation. The analysis has shown that official Catholicism in the German-speaking area rejected naturalistic sex education because it associated it with secular modernity. Sex education as demanded by sex reformers was believed to undermine Catholic morality and, eventually, the Catholic community. The Catholic response towards naturalistic sex education can thus be interpreted as generally antimodern in character.</p> <p>However, German-speaking Catholics did not speak with one voice. The study has shown that there were marked differences between various parts of the church hierarchy. It was people from the grassroots of the church who began publishing sex education brochures in the early 1900s, long before church authorities concerned themselves with the topic. High circulation numbers, reprints, and ever-new publications by Catholic authors prove that these authors were successful in answering to the need for sexual knowledge among believers. However, even though all Catholic books on moral topics needed to pass censorship before getting approval for publication, some books slipped through despite publicising ideas church authorities deemed unacceptable. Only then, church authorities responded with official guidelines and, in doing so, tried to bring these heretofore uncontrolled developments in line. Here, a general tendency can be observed. Generally, it was the authors of sex education books – clergy working in pastoral care, university theologians, or laywomen – who introduced new topics into the discourse and tried to push the boundaries of the acceptable and the sayable. Church authorities like the bishops and the papacy, on the other side, reacted in a censoring way and restrained these efforts, preventing real debate and thus limiting innovation. The same trend was observed in other countries as well, as findings from the United States of America show.[<reflink idref="bib105" id="ref105">105</reflink>] A breach regarding sexual morality between church authorities and people from the grassroots of the church can thus already be observed decades before these two parts of the church hierarchy openly clashed on the topic of birth control in the 1960s.[<reflink idref="bib106" id="ref106">106</reflink>]</p> <p>Due to the uncontrolled establishment of Catholic sex education, inner-church debates were controversial: while pioneering authors were already publishing Catholic sex education materials early in the century, and other fellow Catholics theoretically affirmed the need for a decidedly Catholic sex education, most people involved in the debate warned against sex education or allowed it only as ultima ratio should all other measures fail. Since sex education was associated with "modernist" topics such as Darwinism or female emancipation, it aroused suspicion from early on. Eventually, these voices gained acceptance, blocking off all secular influences from Catholic sex education.</p> <p>Consequently, most sex education publications aimed at promoting the traditional Catholic sexual morality. They broadly informed their readers that sex was only allowed for the purpose of procreation within marriage, and that other forms of sexuality were forbidden and sinful. The majority of publications ignored physiological knowledge but instead circled notions like chastity, decency, and shame, while highlighting the parents' right to educate their children. By stressing that discussions of sexual matters were only allowed in private – such as one-on-one conversations with one's mother or a priest – the publications not only reiterated the traditional Catholic sexual morality but sought to prevent public discussions of sexual matters altogether. Argumentatively, Catholic sex education publications thus challenged liberal sex reformer's aspirations for a more open and carefree approach to sexuality.</p> <p>Matthias Daufratshofer has recently highlighted that</p> <p>There was an enormous divergence between the standards set by the church and the reality of people's lives. The moral standards of the church and their zealous proclamation by its representatives were so high that failure to achieve this noble ideal was inevitable.[<reflink idref="bib107" id="ref107">107</reflink>]</p> <p>This paper analysed prescriptive sources, so it is hard to say how contemporary audiences interpreted them. However, at least some general trends can be assumed. In his autobiographical interview study on the perception of confessional experiences, the theologian Rupert Scheule generated some evidence about how devout Austrian Catholics were affected by church teachings on sexuality. Most participants were born and socialised in the first three decades of the century, so it is likely that they were exposed to sex education materials like the ones analysed here. A recurrent topic of the interviews he conducted was many interviewees' feelings of guilt regarding sexuality and one's own body that they attributed to their Catholic upbringing.[<reflink idref="bib108" id="ref108">108</reflink>] As other findings suggest, the Catholic sex education discourse remained rigid after the Second World War and began to change only slowly in the 1960s, so it is safe to say that younger cohorts' sex lives were also shaped by Catholic conservatism.[<reflink idref="bib109" id="ref109">109</reflink>] More detailed studies, including oral testimonies, would be useful to assess more accurately the continuing importance of Catholicism in the formation of modern sexualities.</p> <hd id="AN0185487945-7">Disclosure statement</hd> <p>No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.</p> <ref id="AN0185487945-8"> <title> Footnotes </title> <blist> <bibl id="bib1" idref="ref1" type="bt">1</bibl> <bibtext> Anonymous [= Josef Leute], <emph>Die Ehe: Aufklärungen und Ratschläge für Erwachsene, besonders für Braut- und Eheleute</emph>, 3rd ed. (Donauwörth: Ludwig Auer, 1904). For circulation numbers see the results in the search engine KVK – Karlsruher Virtueller Katalog. For the Index Congregation's examination see Hubert Wolf, <emph>Index: Der Vatikan und die verbotenen Bücher</emph> (München: C.H. Beck, 2006), 270. All ethical and doctrinal writings from Catholic authors needed official authorisation, the so-called <emph>Imprimatur</emph>; see J. Ritter and H. Bour, "Imprimatur", in <emph>Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche</emph> (Freiburg: Herder, 1996), 441. All translations from German to English are by the author.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib2" idref="ref2" type="bt">2</bibl> <bibtext> The common term for sex education in the German-speaking area is and was <emph>Aufklärung</emph> or <emph>Sexualaufklärung</emph>. Sometimes, authors also used words like <emph>Geschlechtserziehung</emph>. However, I use the term sex education throughout the paper for reasons of consistency.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib3" idref="ref3" type="bt">3</bibl> <bibtext> Dagmar Herzog, <emph>Sexuality in Europe. A Twentieth-Century History</emph> (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011), 6.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib4" idref="ref4" type="bt">4</bibl> <bibtext> Franz X. Eder, <emph>Kultur der Begierde: Eine Geschichte der Sexualität</emph>, 2nd ed. (München: Beck, 2009), 187–209.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib5" idref="ref5" type="bt">5</bibl> <bibtext> Ursula Ferdinand, "Neomalthusianismus und Frauenfrage", in <emph>Verqueere Wissenschaft? Zum Verhältnis von Sexualwissenschaft und Sexualreformbewegung in Geschichte und Gegenwart</emph>, ed. Ursula Ferdinand, Andreas Pretzel, and Andreas Seeck, 2nd ed. (Münster: LIT, 2005), 270.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib6" idref="ref6" type="bt">6</bibl> <bibtext> Kirsten Leng, <emph>Sexual Politics and Feminist Science. Women Sexologists in Germany, 1900–1933</emph> (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2018), 44.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib7" idref="ref7" type="bt">7</bibl> <bibtext> Ibid., 48.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib8" idref="ref8" type="bt">8</bibl> <bibtext> Franz X. Eder, <emph>Homosexualitäten: Diskurse und Lebenswelten 1870–1970</emph> (Weitra: Bibliothek der Provinz, 2011), 33–4.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib9" idref="ref9" type="bt">9</bibl> <bibtext> Elisa Heinrich, <emph>Intim und respektabel: Homosexualität und Freundinnenschaft in der deutschen Frauenbewegung um 1900</emph> (Göttingen: V&amp;R unipress, 2022), 43–85.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Jonathan Zimmerman, <emph>Too Hot to Handle: A Global History of Sex Education</emph> (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2015), 14–24.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Lutz Sauerteig, "Sex Education in Germany from the Eighteenth to the Twentieth Century", in <emph>Sexual Cultures in Europe</emph>, ed. Franz X. Eder, Lesley Hall, and Gert Hekma (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1999), 15; 26.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Lutz D. H. Sauerteig and Roger Davidson, ed., <emph>Shaping Sexual Knowledge. A Cultural History of Sex Education in Twentieth Century Europe</emph> (London: Routledge, 2009); Rudolf Helmstetter, "Der stumme Doctor als guter Hirte. Zur Genealogie der Sexualratgeber", in <emph>Fragen Sie Dr. Sex!</emph>, ed. Peter-Paul Bänziger et al. (Berlin: Suhrkamp, 2010), 58–93.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> See for example Virginie de Luca Barrusse and Anne-Francoise Praz, "The Emergence of Sex Education: A Franco-Swiss Comparison, 1900–1930", <emph>Journal of the History of Sexuality</emph> 24, no. 1 (2015): 46–75; and James P. McCartin, "Sex is Holy and Mysterious. The Vision of Early Twentieth-Century Catholic Sex Education Reformers", in <emph>Devotions and Desires</emph>, ed. Gillian Frank, Bethany Moreton, and Heather Rachelle White (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2018), 71–89.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Lucia Pozzi, <emph>The Catholic Church and Modern Sexual Knowledge, 1850–1950</emph> (Cham: Springer, 2021), 99–101.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> To name just a few: Walter Braun, <emph>Geschlechtliche Erziehung im katholischen Religionsunterricht: Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der katholischen Religionspädagogik von der Reformation bis zur Gegenwart</emph> (Trier: Spee-Verlag, 1970); Peter Reithofer, <emph>Die Sexualpädagogik der Kindheit und frühen Jugendzeit und die katholische und sexualethische Tradition</emph> (Vienna: unpublished Phd thesis, 1973); and Michael Langer, <emph>Katholische Sexualpädagogik im 20. Jahrhundert: Zur Geschichte eines religionspädagogischen Problems</emph> (München: Kösel, 1986).</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Britta McEwen, "Purity Redefined. Catholic Attitudes towards Children's Sex Education in Austria, 1920–36", in <emph>Shaping Sexual Knowledge. A Cultural History of Sex Education in Twentieth Century Europe</emph>, ed. Lutz D. H. Sauerteig and Roger Davidson (London: Routledge, 2009), 161–75.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Gerd-Rainer Horn, <emph>The Spirit of Vatican II: Western European Progressive Catholicism in the Long Sixties</emph> (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015). With a focus on sexuality see Alana Harris, ed., <emph>The Schism of '68 : Catholicism, Contraception and "Humanae Vitae" in Europe, 1945–1975</emph> (Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2018).</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> For Catholic eugenics see Ingrid Richter, <emph>Katholizismus und Eugenik in der Weimarer Republik und im Dritten Reich. Zwischen Sittklichkeitsreform und Rassenhygiene</emph> (Paderborn: Schöningh, 2001).</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Siegfried Jäger, <emph>Kritische Diskursanalyse. Eine Einführung</emph>, 7th revised ed. (Münster: Unrast, 2015), 95–108.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Paul M. Horntrich, "Science, Sin, and Sexuality in Roman-Catholic Discourses in the German-Speaking Area, 1870s to 1930s", <emph>Sexuality &amp; Culture</emph> 24, no. 6 (2020): 2137–60.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Juliane Reus, <emph>Kinderbeichte im 20. Jahrhundert: Pastoralgeschichtliche Untersuchung zum Wandel der Erstbeichtvorbereitung in Deutschland</emph> (Würzburg: Echter, 2009), 52.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Hubert Wolf, "Der ‚Syllabus Errorum' (1864) oder: Sind katholische Kirche und Moderne unvereinbar?" in <emph>Kirche im 19. Jahrhundert</emph>, ed. Manfred Weitlauff (Regensburg: Pustet, 1998), 115–39; and Klaus Schatz, "Das Erste Vatikanum", in <emph>Kirche im 19. Jahrhundert</emph>, ed. Manfred Weitlauff (Regensburg: Pustet, 1998), 140–62.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Horntrich, "Science, Sin, and Sexuality", 2147–50.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> For general information on <emph>Katechetische Blätter</emph> see Reus, <emph>Kinderbeichte</emph>, 49–51.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Jakob Hoffmann, "Die Aufklärung der Jugend in sexuellen Dingen", <emph>Katechetische Blätter</emph> 31, no. 11 (1905): 287.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> For an overview of Catholicism's stance towards Darwinism and evolutionary thought see John F. Haught, "Darwin and Catholicism", in <emph>The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Darwin and Evolutionary Thought</emph>, ed. Michael Ruse (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013), 485–92. The Catholic Church never officially condemned evolutionary theory; however, it was highly sceptical of Darwinism; see page 487.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Jakob Hoffmann, "Unsere Stellung zu der Forderung sexueller Jugendaufklärung", <emph>Katechetische Blätter</emph> 31, no. 12 (1905): 310.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Ibid., 314.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Ibid.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Ibid., 316. Jakob Hoffmann, "Gibt es nicht wirksamere Mittel zur sittlichen Bewahrung der Jugend als sexuelle Aufklärung?", <emph>Katechetische Blätter</emph> 32, no. 1 (1906): 9–14; Other authors held similar positions; see for example Rupert Jud, "Die Erziehung zur Wahrheit in ihrer Bedeutung zur Sexualpädagogik", <emph>Katechetische Blätter</emph> 36, no. 5 (1910): 117–18.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> On Stöcker's "New Ethics" see Heinrich, <emph>Intim und respektabel</emph>, 68. The term "New Ethics" was used by Stöcker and other feminists as well; however, Catholic critics used it derogatorily.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Kerstin Wolff and Reinhold Lütgemeier-Davin, eds., <emph>Lebenserinnerungen. Die unvollendete Autobiographie einer frauenbewegten Pazifistin</emph> (Köln: Böhlau, 2015), 282–9.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Hoffmann, "Die Aufklärung der Jugend in sexuellen Dingen", 284–7; F. Fischer, "Über die sexuelle Aufklärungsfrage", <emph>Katechetische Blätter</emph> 36, no. 2 (1910): 51–2.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Johann Valerian Schubert, "Geschlechtliche Aufklärung für Schüler", <emph>Katechetische Blätter</emph> 31, no. 8 (1905): 197–205.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Jakob Hoffmann, "Geschlechtliche Aufklärung für Schüler", <emph>Katechetische Blätter</emph> 31, no. 10 (1905): 271.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Anna-Maria Schmidt, <emph>Katholisch und emanzipiert: Elisabeth Gnauck-Kühne und Pauline Herber als Leitfiguren der Frauen- und Mädchenbildung um 1900</emph> (St. Ingbert: Röhrig Universitätsverlag, 2018), 118–20.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Anonymous, <emph>Die Ehe</emph>, III.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Schmidt, <emph>Katholisch und emanzipiert</emph>, 119.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Erwin Gatz, <emph>Akten der Fuldaer Bischofskonferenz 3: 1900–1919</emph> (Mainz: Matthias-Grünewald-Verlag, 1985), 129.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> For a more detailed analysis of the second book that was criticised by the bishops' conference, see the section "Gender in Catholic sex education" below.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Michael Gatterer und Franz Krus, <emph>Die Erziehung zur Keuschheit: Gedanken über sexuelle Belehrung und Erziehung, den Seelsorgern und anderen Erziehern vorgelegt</emph>, 2nd exp. ed. (Innsbruck: Felician Rauch, 1910).</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Ibid., 50–112.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Gatz, <emph>Akten</emph>, 223.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Ernst Christian Helmreich, <emph>Religious Education in German Schools: An Historical Approach</emph> (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2014), 68–71; 90.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Katharine Kennedy, "The Persistence of Religion in Germany's Modernizing Schools, from Empire to Republic", <emph>Paedagogica Historica</emph> 41, no. 1–2 (2005): 119–30.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> See note 43 above.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Gatz, <emph>Akten</emph>, 214.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Ibid.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> For information on Schröteler see Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz, <emph>Biographisch-bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon 20: Ergänzungen VII</emph> (Herzberg: Bautz, 2002), 1305–10.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Joseph Schröteler, "Die sexuelle Not der Jugend und die Aufgaben der Sexualpädagogik", in <emph>Die geschlechtliche Erziehung: Beiträge zur Grundlegung einer gesunden Sexualpädagogik</emph>, ed. Joseph Schröteler (Düsseldorf: Pädagogischer Verl., 1929), 1–25.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Siegfried Behn, "Über 'Sexualreform'", in <emph>Die geschlechtliche Erziehung: Beiträge zur Grundlegung einer gesunden Sexualpädagogik</emph>, ed. Joseph Schröteler (Düsseldorf: Pädagogischer Verl., 1929), 77.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Joseph Schröteler, "Grundzüge einer gesunden Sexualpädagogik", in <emph>Die geschlechtliche Erziehung: Beiträge zur Grundlegung einer gesunden Sexualpädagogik</emph>, ed. Joseph Schröteler (Düsseldorf: Pädagogischer Verl., 1929), 91.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> See for example the lectures by Schröteler, "Grundzüge"; Behn, "Über 'Sexualreform'".</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> James C. Albisetti, "Catholics and Coeducation: Rhetoric and Reality in Europe before Divini Illius Magistri", <emph>Paedagogica Historica</emph> 35, no. 3 (1999): 666–96.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Pius XI., "Divini Illius Magistri (On Christian Education), 31. December 1929", <ulink href="http://w2.vatican.va/content/pius-xi/en/encyclicals/documents/hf%5fp-xi%5fenc%5f31121929%5fdivini-illius-magistri.html,">http://w2.vatican.va/content/pius-xi/en/encyclicals/documents/hf%5fp-xi%5fenc%5f31121929%5fdivini-illius-magistri.html,</ulink> section 65 (accessed 13 February 2024).</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Ibid., section 67.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Ibid. Fire metaphors had a long history in Catholic sexual discourse; see Horntrich, "Science, Sin, and Sexuality", 2141.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Pius XI., section 68.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Pozzi, <emph>Catholic Church</emph>, 106.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office, "Decretum De Educacione Sexuali Et De Eugenica", <emph>Amtsblatt der Erzdiözese München und Freising</emph>, no. 8 (1931).</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Matthias Daufratshofer, <emph>Das päpstliche Lehramt auf dem Prüfstand der Geschichte: Franz Hürth SJ als "Holy Ghostwriter" von Pius XI. und Pius XII</emph> (Freiburg: Herder, 2021), 60.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Paul VI., "Gravissimum Educationis (Declaration on Christian Education)", https://<ulink href="http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist%5fcouncils/ii%5fvatican%5fcouncil/documents/vat-ii%5fdecl%5f19651028%5fgravissimum-educationis%5fen.html,">www.vatican.va/archive/hist%5fcouncils/ii%5fvatican%5fcouncil/documents/vat-ii%5fdecl%5f19651028%5fgravissimum-educationis%5fen.html,</ulink> section 1 (accessed 13 February 2024).</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> All information is based on data from the online search engine KVK – Karlsruher Virtueller Katalog, accessible under https://kvk.bibliothek.kit.edu/.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Ernst E., <emph>Elternpflicht. Beiträge zur Frage der Erziehung der Jugend zur Sittenreinheit</emph>, 3rd exp. ed. (Kevelaer: Butzon und Bercker, 1906), 19.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Peter Schmitz, <emph>Bursch und Mädel in Gottes Hand: Ein seelsorglicher und pädagogischer Beitrag zum Geschlechterproblem</emph>, 2nd ed. (Innsbruck: Tyrolia, 1937), 9.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Peter Schmitz, <emph>Am reinen Quell des Lebens: Eine Anleitung zur geschlechtlichen Aufklärung der Kinder für die christlichen Mütter</emph> (Mödling: Verlag der Missionsdruckerei St. Gabriel, 1932), 5.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> P. Elpidius, <emph>Die schöne Zeit der jungen Liebe: Für Mädchen</emph> (Kevelaer: Butzon und Bercker, 1929), 28–9.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Anonymous, <emph>Die Ehe</emph>, 25–6.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Schmitz, <emph>Quell</emph>, 7.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> See for example Pauline Herber's book <emph>Elternpflicht</emph> (Parental Duty; published under the pseudonym Ernst E.), whose speaking title implies that parents should offer sex education.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Michael Gatterer, <emph>Im Glaubenslicht. Christliche Gedanken über das Geschlechtsleben</emph> (Innsbruck: Felician Rauch, 1927), 69.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> For the feminisation of religion, see Bernhard Schneider, "Feminisierung und (Re-)Maskulinisierung der Religion im 19. Jahrhundert", in <emph>Feminisierung oder (Re-)Maskulinisierung der Religion im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert? Forschungsbeiträge aus Christentum, Judentum und Islam</emph>, ed. Michaela Sohn-Kronthaler (Wien: Böhlau, 2016), 13–27.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Gatterer, <emph>Glaubenslicht</emph>, 38.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Franz Xaver Thalhofer, <emph>Reine Gedanken! Belehrungen und Unterredungen für die Jugend über Mutterschaft, Vaterschaft und Keuschheit. Eltern, Erziehern und Lehrern vorgelegt</emph> (München: Höfling, 1909), 26.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Adolph Bertram, <emph>Reverentia Puero! Katholische Erwägungen zu Fragen der Sexual-Pädagogik</emph> (Freiburg im Breisgau: Herder, 1929), 19–24.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> McEwen, "Purity Redefined", 172.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> For information on Schmitz see https://oecv.at/Biolex/Detail/11000626 (accessed 13 February 2024).</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Schmitz, <emph>Quell</emph>, 26. Bold print in the original.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Ibid., 7–9.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Ibid., 27.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Ibid., 28.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Christabelle Sethna, "Animal Sex: Purity Education and the Naturalization of the Abstinence Agenda", <emph>Sex Education</emph> 10, no. 3 (2010): 272.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Pozzi, <emph>Catholic Church</emph>, 103.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Edelbert Kurz, <emph>Christlich denken! Ein Hilfsbüchlein zur geschlechtlichen Erziehung</emph> (München: Kösel &amp; Pustet, 1925). For the critique on Kurz's wording see Langer, <emph>Katholische Sexualpädagogik</emph>, 120–1.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Alexandra Weiss, "Sittlichkeit – Klasse – Geschlecht. Diskurse über Sexualität, Jugend und Moral in den Nachkriegsjahrzehnten", in <emph>Psychiatrisierte Kindheiten: Die Innsbrucker Kinderbeobachtungsstation von Maria Nowak-Vogl, 1954–1987</emph>, ed. Elisabeth Dietrich-Daum et al. (Innsbruck: StudienVerlag, 2020), 325.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Jacob Kohlhaas, "Constructing Parenthood: Catholic Teaching 1880 to the Present", <emph>Theological Studies</emph> 79, no. 3 (2018): 612–14.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Schmitz, <emph>Bursch und Mädel</emph>, 7, 48–50.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> For example, Schilgen's books were sold under the Franco regime in Spain; see José Benito Seoane Cegarra, "Pedagogía del Cuerpo y Educación Sexual en la España Contemporánea", <emph>Itinerario Educativo</emph> 29, no. 66 (2015): 49.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Hardy Schilgen, <emph>Du und Sie: Des Jungmanns Stellung zum Mädchen</emph> (Düsseldorf: L. Schwann, 1924), 111.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Ibid., 104.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Ibid., 105. In Schilgen's book <emph>Junge Helden</emph> (Young Heroes), the metaphor of chivalry permeates the whole book: from the book's cover, which shows a knight in armour, to its content, which consists of the two main chapters "Heroism" and "Heroes Fight" with subchapters such as "Robber Knight", "Highest Courtly Love" (<emph>Höchster Minnedienst</emph>), or "The greatest King"; see Hardy Schilgen, <emph>Junge Helden: Ein Aufruf an Jungmannen</emph> (Kevelaer: Bercker, 1920). Schilgen also wrote sex education booklets for a female audience; see Hardy Schilgen, <emph>Du und Er: Des Mädchens Stellung zum Jungmann</emph> (Düsseldorf: L. Schwann, 1928).</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Horntrich, "Science, Sin, and Sexuality", 2155.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Gatterer, <emph>Glaubenslicht</emph>, 40.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Ibid., 73–4, 115.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Marion W. Gray, <emph>Productive Men, Reproductive Women: The Agrarian Household and the Emergence of Separate Spheres during the German Enlightenment</emph> (New York: Berghahn, 2000), 155–8, 291; Ulrike Moser, "Gender Roles", in <emph>The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Love, Courtship, &amp; Sexuality through History</emph>, ed. Susan Mumm (Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2008), 92–3.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Emanuele Meyer, <emph>Vom Mädchen zur Frau: Ein zeitgemäßes Erziehungs- und Ehebuch. Allen reifen Töchtern, Gattinnen, Müttern und Volkserziehern gewidmet</emph> (Stuttgart: Strecker &amp; Schröder, 1912), 33.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Ibid., 155.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Ibid., 154.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Christoph Sachße, <emph>Mütterlichkeit als Beruf: Sozialarbeit, Sozialreform und Frauenbewegung 1871–1929</emph> (Weinheim: Beltz, 2003), 94–130.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Gatz, <emph>Akten</emph>, 225.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Ibid., 225–6. It is unclear if Meyer was involved in the women's movement.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Inge Sprenger Viol, "'Wo ein Begeisterter steht, da ist heiliges Land': Emanuele Meyer-Schweizer, Ärztin und Schriftstellerin", in <emph>Und schrieb und schrieb wie ein Tiger aus dem Busch</emph>, ed. Elisabeth Ryter (Zürich: Limmat-Verlag, 1994), 203.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Weiss, "Sittlichkeit", 314–15.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> McEwen, "Purity Redefined", 173.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> McCartin, "Sex is Holy".</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Maria Mesner and Katharina Ebner, "Attempted Disobedience: Humanae Vitae in West Germany and Austria", in <emph>The Schism of '68 : Catholicism, Contraception and "Humanae Vitae" in Europe, 1945–1975</emph>, ed. Alana Harris (Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2018), 121–58.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Daufratshofer, <emph>Das päpstliche Lehramt</emph>, 59.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Rupert M. Scheule, <emph>Beichte und Selbstreflexion: Eine Sozialgeschichte katholischer Bußpraxis im 20. Jahrhundert</emph> (Frankfurt/Main: Campus, 2002), 151–5, 211–15.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Weiss, "Sittlichkeit", 305–28.</bibtext> </blist> </ref> <aug> <p>By Paul M. Horntrich</p> <p>Reported by Author</p> <p></p> <p>Paul M. Horntrich is a historian of sexuality. His research focuses on the history of sexuality in the German-speaking area since the 19th century. He has published on the history of pornography, Catholic sexual discourses, and Austrian film history.</p> </aug> <nolink nlid="nl1" bibid="bib10" firstref="ref10"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl2" bibid="bib11" firstref="ref11"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl3" bibid="bib12" firstref="ref12"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl4" bibid="bib13" firstref="ref13"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl5" bibid="bib14" firstref="ref14"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl6" bibid="bib15" firstref="ref15"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl7" bibid="bib16" firstref="ref16"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl8" bibid="bib17" firstref="ref17"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl9" bibid="bib18" firstref="ref18"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl10" bibid="bib19" firstref="ref19"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl11" bibid="bib20" firstref="ref20"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl12" bibid="bib21" firstref="ref21"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl13" bibid="bib22" firstref="ref22"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl14" bibid="bib23" firstref="ref23"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl15" bibid="bib24" 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| Header | DbId: eric DbLabel: ERIC An: EJ1474118 AccessLevel: 3 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: 'With Utmost Caution and Restraint.' The Making of Roman Catholic Sex Education in the German-Speaking Area, 1900s to 1930s – Name: Language Label: Language Group: Lang Data: English – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Paul+M%2E+Horntrich%22">Paul M. Horntrich</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5956-384X">0000-0002-5956-384X</externalLink>) – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Paedagogica+Historica%3A+International+Journal+of+the+History+of+Education%22"><i>Paedagogica Historica: International Journal of the History of Education</i></searchLink>. 2025 61(3):462-481. – Name: Avail Label: Availability Group: Avail Data: Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals – Name: PeerReviewed Label: Peer Reviewed Group: SrcInfo Data: Y – Name: Pages Label: Page Count Group: Src Data: 20 – Name: DatePubCY Label: Publication Date Group: Date Data: 2025 – Name: TypeDocument Label: Document Type Group: TypDoc Data: Journal Articles<br />Reports - Evaluative – Name: Subject Label: Descriptors Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Sex+Education%22">Sex Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+History%22">Educational History</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Lay+People%22">Lay People</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Clergy%22">Clergy</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Catholics%22">Catholics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Church+Role%22">Church Role</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Guidelines%22">Guidelines</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Religious+Factors%22">Religious Factors</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22German%22">German</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+Change%22">Social Change</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Contraception%22">Contraception</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Sexuality%22">Sexuality</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Interpersonal+Relationship%22">Interpersonal Relationship</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Ethics%22">Ethics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Moral+Values%22">Moral Values</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Gender+Differences%22">Gender Differences</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Political+Influences%22">Political Influences</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Foreign+Countries%22">Foreign Countries</searchLink> – Name: Subject Label: Geographic Terms Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Germany%22">Germany</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Austria%22">Austria</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Switzerland%22">Switzerland</searchLink> – Name: DOI Label: DOI Group: ID Data: 10.1080/00309230.2024.2359682 – Name: ISSN Label: ISSN Group: ISSN Data: 0030-9230<br />1477-674X – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: While the emergence of sex education in the early 20th century is well studied, religious reactions to it remained under-studied. The paper addresses this gap by analysing the emergence of Roman Catholic sex education in the German-speaking area from the turn of the century to the 1930s. It explores official doctrinal guidelines, inner-Catholic debates, and the growing body of Catholic sex education publications. The paper argues that for the Roman Catholic Church, sex education was not a mere pedagogical problem but a topic that raised overarching questions such as how to deal with modern natural sciences, female emancipation, or the secular school system. The findings suggest that lay people and clergy working in pastoral care were the driving force for the modernisation of the discourse vis-à-vis a more conservative church authority. – Name: AbstractInfo Label: Abstractor Group: Ab Data: As Provided – Name: DateEntry Label: Entry Date Group: Date Data: 2025 – Name: AN Label: Accession Number Group: ID Data: EJ1474118 |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1080/00309230.2024.2359682 Languages: – Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 20 StartPage: 462 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Sex Education Type: general – SubjectFull: Educational History Type: general – SubjectFull: Lay People Type: general – SubjectFull: Clergy Type: general – SubjectFull: Catholics Type: general – SubjectFull: Church Role Type: general – SubjectFull: Guidelines Type: general – SubjectFull: Religious Factors Type: general – SubjectFull: German Type: general – SubjectFull: Social Change Type: general – SubjectFull: Contraception Type: general – SubjectFull: Sexuality Type: general – SubjectFull: Interpersonal Relationship Type: general – SubjectFull: Ethics Type: general – SubjectFull: Moral Values Type: general – SubjectFull: Gender Differences Type: general – SubjectFull: Political Influences Type: general – SubjectFull: Foreign Countries Type: general – SubjectFull: Germany Type: general – SubjectFull: Austria Type: general – SubjectFull: Switzerland Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: 'With Utmost Caution and Restraint.' The Making of Roman Catholic Sex Education in the German-Speaking Area, 1900s to 1930s Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Paul M. Horntrich IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 01 Type: published Y: 2025 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 0030-9230 – Type: issn-electronic Value: 1477-674X Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 61 – Type: issue Value: 3 Titles: – TitleFull: Paedagogica Historica: International Journal of the History of Education Type: main |
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