Curbing teenage pregnancy through Religious Education: South African teachers speak out

This study aims to explore how governmental policies, such as South Africa’s Policy on the Prevention and Management of Learner Pregnancy in Schools (PPMLPS), could be integrated with faith-based curricula in a way that respects religious beliefs and effectively prevents pregnancies. This paper is couched from the Social Conflict Theory (SCT), which argues that disagreements that lead to compromises that deviate from the initial circumstances are what ultimately cause societal change, rather than a process of changing values to effect change. The paper adopted a qualitative research design where qualitative Content Analysis was used as an approach to collect data. A focus group discussion was conducted with 3 teachers in two different schools in Bloemfontein, Mangaung Metro Municipality, South Africa. Purposive and snowball sampling were used to select participants. Thematic Analysis (TA) was used as an instrument to analyse data. The study found that religious education played a significant role in curbing teenage pregnancy through its teachings on moral values and abstinence from sexual conduct rather than prevention. Also, teachers see religious education as a potential moral compass that can foster self-respect, discipline, and value for life. In light of the findings, the study recommends that religious education should be reintroduced as part of the curriculum. Also, societal ideas, moral education, and faith-based values should interact with initiatives to encourage appropriate learners’ sexual conduct. This paper contributes to the growing body of research by emphasises how moral instruction, communal attitudes, and faith-based values interact to shape learners’ sexual behaviour.