Abstract:
The present research has as its theme the practice of sex before marriage by adolescents from the Evangelical Church Assembly of God of Manaus (IEADAM), in Amazonas. It aims to understand how IEADAM teenagers deal with the reality of sex life, specifically, about not having sex before marriage, which is a doctrine taught in this Church. It is a theme inherent to teenagers who belong to the membership of the Assembly of God, a Pentecostal Church very rooted in traditions, as well as in moral and ethical values and in reading the Bible closer to literality. This religious context is confronted with adolescence, a period of life considered as a transition period between childhood and adulthood. Thus, in addition to the physical, psychological, social and sexual experiences that are typical of the period, institutionalized religion establishes norms of conduct that challenge the healthy development of the adolescent person. Therefore, this thesis was developed from bibliographic and field research, with adolescents and pastors from IEADAM. A questionnaire was applied to teenagers aiming at answers to the problem about how to live the precept of not having sex before marriage. Adolescents, boys and girls, exposed the knowledge acquired in the Church, as well as the appropriation they make of this knowledge and the way of conduct. On the other hand, the thesis listened to pastors through questionnaires and who exposed the Church's conceptions and practices. The results showed that it is still a taboo topic at IEADAM, with a rigid discourse of imposition of conduct and acceptance of the adolescent public. Therefore, acceptance of the speech does not necessarily mean compliance with the norm.
