SEXUALITY: USA | Purity Ceremonies

In Atlanta, a ten-year-old girl kneels at the altar and cries passionately while praising her Lord in song. In Colorado, an all-girl ballet troupe dances around a 6ft wooden cross where they, along with their fathers, will eventually lay a white rose (symbolizing purity) by its base. In Tennessee, a father prays over his daughter and proceeds to slip a promise ring on her left ring finger. The promise: chastity until marriage.

Some of the younger girls weren't quite sure exactly why they were making the promise but understood its' religious connection since most of them grew up in the church. These father-daughter purity ceremonies are a growing phenomenon across the United States. They attract families of all races and varied socio-economic levels. Their common bond however, is to protect the girl's vow of abstinence until marriage under the watchful eye of her father and their God.