Interesting case here of a Jewish conservative vs a Christian liberal.
Jewish conservative academic Judith Reisman was the leading critic of sexologist Alfred Kinsey, raised Christian, whose books helped spark the sexual revolution in America:
Kinsey’s “atomic bomb” did not instantly redraw the social landscape, but it was a powerful stimulant of the sexual revolution. It paved the way for serious studies of sexuality, with pioneers such as Masters and Johnson admitting that they could not have done their research without Kinsey’s precedence.
On Kinsey’s strict Christian religious upbringing:
Kinsey’s parents were devout Christians. His father was known as one of the most devout members of the local Methodist church. Most of Kinsey’s social interactions were with other members of the church, often as a silent observer, while his parents discussed religion. Kinsey’s father imposed strict rules on the household, including mandating Sunday as a day of prayer and little else.
Kinsey’s books and institute have been blamed “for contributing to the liberalization of sexual morality”. Kinsey’s first book on male sexuality “was a grenade waiting to explode in puritanical American society” and his second on female sexuality was described by a newspaper at the time as an “atomic bomb designed to destroy what remains of sexual morality in America”. Other newspapers had similar opinions:
“Kinsey had dropped a bombshell that ‘hits every structure of sexual morality.’”
“Kinsey represents a challenge to all who have maintained a dangerously reserved position on the teaching of sexual relations.”
“Sex will have lost its intimate personal character and will become the most casual and common of all the biological activities of the human animal.”
LGBT groups credit Kinsey with normalizing homosexuality because his interviewees revealed that homosexual activity was more common than previously known:
In 2012, Kinsey was inducted into the Legacy Walk in Chicago, an outdoor public display which celebrates LGBT history and people. In June 2019, Kinsey was one of the inaugural fifty American “pioneers, trailblazers, and heroes” inducted on the National LGBTQ Wall of Honor within the Stonewall National Monument (SNM) in New York City’s Stonewall Inn. The SNM is the first U.S. national monument dedicated to LGBTQ rights and history, and the wall’s unveiling was timed to take place during the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots.
The main financier of Kinsey’s research was the Christian Rockefeller family.
In 1943, the Rockefeller Foundation became interested in his research and awarded him an initial grant of US$23,000.
Reisman wrote several books critiquing Kinsey’s works and influence: Kinsey, Sex and Fraud: The Indoctrination of a People, Kinsey: Crimes & Consequences: The Red Queen and the Grand Scheme, Sexual Sabotage: How One Mad Scientist Unleashed a Plague of Corruption and Contagion on America, and one about soft-core porn’s corrosive effects, “Soft Porn” Plays Hardball: Its Tragic Effects on Women, Children and the Family.
Her work “ignited an anti-pornography movement that led to President Reagan announcing the launch in May 1985 of what became known as the Meese Commission on Pornography.” An obituary described her as Hugh Hefner’s “greatest earthly foe.”
She supported a prohibition on pornography and attacked early nude mags like Playboy, Penthouse and Hustler, accusing them of publishing child pornography, for which she was sued by Playboy. She also opposed gay marriage.
I don’t think Kinsey’s Christian upbringing had much to do with his work, but it’s noteworthy insofar as the J-trappers always assume a Jewish upbringing is what motivates Jewish liberals, but they don’t assume the same thing for Christian liberals.
