Rachel Freitas: Academic Research on Sexuality, Spirituality, and Campus Consent
Rachel Freitas is an academic and author whose work examines the complex intersections of human sexuality, religious belief, and the systemic challenges of consent within higher education. Through extensive research and personal narrative, she has highlighted the gaps in how universities address the emotional and physical safety of their students.
Academic Career and Institutional Affiliations
Freitas has held teaching positions across several diverse academic environments, including the Department of Religion at Boston University, St. Michael's College in Religion, and the Honors College at Hofstra University. Her commitment to student safety and education is further evidenced by her outreach, having lectured at more than 200 college campuses specifically on the topic of sexual assault.
Currently, she continues her scholarly contributions as a research affiliate at the University of Notre Dame's Center for the Study of Religion and Society.
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Research on Sexuality and Spirituality
In her 2008 book, Sex & the Soul: Juggling Sexuality, Spirituality, Romance, and Religion on America's College Campuses, Freitas conducted the first major study to investigate how young people reconcile their spiritual beliefs with their sexual lives. Her research spanned seven U.S. institutions, including secular public, secular private, Catholic private, and evangelical private colleges.
The study utilized a robust methodology, combining an online survey with over 2,500 responses and detailed interviews with 111 students (48 men and 63 women). Her findings revealed several key insights:
- Students generally found that their sexuality and spirituality did not significantly inform one another.
- The most pronounced conflicts between sexuality and spirituality occurred between evangelical and non-evangelical institutions, rather than a simple divide between religious and non-religious settings.
- Students at Catholic institutions showed responses similar to those at non-religious institutions.
- Students at evangelical institutions made more conscious efforts to reconcile these two aspects of their lives, likely due to a stronger self-identification as religious and spiritual.
Advocacy for Consent and Campus Safety
Shifting her focus toward the systemic issues of campus safety, Freitas published Consent on Campus: A Manifesto in 2018. In this work, she addresses the prevalence of sexual assault in higher education, attributing the problem largely to a failure by institutions to provide adequate education on sex, consent, and hookup culture (the social environment of casual sexual encounters without romantic commitment).
Freitas argues that consensual sex must be communicative and proposes comprehensive training to foster constructive conversations. While she acknowledges that large, tradition-bound universities often struggle to respond quickly to these crises, she remains optimistic that policy implementations can help students navigate sex safely and responsibly.
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Personal Narrative and Institutional Failure
In 2019, Freitas released Consent: A Memoir of Unwanted Attention, providing the personal context for her advocacy. She details her experience at the Catholic University of America during the 1990s, where a professor and priest, referred to as "Father L," transitioned from a mentor to a harasser and stalker. The memoir highlights the lack of support she received from the university administration during this period.
Key Facts
- Research Scope: Surveyed over 2,500 students and interviewed 111 across seven diverse U.S. college types.
- Major Finding: The primary tension in sexuality and spirituality exists between evangelical and non-evangelical contexts.
- Advocacy Focus: Promotes communicative consent and institutional education to combat campus sexual assault.
- Outreach: Has delivered lectures on sexual assault at over 200 campuses.
- Current Role: Research affiliate at the University of Notre Dame.
| Book Title | Year | Primary Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Sex & the Soul | 2008 | Intersection of sexuality and spirituality in college students. |
| Consent on Campus: A Manifesto | 2018 | Systemic failures in consent education and sexual assault prevention. |
| Consent: A Memoir of Unwanted Attention | 2019 | Personal account of harassment and stalking by a university professor. |
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the main conclusion of the "Sex & the Soul" study?
Freitas concluded that the most significant conflicts regarding sexuality and spirituality occurred between evangelical and non-evangelical institutions, and that most students did not find their sexuality and spirituality to be mutually informative.
How does Freitas define the cause of sexual assault on campuses?
She attributes the widespread problem primarily to the failure of colleges and universities to adequately educate their students about sex, consent, and the dynamics of hookup culture.
What is Freitas' view on the ability of universities to change?
Despite noting that large, traditional universities are often slow to respond, she is optimistic that these institutions can implement policies that help students navigate sexual relationships safely and responsibly.
What personal experience led Freitas to write about consent?
Her interest was driven by her own experience at the Catholic University of America in the 1990s, where she was sexually harassed and stalked by a professor and priest, with little assistance from the university administration.