--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I was writing 'The Abstinence…" description: "\"When I was writing 'The Abstinence Teacher,' I really tried to immerse myself in contemporary American evangelical culture.\" — Tom Perrotta" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e6/tom-perrotta-3008_abstinence_when-i-was-writing-the-abstinence-teache_2957463.png" --- # When I was writing 'The Abstinence Teacher,' I really… ![“When I was writing 'The Abstinence Teacher,' I really tried to immerse myself in contemporary American evangelical culture.” quote by Tom Perrotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e6/tom-perrotta-3008_abstinence_when-i-was-writing-the-abstinence-teache_2957463.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e6/tom-perrotta-3008_abstinence_when-i-was-writing-the-abstinence-teache_2957463.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e6/tom-perrotta-3008_abstinence_when-i-was-writing-the-abstinence-teache_2957463.png) > “When I was writing 'The Abstinence Teacher,' I really tried to immerse myself in contemporary American evangelical culture.” [Tom Perrotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-perrotta/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Author immersed in modern evangelical culture to authentically portray it. **In simple terms:** Research immersive culture. Key Takeaway Understand subcultures deeply. Themes cultural immersion research authenticity religion Mood analytical thoughtful Type literary reflective When to use this quote - novel writing - journalism - documentary filmmaking - academic study Key Concepts literature anthropology creative writing Questions to Reflect On - How did immersion affect your narrative? - What challenges arise when portraying a belief system? A Different Perspective Immersion may bias perspective. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstinence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstinence/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Evangelical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evangelical/) [Teacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teacher/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“The evangelical culture moves too quickly to praise from lament. We do not hear from all of the voices in the North American evangelical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soong-chan-rah/the-evangelical-culture-moves-too-quickly-to-praise-from-lament-we-do/) [Soong-Chan Rah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soong-chan-rah/) > [If you read Islamic creationist literature, it's pretty much lifted from American evangelical literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/if-you-read-islamic-creationist-literature-it-s-pretty-much-lifted/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The American evangelical movement in Africa does valuable work in helping the poor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/the-american-evangelical-movement-in-africa-does-valuable-work-in/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [Our evangelical culture tends to take the awesome reality of a transcendent god who is worthy to be feared and downsize Him so He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stowell/our-evangelical-culture-tends-to-take-the-awesome-reality-of-a/) [Joseph Stowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stowell/) > [“The evangelical culture ties together faithfulness with extroversion,” McHugh explained. “The emphasis is on community, on participating in more and more programs and events,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/the-evangelical-culture-ties-together-faithfulness-with-extroversion/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [“Our evangelical culture is one that promotes tolerance and love. But it isn’t loving to tolerate bad teaching in the church. Love requires the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-byrd/our-evangelical-culture-is-one-that-promotes-tolerance-and-love-but/) [Aimee Byrd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-byrd/) > [Pride is one of the socially acceptable sins in some corners of the evangelical culture. It's just straight-out ego gratification - how important I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/pride-is-one-of-the-socially-acceptable-sins-in-some-corners-of-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“expression on his face. He’s in his early thirties, tall and broad-shouldered, dressed in jeans, a black polo shirt, and black flip-flops. With his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/expression-on-his-face-he-s-in-his-early-thirties-tall-and-broad/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [“Have you heard of the Children of Mae?” “The cult?” She knew of a religious group whose members went door to door, preaching the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-chen/have-you-heard-of-the-children-of-mae-the-cult-she-knew-of-a/) Colleen Chen > [“Abstinence is perfectly reasonable in theory," Gregory said, "It just doesn't work in practice. It's like dieting. You can go a day or two,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-perrotta/abstinence-is-perfectly-reasonable-in-theory-gregory-said-it-just/) [Tom Perrotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-perrotta/) > [When a married person uses pornography, or is unfaithful, it compromises not just his (or her) purity, but also compromises the spouse's purity. As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-o-donnell/when-a-married-person-uses-pornography-or-is-unfaithful-it/) [Christine O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-o-donnell/) > [Atheism is a religion like abstinence is a sex position.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/atheism-is-a-religion-like-abstinence-is-a-sex-position/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [“Male masturbation is not a release, it is a squandering. Anyone who begins to no-fap will soon discover this. Like most things, we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-freestone/male-masturbation-is-not-a-release-it-is-a-squandering-anyone-who/) [Jack Freestone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-freestone/) > [Used with due abstinence, hope acts as a healthful tonic; intemperately indulged, as an enervating opiate. The visions of future triumph, which at first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fitzjames-stephen/used-with-due-abstinence-hope-acts-as-a-healthful-tonic-intemperately/) [James Fitzjames Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fitzjames-stephen/) > [Sexual activity, and the thoughts and fantasies of sex, use up a great portion of our vital force. When that force is conserved through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patanjali/sexual-activity-and-the-thoughts-and-fantasies-of-sex-use-up-a-great/) [Patanjali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patanjali/) ## More by Tom Perrotta > [I was also known as Frodo because I was an early adopter of 'The Lord of the Rings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-perrotta/i-was-also-known-as-frodo-because-i-was-an-early-adopter-of-the-lord/) [Tom Perrotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-perrotta/) > [“As far as I could tell, he earned his hundred thousand a year by wandering the hallway with a Styrofoam cup of coffee, smiling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-perrotta/as-far-as-i-could-tell-he-earned-his-hundred-thousand-a-year-by/) [Tom Perrotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-perrotta/) > [“thinking how good it was to be free, away from the baby and from Tom, too, the two people who couldn’t help reminding her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-perrotta/thinking-how-good-it-was-to-be-free-away-from-the-baby-and-from-tom/) [Tom Perrotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-perrotta/) > [It's like the human race has been programmed for misery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-perrotta/it-s-like-the-human-race-has-been-programmed-for-misery/) [Tom Perrotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-perrotta/) > [“She took care of evyone with the same no-nonsense air of friendliness and good cheer that made her seem so paradoxically wholesome, as if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-perrotta/she-took-care-of-evyone-with-the-same-no-nonsense-air-of-friendliness/) [Tom Perrotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-perrotta/) > [Back then, when everybody thought the world would last forever, nobody had time for anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-perrotta/back-then-when-everybody-thought-the-world-would-last-forever-nobody/) [Tom Perrotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-perrotta/) > [“Stan and Rudy are grown men. It's too late to shape their minds, to teach them values and a sense of compassion. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-perrotta/stan-and-rudy-are-grown-men-it-s-too-late-to-shape-their-minds-to/) [Tom Perrotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-perrotta/) > [I write about kids growing up, I write a lot about schools and parents, and all of my experiences with those things have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-perrotta/i-write-about-kids-growing-up-i-write-a-lot-about-schools-and-parents/) [Tom Perrotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-perrotta/) > [You could say that this book is ripped from the headlines, but that wouldn't be fair. Bret Anthony Johnston's riveting novel picks up where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-perrotta/you-could-say-that-this-book-is-ripped-from-the-headlines-but-that/) [Tom Perrotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-perrotta/) > [The interesting part about the writing process is that you can never see all the way to the end, not if something is happening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-perrotta/the-interesting-part-about-the-writing-process-is-that-you-can-never/) [Tom Perrotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-perrotta/) > [“Something had happened to him ove the past couple of years, something to do with being home with Aaron, sinking into the rhythm of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-perrotta/something-had-happened-to-him-ove-the-past-couple-of-years-something/) [Tom Perrotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-perrotta/) > [“They were good listeners, worldly yet easily shocked, hungry for details, curious and nonjudgmental at the same time, always happy to give advice, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-perrotta/they-were-good-listeners-worldly-yet-easily-shocked-hungry-for/) [Tom Perrotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-perrotta/) > [I read 'The Great Gatsby' in high school and was hypnotized by the beauty of the sentences and moved by the story about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-perrotta/i-read-the-great-gatsby-in-high-school-and-was-hypnotized-by-the/) [Tom Perrotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-perrotta/) > [I no longer believe that just about everything is funny, if viewed from the proper angle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-perrotta/i-no-longer-believe-that-just-about-everything-is-funny-if-viewed/) [Tom Perrotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-perrotta/) > [“us, Will had invited his camp counselor buddy, Dylan, and Dylan had brought along his roommate, this annoying kid named Sanjay. I mean, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-perrotta/us-will-had-invited-his-camp-counselor-buddy-dylan-and-dylan-had/) [Tom Perrotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-perrotta/) [Explore all 141 Tom Perrotta quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-perrotta/) ## More Abstinence quotes > [Sexual activity, and the thoughts and fantasies of sex, use up a great portion of our vital force. When that force is conserved through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patanjali/sexual-activity-and-the-thoughts-and-fantasies-of-sex-use-up-a-great/) [Patanjali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patanjali/) > [Used with due abstinence, hope acts as a healthful tonic; intemperately indulged, as an enervating opiate. The visions of future triumph, which at first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fitzjames-stephen/used-with-due-abstinence-hope-acts-as-a-healthful-tonic-intemperately/) [James Fitzjames Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fitzjames-stephen/) > [“Male masturbation is not a release, it is a squandering. Anyone who begins to no-fap will soon discover this. Like most things, we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-freestone/male-masturbation-is-not-a-release-it-is-a-squandering-anyone-who/) [Jack Freestone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-freestone/) > [Atheism is a religion like abstinence is a sex position.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/atheism-is-a-religion-like-abstinence-is-a-sex-position/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [When a married person uses pornography, or is unfaithful, it compromises not just his (or her) purity, but also compromises the spouse's purity. As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-o-donnell/when-a-married-person-uses-pornography-or-is-unfaithful-it/) [Christine O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-o-donnell/) > [“Look, choosing to wait until marriage makes me feel empowered. But if the same choice cripples you, then it wasn't the right one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-allen/look-choosing-to-wait-until-marriage-makes-me-feel-empowered-but-if/) Rachael Allen > [Taking the pledge will not make bad liquor good, but it will improve it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/taking-the-pledge-will-not-make-bad-liquor-good-but-it-will-improve-it/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“It is better to lock up your heart with a merciless padlock, than to fall in love with someone who doesn't know what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/it-is-better-to-lock-up-your-heart-with-a-merciless-padlock-than-to/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [There is a great deal of political pressure to only talk about abstinence, and to deny support for condoms and education on using them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/there-is-a-great-deal-of-political-pressure-to-only-talk-about/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [Abstinence-only education - the best STD (Sexually Transmitted Disease) and pregnancy delivery system that politicians have ever devised.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-maddow/abstinence-only-education-the-best-std-sexually-transmitted-disease/) [Rachel Maddow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-maddow/) > [While one may lose much because of avarice, nothing was ever accomplished by abstinence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isuna-hasekura/while-one-may-lose-much-because-of-avarice-nothing-was-ever/) [Isuna Hasekura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isuna-hasekura/) > [“The secular, for all its goodness, does not defend itself very well against mindless and perpetual consumption. It cries out to be offered by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-farrar-capon/the-secular-for-all-its-goodness-does-not-defend-itself-very-well/) [Robert Farrar Capon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-farrar-capon/) > [I went to an all-girls Catholic school. And all the nuns just breathed down our necks "abstinence." And that's not the right thing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-mccarthy/i-went-to-an-all-girls-catholic-school-and-all-the-nuns-just-breathed/) [Jenny McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-mccarthy/) > [How do we want our air? Pure. How do we want our water? Pure. How do we want sex on our wedding night? Pure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-kelly/how-do-we-want-our-air-pure-how-do-we-want-our-water-pure-how-do-we/) Molly Kelly > [“There’s gratification in abstaining from the easy choice. Instant gratification can bring more suffering than pleasure. If I do the hard thing, the next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecily-wang/there-s-gratification-in-abstaining-from-the-easy-choice-instant/) Cecily Wang [Browse all 233 Abstinence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstinence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I was writing 'The Abstinence Teacher,' I really tried to immerse myself in contemporary American evangelical culture.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tom Perrotta" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-perrotta/when-i-was-writing-the-abstinence-teacher-i-really-tried-to-immerse/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Abstinence" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-perrotta/when-i-was-writing-the-abstinence-teacher-i-really-tried-to-immerse/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e6/tom-perrotta-3008_abstinence_when-i-was-writing-the-abstinence-teache_2957463.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e6/tom-perrotta-3008_abstinence_when-i-was-writing-the-abstinence-teache_2957463.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e6/tom-perrotta-3008_abstinence_when-i-was-writing-the-abstinence-teache_2957463.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When I was writing 'The Abstinence Teacher,' I really tried to immerse myself in contemporary American…” — Tom Perrotta", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Tom Perrotta", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-perrotta/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When I was writing 'The Abstinence...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-perrotta/when-i-was-writing-the-abstinence-teacher-i-really-tried-to-immerse/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-perrotta/when-i-was-writing-the-abstinence-teacher-i-really-tried-to-immerse/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```