here’s an American cultural thing that I don’t understand

Cultural conservatives always complain about the sexually charged nature of the entertainment industry, they preach abstinence over protection, and generally come off, it seems, as a bunch of prudes.

However, a close friend of mine recently attended the bridal shower of a devout Christian, and came away with a number of published, hardcover Christian sex manuals.  Apparently there are dozens of these things.  Add to that the fact that Bristol Palin’s premarital indiscretions haven’t rubbed any Evangelicals the wrong way, and that Sarah Palin thongs are selling like crazy, and I’m starting to think that maybe there’s a level of nuance to the whole right-wing prude thing that I’m missing.

Really, in earnest, can someone explain this to me?