Associations Between Religiosity and Sexuality in a Representative Sample of Australian Adults

“... Beeghley, & Fenwick, 2004; Davidson, Moore, & Ullstrup, 2004; Hardy & Raffaelli, 2003; Jones, Darroch, & Singh, 2005; Laumann, Gagnon, Michael, & Michaels, 1994; Lefkowitz, Gillen, Shearer, & Boone, 2004; Le Gall, Mullet, & Shafighi, 2002; Leiblum, Wiegel, & Brickle, 2003; Lottes, Weinberg, & Weller, 1993; Meier,…”

“Other studies only measure religiosity (e.g., frequency of church attendance, subjective importance of religious belief) but do not consider religion (e.g., Hardy & Raffaelli, 2003; Lottes et al., 1993; Meier, 2003; Rostosky et al., 2003).”

“Unlike other studies (e.g., Lefkowitz et al., 2004; Miller & Gur, 2002; Rostsoky et al., 2003), this study did not assess the subjective importance of religion or individuals’ beliefs about the importance of religion in shaping their sexual behavior and attitudes.”

“Other studies only measure religiosity (e.g., frequency of church attendance, subjective importance of religious belief) but do not consider religion (e.g., Hardy & Raffaelli, 2003; Lottes et al., 1993; Meier, 2003; Rostosky et al., 2003).”

“…associated with more conservative sexual attitudes, later initiation of sexual behavior, and a more narrow range of sexual experiences (Cochran & Beeghley, 1991; Cochran, Chamlin, Beeghley, & Fenwick, 2004; Davidson, Moore, & Ullstrup, 2004; Hardy & Raffaelli, 2003; Jones, Darroch, &…”

“Other studies only measure religiosity (e.g., frequency of church attendance, subjective importance of religious belief) but do not consider religion (e.g., Hardy & Raffaelli, 2003; Lottes et al., 1993; Meier, 2003; Rostosky et al., 2003).”

“... of sexual behavior, and a more narrow range of sexual experiences (Cochran & Beeghley, 1991; Cochran, Chamlin, Beeghley, & Fenwick, 2004; Davidson, Moore, & Ullstrup, 2004; Hardy & Raffaelli, 2003; Jones, Darroch, & Singh, 2005; Laumann, Gagnon, Michael, & Michaels, 1994; Lefkowitz, Gillen, Shearer, & Boone, 2004;…”

“…Brickle, 2003; Lottes, Weinberg, & Weller, 1993; Meier, 2003; Miller & Gur, 2002; Paul, Fitzjohn, Eberhart-Phillips, Herbison, & Dickson, 2000; Rostosky, Regnerus, & Wright, 2003; Rostosky, Wilcox, Wright, & Randall, 2004; Sandfort, Bos, Haavio-Mannila, & Sundet, 1998; Zaleski & Schiaffino, 2000).”

“Details of the methodology used in the ASHR are provided elsewhere ( Smith, Rissel, Richters, Grulich, & de Visser, 2003a ).”

“A small number of studies measure both religion and religiosity, but do not examine the intersection of belief and practice, instead examining them in independent analyses (e.g., Jones et al., 2005; Laumann et al., 1994).”

“Other analyses of ASHR data have revealed significant associations between demographic variables and the sexual behaviors and attitudes examined in this paper ( Grulich, de Visser, Smith, Rissel, & Richters, 2003; Rissel, Richters, Grulich, de Visser, & Smith, 2003; Smith, Rissel, Richters, Grulich, & de Visser, 2003b…”

“However, these studies reveal that later coital debut among adolescents and young adults is predicted by greater participation in religious activities and higher personal importance of religion (Paul et al., 2000; Rostosky et al., 2003, 2004).”

“…and frequency of attendance at religious services is similar to the need in health research to assess not only whether people drink alcohol, but how much alcohol they drink, because moderate alcohol consumption is beneficial for health, whereas excessive consumption is detrimental (White, 1999).”

“... find that religious beliefs and/or activities are associated with more conservative sexual attitudes, later initiation of sexual behavior, and a more narrow range of sexual experiences (Cochran & Beeghley, 1991; Cochran, Chamlin, Beeghley, & Fenwick, 2004; Davidson, Moore, & Ullstrup, 2004; Hardy & Raffaelli, 2003…”

“However, this explanation cannot explain why the effect observed in this study of “Health and Relationships” is also observed in social research into less private topics (e.g., Hayes & Marangudakis, 2001; Nieuwbeerta & Flap, 2000).”

“One recent American study that did assess the intersection of religion and religiosity found that within religious groups, greater religiosity was associated with a lower likelihood of premarital sex, extramarital sex, and homosexual sex (Cochran et al., 2004).”

“However, this explanation cannot explain why the effect observed in this study of “Health and Relationships” is also observed in social research into less private topics (e.g., Hayes & Marangudakis, 2001; Nieuwbeerta & Flap, 2000).”

“For example, some studies of young people indicate that adherents of particular non-Christian religions may have more liberal attitudes and patterns of behavior (Janghorbani, Lam, & the Youth Sexuality Study Taskforce, 2003; Leiblum et al., 2003; Lottes & Kuriloff, 1994).”

“Other studies only measure religiosity (e.g., frequency of church attendance, subjective importance of religious belief) but do not consider religion (e.g., Hardy & Raffaelli, 2003; Lottes et al., 1993; Meier, 2003; Rostosky et al., 2003).”

“In comparison to the 2001 Australian Census of Population and Housing (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2005) , the ASHR found a greater proportion of non-religious people (46% in ASHR, 16% in census).”

“For example, some studies of young people indicate that adherents of particular non-Christian religions may have more liberal attitudes and patterns of behavior (Janghorbani, Lam, & the Youth Sexuality Study Taskforce, 2003; Leiblum et al., 2003; Lottes & Kuriloff, 1994).”

“[340] R.”

“Possible internal conflict between religious beliefs and sexual interests may contribute to the adverse perception.(45) The role of religion and religious instruction in relation to pornography”

“The few studies that compare Buddhists to affiliates of other religions report inconsistent findings in their sex-related attitudes (Adamczyk and Pitt 2009; Finke and Adamczyk 2008) and behaviors (de Visser et al. 2007; Lee et al. 2006).”