A study published in The Journal of Sex Research, a peer-reviewed academic journal covering human sexuality and sexology, revealed a controversial result. A team of scientists from Columbia and Exeter Universities announced that individuals with strong religious beliefs experience higher sexual satisfaction.
In their research, the scientists used data from 4,313 men and 6,370 women aged 18 to 59 from the British National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles database. According to the data in question, 11% of men and 16% of women stated that religious belief and religion are extremely important to them.
People with strong religious beliefs reported more sexual satisfaction:
Half of the people whose data were analyzed were married, 17% lived with their partner, and 5% did not have a fixed partner. More than two-thirds of these people stated that they rarely attend religious events. The answers given about sexual satisfaction revealed a surprising result.
Married women with strong religious beliefs were found to report higher sexual satisfaction. However, the same was not evident in men. On the other hand, another result was that men who were single and had higher religious beliefs experienced higher sexual satisfaction.
The question of how much sexual intercourse individuals have revealed a predictable answer. Men and women with high religious beliefs reported having less sexual intercourse than people with low religious beliefs.
Scientists speculate that greater sexual satisfaction in people with higher religious beliefs is due to attitudes about the ‘appropriate context’ for sexual intercourse. It is emphasized that the findings also remind the importance of sociocultural norms in shaping sexual behavior and sexual satisfaction.
Note: Approximately 40% of the people whose data were analyzed in the study were Christians and the rest were individuals belonging to different religions.
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