Sexual Attitudes and Behaviors

among Mainline and Evangelical Protestants

David P. McAnulty, PhD Richard D. McAnulty, PhD
Abilene Christian University,, Department of Psychology University of North Carolina-Charlotte, Department of Psychology

Introduction ABSTRACT Key Findings

All religions teach moral precepts, or rules, addressing sexual behavior. The dominant religious One way or another, religions have always sought to define, control, and direct sexuality (Haffner, • Sexual conservatism, intrinsic religiosity, and beliefs about the importance of marriage, love, and
influence in the United States is Christianity, with over 78 percent of Americans identifying as 1997; Sands, 2000). Although Americans’ values are perhaps more secular than ever before, the sex were highly related
Christians, and 51 percent describing their religious affiliation as Protestant. Members of the latter overwhelming majority of adults in the U.S. identify as religious and Christian (78.4%). The purpose
group can be differentiated on the basis of the extent to which they interpret biblical writings literally, • Relative to Mainline Protestants, Evangelical students were more likely to:
of the present study was to explore how religious beliefs influence sexual attitudes and behaviors
with Evangelical Protestants advocating a more literal interpretation and Mainline Protestants holding among conservative and moderate Protestant Christian college students. The final study sample o Never have experienced sexual intercourse (33% vs. 14%; χ² [N = 146] = 3.89, p <.05)
views more in line with contemporary social norms. consisted of 275 college student volunteers (67% female). Only participants who identified as (a) o Experience sexual guilt
heterosexual (b) mainline or evangelical Protestant Christians were included. Participants completed
Previous research has found that found that evangelical Protestants were less permissive in their views • Mainline & Evangelical Protestants did not differ in terms of:
an Intrinsic Religious Orientation measure, and four measures of sexual permissiveness vs.
of both premarital and extramarital sex than other more liberal Protestant groups, Catholics, and restrictiveness (Sexual Opinion Survey; Sex, Love, & Marriage Scale; Sexuality Myth Questionnaire; o Age at which they started dating (~15 years old)
unaffiliated Christians. Moreover, higher levels of religiosity have been associated with negative & Mosher Sex Guilt Inventory). Results for religious orientation revealed that Evangelicals were
attitudes towards a range of sexual practices including masturbation, anal intercourse, oral sex, and o Age at sexual initiation (~1-2 years later)
more likely to agree that their religion shaped their daily lives and that it influenced all aspects of their
vaginal intercourse. lives than mainline Protestant students (t(144) = 2.49 & t(144) = 2.34 respectively; p<.05). While o Number of past sexual partners (past year & lifetime)
Evangelicals were significantly more committed to church attendance (t(144) = 2.59; p< .01), no o Sexual conservatism
Of particular interest, the dimension of intrinsic versus extrinsic religious orientation has been differences were found for importance of prayer. As far as sexual behavior, Evangelical students were
investigated with regard to sexual attitudes and behavior. Specifically, intrinsic religious orientation • Students who were intrinsically religious tended to be:
more likely than mainline students to be virgins at the time of the study (33% vs. 14%, respectively),
correlates negatively with the number of sex partners desired, with openness to having casual sex, and though no differences were noted in terms of age of onset of sex and number of sexual partners. With o More conservative in their views of love, sex, marriage
with mate poaching. It is also inversely related to age of sexual initiation and number of lifetime regard to attitudes, Evangelicals scored significantly higher for sexual guilt (t(144) = 3.24; p<.001). o Less comfortable with non-marital sexual relationships and with non-procreative sexual
partners. Correlations across the entire sample revealed important relationships among study variables. As activity
expected, Sexual conservatism, intrinsic religiosity, and beliefs about the importance of marriage,
The current investigation hypothesized that: love, and sex were highly interrelated. These measures also were associated with self-reported o More prone to sex guilt
1. Evangelical students would earn higher scores on measures intrinsic religious orientation, behavior. For instance, Sexual conservatism & sexual guilt correlated with age of sex onset and o Report having fewer past sexual partners
including (a) importance of religion in daily life, (b) church attendance, and (c) importance of number of lifetime partners. Intrinsic religiosity was associated with age of dating onset and number
prayer. • Overall, these patterns suggest that intrinsic orientation to one’s beliefs among Protestants may be
of lifetime partners. Overall, this study confirms a relationship between sexual conservatism, intrinsic influential in sexual attitudes and practices than one’s denominational affiliation.
2. Students who are classified as evangelical Protestants will report more restrictive sexual religious orientation, and sexual experiences.
experiences than their more liberal Protestant peers, including (a) later age at first dating, (b)
higher likelihood of being virgins, (c) later age at sexual initiation, (d) fewer sexual partners over Table 1
the past 12 months, & (e) fewer lifetime partners.
3. Evangelical students would endorse higher sex guilt scores & more traditional values than the Correlation Matrix of Relationships Between Key Variables
mainline Protestant students
Variable 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Discussion
Methodology 1. Dating Age 1.00 * * * * * * * Conclusions:
Participants The present findings suggest that, in this sample of Protestant students:
2. Intercourse Age .138 1.00 * * * * * *
Inclusion Criteria: • Religious affiliation is related to sexual attitudes and practices
1. Self-identified as heterosexual 3. Lifetime Partners -.151 -.238a 1.00 * * * * *
• An intrinsic orientation to one’s beliefs is more influential as far as sexual attitudes and practices
2. Categorized as Protestant (Mainline or Evangelical) using the classification scheme of the National 4. SOS Score -.221b -.219a .291b 1.00 * * * * than one’s denominational affiliation
Health & Social Life Survey (Laumann et al., 1994) • Sex guilt and sexual conservatism act as deterrents of sexually permissiveness
The final study sample consisted of 149 college student volunteers. 5. SLM Sum .017 .075 -.221a -.281b 1.00 * * *
• Fundamentalist religious groups seem to be more impervious to broader social trends, specifically
• 70% female, 30% male 6. SMQ .105 -.276b -.050 -.022 .076 1.00 * * in terms of sexual attitudes
• 72% White, 18% Black, 10% Other • Mainline & Evangelical Protestants are quite similar in terms of sexual experience and sexual
7. MSGI Sum .178a .301b -.309b -.710c .292c -.108 1.00 *
conservatism, with both groups valuing commitment, exclusivity and monogamy
• Mean age = 21.21 (range: 18-45)
8. IROQ Sum .162 .023 -.242 -.407c .299c -.032 .491c 1.00 • Evangelicals are more likely to remain virgins into their college years
• 54% Mainline Protestant (e.g., Methodists, Lutherans, Presbyterians &Episcopalians), 46%
Evangelical (e.g., Baptists, Pentecostals, Churches of Christ & Assemblies of God) Note:
Limitations:

• 44% single-unattached; 50% single-attached/dating a indicates p < .05; b indicates p < .01; c indicates p<.000 • Predominantly young Caucasian female sample
SOS = Sexual Opinion Survey • Absence of non-religious comparison group
Measures SLM = Sex, Love, & Marriage Questionnaire
• Cross-sectional design
• Dating Experience Survey. A questionnaire about dating and sexual experience, age allowed to SMQ =Sexual Myths Questionnaire
date, age of first date, age at vaginal intercourse, and number of sexual partners. MSGI =Mosher Sex Guilt Inventory
IROQ = Intrinsic Religious Orientation Questionnaire
• Intrinsic Religious Orientation subscale of the NIRO (Francis, 2007). Six items that assess the
degree to which individuals integrate their religious faith into all aspects of their lives, place a high
priority on public religious practice, and value personal religious practices as a way of developing Table 2 References
their personal relationship with God.
Mean Differences Between Groups For
Davis, C.M., Yarber, W.L., Bauserman, R., Schreer, G., & Davis, S.L. (Eds.). (1998). Handbook of
• Sexual Opinion Survey (Davis et al., 1998). These 21 questions address general sexual attitudes Intrinsic Religious Orientation, Sexual Attitudes & Sexual Behaviors
sexuality-related measures. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
and practices. Low scores on the survey indicate erotophobia, or sexual restriction, while higher
score indicate more sexual permissiveness. Variable Evangelical Mainline t - Test
Field, S. (2010). Sexuality myths among college students. (Unpublished master’s thesis). University of
Importance of religion in daily life 1 3.91 3.48 2.49 (p<.05)
• Sex, Love, & Marriage Scale (Weis et al.,1986). This scale measures the interdependence of sex, North Carolina-Charlotte, Charlotte, NC.
love, and marriage within heterosexual relationships. High scores indicate a stronger belief in the Importance of religion in daily life 2 3.91 3.51 2.34 (p<.05)
requirement that sex, love, and marriage coexist, which is related to sexual restrictiveness. Church attendance 1 3.06 2.61 2.59 (p<.01) Francis, L. (2007). Introducing the New Indices of religious orientation (NIRO): Conceptualization and
Conversely, low scores suggest that sex, love, and marriage are seen as distinct experiences and is Church attendance 2 3.40 2.97 2.49 (p<.05) measurement. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 20(6), 585-602.
associated with more permissive views. Sexual Guilt (MSGI) 131.81 107.39 3.24 (p<.001) Haffner, D.W. (1997). The really Good News: What the Bible says about sex. SIECUS Report, 26, 3-8.
• Sexuality Myth Questionnaire (Field, 2010). A 43-item questionnaire that measures how strongly Importance of prayer 3.93 3.84 ns
participants believe in various sexuality myths. Dating age 15.17 15.27 ns Laumann, E.O., Gagnon, J.H., Michael, R.T., & Michaels, S. (1994). The social organization of
sexuality: Sexual practices in the United States. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
• Mosher Sex Guilt Inventory (Davis et al., 1998). Fifty questions focus on the guilt associated with Age at sexual initiation 16.69 16.58 ns
sexual thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors. Higher scores are associated with sexual restrictiveness # sexual partners past 12 months 1.57 1.70 ns Sands, K.M. (2000). Introduction. In K.M. Sands (Ed.), God forbid: Religion and sex in American life
with lower scores associated with permissiveness. # sexual partners lifetime 4.96 6.47 ns (pp. 3-20). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Data were collected via an online survey that allowed each participant to receive course credit “Sex only in committed relationship” 23.72 22.63 ns
Weis, D. L., Slosnerick, M., Cate, R., & Sollie D. L. (1986). A survey instrument for assessing the
Acceptance of non-marital sex 88.30 89.61 ns
cognitive association of sex, love, and marriage. The Journal of Sex Research, 22(2), 206-220.
Discomfort with sex 3.24 3.25 ns

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