A new study states that people with strong religious beliefs are happier with their sex lives.
According to a study published in the Journal of Sex Research, religious people enjoy sex more.
The findings of the study reveal that pious married women reportedly have more satisfying sex lives than non devout women.
It was also found that single religious men had very satisfying love lives – they, however, responded less favorably when factoring in attitudes about casual sex.
Those who consider religion important in their lives reportedly have less sex as they often abstain if they don’t have a partner. But overall, they are happy with their sex life.
Researchers at the University of Exeter believe this could be because they have “lower expectations” of sex outside of marriage.
Sex outside the sacred union of marriage — whether casual or without love, which are both typically no-no for the most religious was not considered sexually satisfying for both men and women who are religious.
It was also found that for both genders, the more disapproving people are of sex without love, the higher their sexual satisfaction.
On the other hand, the more people approved of casual sex or sex without love, the less they enjoyed intercourse.
According to the research team, the link between religious belief is to do with the frequency of sex – when people begin having sex they enjoy it, but once sex reaches a certain frequency it gets less great, The Telegraph informs.
This led the team to suggest an optimum frequency for higher sexual satisfaction does exist.
Dr Nitzan Peri-Rotem from the University of Exeter who conducted the study, is reported to have said, “The relationship between sex frequency and sexual satisfaction is neither simple nor straightforward; across all relationship types, too little or too much sex is associated with lower sexual satisfaction, suggesting that an optimum exists in terms of frequency related to higher satisfaction levels.”
Dr Vegard Skirbekk, of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health who worked with Dr Peri-Rotem on the new study, is quoted as saying, “As religious individuals are less likely to engage in casual sex and are more likely to limit sexual activity to a relationship based on love, this can lead to lower expectations of sexual activity outside a formal union, as well as increased satisfaction from sex life in general.
“However, it is possible that religious sentiments about the sanctity of marital sex, as well as disapproval of sex outside marriage, matter more for women than for men’s sexual satisfaction.
“This is also evident by the relatively higher levels of sexual satisfaction among more religious cohabiting men when all other variables were held constant, while no similar relationship was found among cohabiting women.”
Dr Peri-Rotem is of the opinion that their research shows changing religious norms could be an important way of understanding changes in sexual behaviour.
Religious teachings from major religions emphasize that one should avoid excesses and be content.
Avoidance of sex outside marriage, as well as lower approval of casual sex, infidelity, or sex without love, are in line with religious norms and values about the sanctity of marriage and marital sex.
Therefore, more religious individuals would have higher levels of satisfaction from sex life within marriage.
Dr Peri-Rotem reportedly said, “Our research suggests that changes in sexual behaviour need to be understood in a context of changes in religious norms and beliefs and other societal level trends.
“The postponement of union formation is related to less frequent sex, while also increasing the exposure to casual sex among those with weaker religious orientation.
“For women, it is found that having no sexual partners, as well as having ten or more lifetime sexual partners, is associated with lower satisfaction from sex life.
“Among men, on the other hand, no relationship is found between the number of lifetime sexual partners and sexual satisfaction.
“However, disapproval of sex without love and of casual sex is linked with higher satisfaction from sex life among both men and women.
“While sexual satisfaction initially increases with sex frequency, it declines again at a higher number of sex occasions.
“Therefore, having ‘too much’ sex may lead to a lower level of satisfaction from sex life.”
A common thread among all involved in the study was that both, excess sex and a lack of sex lead to lower levels of fulfillment.
The research suggests that those who are more promiscuous are less likely to form longer relationships and, therefore, both men and women who admitted to having many casual encounters were less sexually satisfied.
