Relationship between Religious Orientation and Love Styles, Sexual Attitudes, and Sexual Behaviors

Abstract

This research had two objectives: (a) to extend our understanding of the sexual behavior, attitudes, and love styles of religiously mature and immature individuals using recent measures of love styles and sexual attitudes and (b) to investigate, for the first time, the sexual and love correlates of the quest religious orientation. The results are consistent with prior research using other measures, and they suggest that intrinsically religious individuals are highly discriminating in their conservative approach to sexuality, while extrinsics are somewhat self-serving. While only exploratory, these results should encourage scholars and practitioners to appreciate the highly complex relationships between religiosity and sexuality, and that global statements (e.g., religious individuals are sexually conservative) need to take into account a particular individual's religious orientation as well as the nature of the sexual dimension being considered.