Short-Term Mating Strategies Are Negatively Correlated with Religious Commitment: Exploring Evolutionary Variables for Religiosity at a Small Christian Liberal Arts College

Abstract

Based on the Reproductive Religiosity Model, it was hypothesized that characteristics associated with short-term mating strategies would be negatively correlated with higher levels of religious commitment. This hypothesis was tested among undergraduate students in two different studies at a small, evangelical, liberal arts college. A strong negative correlation was found in the first study between the importance of religion and different types of sexual behavior associated with a more unrestrictive, short-term sexual lifestyle. The second study also confirmed our initial hypothesis based on a negative correlation between two measures of religious commitment and a measure of orientation toward uncommitted sex. In the second study, we also investigated the relationship between religion, attachment styles, and life history theory. We found no correlations between religious commitment and attachment styles, but did find a modest positive correlation between insecure attachment styles and short-term mating strategies.