How and Why Religiousness Influences Sexual Health: a Review

We examined the various ways that religiousness influences sexual health, elucidating the mechanisms responsible for both helpful and harmful effects. Religious beliefs, behavior, and belonging influence sexual health by (a) discouraging specific sexual behaviors, (b) discouraging sex generally, (c) encouraging sex only in a heterosexual marriage, (d) encouraging sex only for procreation, (e) framing sex as a sacred spiritual act, (f) providing a community of support, and (g) reinforcing sexual norms. These beliefs, behaviors, and sense of belonging may undermine or support sexual health knowledge, sexual functioning, sexual satisfaction, perceptions of compulsive sexual behavior, recovery from sexual violence, sexually conservative behavior, sex anxiety, and sex guilt/shame. Religious beliefs, behaviors, and sense of belonging simultaneously undermine and support sexual health. “Both/and” approaches that hold this dialectic undermining and support are more helpful in guiding future work rather than “either/or” approaches.