Married couples who regularly attend church report having more frequent sex and greater sexual satisfaction than those who attend less often or not at all, according to a new report from the Institute for Family Studies (IFS) in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Researchers analyzed findings from multiple datasets, including the 2026 IFS Religion and Family Survey of 3,125 married adults ages 18 – 54, the long-running nationally representative General Social Survey, and a separate survey of 1,219 alumni of FOCUS, a Catholic campus ministry.
Regular churchgoers reported having more frequent sex than less religious or nonreligious married adults, with regularly attending Catholics reporting some of the highest levels of sexual frequency.
The association remained even after accounting for demographic differences. Among married adults ages 20 to 54, 62 per cent of regular churchgoers reported having sex at least once a week, compared with 48 per cent of nonreligious spouses, according to the report.
In addition to frequency, sexual satisfaction was also higher among church attendants. Catholics and Protestants who regularly attended religious services were more likely to rate their sex lives positively than those who attended less often or had no religious affiliation.
Daily prayer was linked to greater sexual satisfaction among married Catholics and Protestants, though it was not associated with more frequent sex. Among churchgoers, 55 per cent of Catholics and 45 per cent of Protestants rated their sex lives as “excellent” or “very good,” compared with 45 per cent of nominal Catholics, 35 per cent of nominal Protestants and 40 per cent of religiously unaffiliated respondents.
Those who viewed marriage as a permanent commitment were more likely to report both frequent and satisfying sex. That belief, along with shared values, was also strongly associated with overall marital quality.
The study was funded by FOCUS, the Fellowship of Catholic University Students Jessica Steinman, a licensed marriage and family therapist and certified sex addiction therapist in Los Angeles, spoke with Fox News Digital about the potential relationship between religious activity and the quality of a couple’s sex life.
“When we think of people who are really involved in religion … we might think they’re not having a lot of sex or that they’re having very constricted views on their sex lives,” she said.
“And this article and research show that’s changing.” People who actively participate in a shared spiritual or religious life may also feel more connected to one another as partners, according to Steinman.
“If they’re showing up and looking at things outside themselves – things that are spiritual, things that are religious, things that are having them look inward, things that are having them look into larger morals and values within their marriages and partnerships – I think they’re going to possibly have happier marriages and partnerships,” the therapist said.
They may also be more vulnerable and open with one another, which could contribute to a more active sex life, she added.
“Certain religious settings are really focused on rituals and traditions,” Steinman said. “And if you’re looking at partnership and marriage … engaging in sexual connection and sexual intimacy can really become a ritual itself.”
The research highlighted what has been described as an ongoing “sex recession,” where people are not engaging in sexual intimacy as much as they once did. Regardless of religious affiliation, Steinman encourages people to find ways to connect with their partners.
“Get off the phones, get off of the internet, turn the TV off and start really connecting with your partner,” she advised. Steinman suggested that partners engage with one another and build connections that go deeper than simply asking, “How was your day?” That can include building emotional openness and discussing how partners want to connect sexually, she said. Edited from the New York Post
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