RELIGIOSITY AND THE SEXUALITY OF WOMEN - SEXUAL-BEHAVIOR AND SEXUAL SATISFACTION REVISITED

Although our societal attitudes about sexuality continue to be dominat ed by the religious view that sexual desires are to be restrained and sexual pleasures to be avoided, the degree to which religiosity actual ly influences the sexuality of women remains a matter of conjecture. T he purpose of this investigation was to ascertain the relationship, if any, between religiosity and the sexual behaviors and sexual satisfac tion of women. An anonymous questionnaire concerning sexual attitudes, sexual behaviors, and female sexual response was administered to 868 female professional nurses in 15 stales. Significant differences were found between. the degree of religiosity and the age at initiation of sexual intercourse and attitudes toward masturbation. Similar to earli er findings, there were no significant differences in sexual satisfact ion between women with high-frequency and low-frequency church attenda nce.