Arch Sex Behav (2012) 41:1485–1495 DOI 10.1007/s10508-012-9918-6 ORIGINAL PAPER Sex Guilt Mediates the Relationship Between Religiosity and Sexual Desire in East Asian and Euro-Canadian College-Aged Women Jane S. T. Woo • Negar Morshedian • Lori A. Brotto • Boris B. Gorzalka Received: 14 January 2011 / Revised: 13 December 2011 / Accepted: 13 December 2011 / Published online: 23 March 2012 Ó Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2012 Abstract Research has examined the relationship between Introduction religiosity and sexuality but few studies have explored the mech- anisms by which sexual variables are influenced by religiosity. Sex is a sphere of human behavior high in religious applicability The purpose of the present study was to investigate the role of and, throughout history, religion has regulated sexual behavior sex guilt in the relationship between religiosity and sexual desire (Regnerus, 2007). Indeed, sex is considered a topic that has more in women. Euro-Canadian (n = 178) and East Asian (n = 361) religious relevance and is more clearly addressed in most reli- female university students completed a battery of questionnaires. gious traditions than many other topics (Regnerus, 2007). Most, Higher levels of religious fundamentalism, intrinsic religiosity if not all, of the world’s major religions designate what constitutes and spirituality were associated with higher levels of sex guilt in virtuous or acceptable sexual activity for their adherents (Ahrold, both ethnic groups. Paranormal belief was not associated with sex Farmer,Trapnell,&Meston,2011; Cowden & Bradshaw, 2007). guilt in either ethnic group. The Euro-Canadian women reported For example, with the possible exception of Buddhism, most significantly higher levels of sexual desire and significantly less religions condemn premarital and extramarital sex (Miracle, sex guilt than the East Asian women. Among the Euro-Canadian Miracle, & Baumeister, 2003). However, whereas individuals’ women, sex guilt mediated the relationships between spirituality social, cultural, and moral identities were once strongly tied to and sexual desire, and fundamentalism and sexual desire; among religion, there has been a significant increase in the percentage the East Asian women, sex guilt mediated the relationships between of Americans who report no religious affiliation since the 1960s spirituality and sexual desire, fundamentalism and sexual desire, and (Putnam & Campbell, 2010; Stark & Bainbridge, 1985). More- intrinsic religiosity and sexual desire. These findings suggest that sex over, since some religions are more present in certain cultural guilt may be one mechanism by which religiosity affects sexual groups, recent research has also found that sexuality is influ- desire among women. enced by the interaction of cultureandreligion(e.g.,Ahrold& Meston, 2010; McCree, Wingood, DiClemente, Davies, & Keywords Religiosity Á Sexual desire Á Sex guilt Á Harrington, 2003). As a result, any direct effect of religion on East Asian Á Euro-Canadian sexuality sexuality has become less clear (Farmer, Trapnell, & Meston, 2009). Researchers have observed that there is as much diversity in religiosity within religious groups as there is between groups; thus, consideration of individual differences in religiosity is essential to improve the understanding of the effects of reli gion on sexuality (Ahrold et al., 2011; Cowden & Bradshaw, J. S. T. Woo Á N. Morshedian Á B. B. Gorzalka 2007). Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada Religiosity can be defined as the role and importance of religion in one’s life (Cowden & Bradshaw, 2007). Despite L. A. Brotto (&) advances in research into the relationship between religiosity Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of British and sexuality, the specific mechanisms by which religiosity Columbia, 2775 Laurel St., 6th Floor, Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9, Canada affects sexuality have received little empirical attention and are e-mail: [email protected] not well-delineated. The purpose of the current study was to 123 1486 Arch Sex Behav (2012) 41:1485–1495 investigate the potential role that sex guilt may play in the rela- 1990). Kinsey, Pomeroy, and Martin (1948)werethefirstto tionship between religiosity and sexual desire. suggest that variation in devoutness within religious groups was The relationship between religion and various aspects of more important than religious affiliation per se in determining sexuality has been a subject of scientific study since the early patterns of sexual behavior, such as masturbation to orgasm, days of sex research. In their classic work, Human Sexual Inad- premarital petting, and premarital sex. Therefore, conclusions equacy, Masters and Johnson (1970) examined differences in drawn about the relationship between religion and sexuality that sexual arousal, orgasm, satisfaction, and pain in relation to reli- are based on the use of religious affiliation or attendance as a gious upbringing. They found that a strict religious upbring- proxy for religiosity should be viewed with caution. ing in Judaism, Catholicism, and Protestantism was associated By studying other domains of religiosity, including intrinsic with different types of sexual dysfunction, including impotence religiosity, spirituality, religious fundamentalism, and paranor- (i.e., erectile dysfunction), anorgasmia, and vaginismus. More mal belief, this may provide more clarity on the relationship recent research on the influence of religion on sexuality has found between religiosity and sexuality. Specifically, they provide a that non-religious individuals report more sexual experiences and richer picture of the influence of religion in individuals’ lives. greater frequency of masturbation than those individuals who identify as Protestant, Catholic, or Jewish (Laumann, Gagnon, Intrinsic Religiosity Michael, & Michaels, 1994; Leiblum, Wiegel, & Brickle, 2003; Pluhar, Frongillo, Stycos, & Dempser-McClain, 1998). More fre- Intrinsic religiosity refers to the individual’s perception of the quent religious service attendance has been found to be associated impact of religion in their daily life and has been conceptually with greater sexual abstinence, less sexual activity, less frequent associated with personal religious commitment, as opposed to sexual intercourse, fewer lifetime sexual partners, and older age the more socially visible aspects of religiosity, such as religious at first intercourse (Barkan, 2006; Cochran & Beeghley, 1991). service attendance (Donahue, 1985; Kirkpatrick & Hood, 1990). With regard to sexual attitudes, more frequent religious atten- Adherents of Buddhism and Christianity may consider them- dance has been linked to more conservative attitudes toward pre- selves to be equally devout, but this would not be apparent in a marital sex as well as more negative attitudes toward oral and anal measure of religious service attendance as there is no explicit sex (Ahrold et al., 2011; Davidson, Moore, & Ullstrup, 2004). requirement in Buddhism that devotees attend religious services Those who attend religious services weekly were also more likely regularly. Instead, measuring intrinsic religiosity directly pro- to cite love as a prerequisite for engaging in intercourse, to want to motes a more comprehensive understanding of religiosity. marry a virgin, and to want to marry someone who had not pre- Research has found a link between intrinsic religiosity and viously had sexual intercourse (Davidson et al., 2004). Whether reli- sexual conservatism such that greater intrinsic religiosity is asso- giosity is associated with sexual dysfunction has never been tested. ciated with more conservative sexual attitudes in both men and Measures such as frequency of religious service attendance women (Ahrold et al., 2011) and with less openness towards implicitly assume that frequent attendance denotes greater reli- casual sexual encounters and motivation to pursue casual sexual giosity. The use of such attendance as an indicator of religiosity partners among women (Rowatt & Schmitt, 2003). Interest- across faith groups is problematic, as members of religious affi- ingly, the effect of intrinsic religiosity on sexual conservatism liations differ dramatically in their expectations of participation was found even in a sample of individuals identifying with reli- in formal religious services. For example, one study of Austra- gious groups whose religious practices varied in terms of per- lian adults found that more frequent religious service attendance formance of formalized rituals and expectations of attendance at was generally linked to more conservative sexual attitudes and formal religiousservices (Ahrold et al., 2011). Thissuggests that behaviors, but religious individuals who seldom attended ser- intrinsic religiosity as a construct may be relevant across mem- vices resembled their non-religious peers more than their more bers of various religious groups regardless of their religious ser- religious counterparts (de Visser, Smith, Richters, & Rissel, 2007). vice attendance. This measure (i.e., religious attendance) seems to be biased towards members of Christian denominations who are expected to attend church services weekly or sometimes daily, and does not take into Spirituality account the religious practices of Muslims who are expected to pray several times a day, or Buddhists who are not expected Whereas intrinsic religiosity is an indicator of the impact of reli- to attend formal services regularly (Welwood, 2000). Further-