A Review about the Relationship Between Religiosity and Sexual Risk Taking in Western Societies

This review intends to bring to the fore the results of studies conducted mostly in the Western societies with a view to ascertaining the influence of religiosity on risky sexual behaviors. Sexual behaviors that potentially cause sexually transmitted diseases such as AIDS are considered to be risky in terms of health. Religiosity is an orientation, mode of behavior or a life style which significantly influences the lives of most people in the world. In literature, there are two types of religiosity: intrinsic religiosity, which is defined in terms of the significance of the belief in God; and extrinsic religiosity, which focuses on worship attendance. Studies conducted to measure the influence of religiosity on risky sexual activity (i.e. unprotected sexual intercourse) show that its influence differs by age and the type of religiosity. Religiosity has been found more protective against risky sexual behavior in adolescents and girls compared with young adults and boys, and also the intrinsic religiosity appears to be more influential compared with the extrinsic religiosity. However, some studies have found that religiosity increases risky sexual behavior.