Religious Involvement and Transitions into Adolescent Sexual Activities

Using two waves of data from the National Survey of Youth and Religion (2002, 2005), a national probability sample of 3,290 adolescents ages 13 to 17, we test whether religious involvement (church attendance, religious salience, private religiosity, and family religiosity) is associated with delayed transitions into sexual activities (sexual touching, oral sex, and sexual intercourse). We also consider whether the rate of these transitions varies according to important social characteristics (age, gender, and race/ethnicity). Our results suggest that multiple indicators of religious involvement (especially religious salience) are associated with delayed transitions into selected sexual activities. We also find that the rate of transition into sexual activities associated with private and family religiosity varies according to key social characteristics.