Religious Affiliation and the Numbers of Sexual Partners of U.S. Men and Women

• Activity Number: 579
• Type: Contributed
• Date/Time: Wednesday, August 3, 2011 : 2:00 PM to 3:50 PM
• Sponsor: Social Statistics Section
• Author(s): Hee-Choon Shin*+
• Companies: NORC at the The University of Chicago
• Keywords: Binomial ; Poisson ; Chi-Square ; Religion ; Sexual Behavior

Abstract

According to Max Weber (1905), the main factor for the development of capitalism in Northern Europe was the Prostestant work ethic. In this paper we will examine the relationship between religious affiliation and the numbers of sexual partners of U.S. men and women. The first purpose of this paper is to describe and compare the distributions of numbers of current (during 12 months) sexual partners among U.S. women and Men by religious affiliation. After considering the univariate distributions, bivariate relationships between the number and other relevant explanatory variables (religious, demographic, and social characteristics) will be examined. Finally, the number of sexual partners among U.S. women and men is expressed as a function of religious affiliation and other explanatory variables respectively. The General Social Surveys (GSS) and the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) will be analyzed. The General Social Surveys (GSS) and the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) will be analyzed. Preliminary analyses show a higher number of sexual partners among "no religion" respondents as compared to Protestant/Catholic/Other Region respondents.