NCSR 2008 - Urban Diversity and Religious Traditions
13-15 August 2008, Åbo Akademi University

The connection between religiosity and sexual behavior in Sweden and Denmark

Ina Rosen & Anders Lundberg

Much has been written about religion and gender and quite a bit about religion and LGBT. But much less has been said about religion and abstinence from sexual practice. This in spite of the fact that many conservative religious persons of different faiths actually elect to abstain from sexual practice, both masturbation and coitus, in order to comply with religious teachings on marriage and sexuality.
We aim to present data from the ESV study that show the connection between religiosity and sexual behavior in Sweden and Denmark. We also aim to ask some introductory questions as regards the creation of identity in a time where an expressive sexuality is central to the identity project.