Population Review

Level of religiosity is an indicator of the degree of involvement of people in religious beliefs/activities and a measure of attitudes to sexual-related activities, such as casual sex or using condoms to avert unplanned pregnancy or sexually transmitted infections. This paper uses nationally representative cross-sectional data collected in 2011/2012 to examine the relationship between religiosity and the likelihood of engaging in casual sex and condom use in Ghana. A sample of 4,168 males and females was used to assess sexual activities and condom use with casual sexual partner using binary logistic regression analysis. The study was based on the Reference Group Theory which suggests that religious teachings often dictate the sexual behaviors/attitudes of individuals and was informed by the fact that most conventional religions discourage pre-marital sex and adultery. The study examined how religiosity expressed by individuals impacts casual sex, which is considered a form of adultery. An attempt was made to discover if religiosity impacts condom use as a form of protection against HIV and other sexually transmitted infections and unplanned pregnancy. The results indicate that persons who attend religious meetings more than once a week are less likely to have a casual sexual partner compared to others who attend occasionally or less frequently. No differences between groups with lower level of religiosity are apparent. The level of religiosity did not affect condom use among those who have sex, when other variables are controlled for. Differences in age, sex, level of education, rural/urban residency and marital status are statistically related to condom use with a casual sex partner. The paper concludes that condom use with a casual sex partner may not largely depend on how religious or otherwise one may be, but rather on the individual’s risk perception based on a person’s socioeconomic status, particularly with respect to a person’s level of education.