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Trending · health · Emerging
Churchgoing Married Couples Report More Sex And Higher Satisfaction, New Report Finds
62% vs 48% weekly sexFaith and satisfaction linkedCommitment view mattersObservational data only
A new report from the Institute for Family Studies finds that married adults who attend church regularly report having sex more often and rating their sex lives higher than spouses who attend less or not at all, according to Fox News. Among married adults ages 20 to 54, regular churchgoers were well ahead of nonreligious spouses on weekly sexual frequency, 62% compared with 48%.
The report draws on three sources: a 2026 IFS survey of married adults ages 18 to 54 that sampled 3,125 people, the nationally representative General Social Survey, and a separate survey of 1,219 alumni from FOCUS, a Catholic campus ministry that funded the study. Among married adults ages 20 to 54, 62% of regular churchgoers said they have sex at least once a week, versus 48% of nonreligious spouses, and that gap held even after the researchers accounted for demographic differences. Among churchgoers, 55% of Catholics and 45% of Protestants rated their sex lives as excellent or very good, compared with 45% of nominal Catholics, 35% of nominal Protestants and 40% of religiously unaffiliated respondents. Daily prayer was linked to greater sexual satisfaction among married Catholics and Protestants, though it was not tied to more frequent sex. People who viewed marriage as a permanent commitment were more likely to report both frequent and satisfying sex.
The researchers point to shared values, ritual and a sense of permanent commitment as the likely threads connecting religious practice to marital and sexual outcomes. Los Angeles marriage therapist Jessica Steinman, speaking with Fox News Digital, said couples who engage in shared spiritual practice may feel more emotionally connected and vulnerable with one another, and that rituals tied to religious life can turn intimacy itself into a kind of shared ritual. Chronic stress and disconnection are known to work against libido in general, which is consistent with why emotional safety and regular, undistracted time together tend to support sexual satisfaction in couples broadly.
62% vs 48% report weekly sex
Data Panel
- Who
- 3,125 married adults ages 18-54 (IFS Religion and Family Survey), plus General Social Survey data and 1,219 FOCUS alumni
- Design
- Observational survey analysis combining multiple datasets
- Dose
- Not applicable — frequency of religious service attendance and prayer compared across groups
- Primary result
- 62% of regular churchgoers ages 20-54 reported sex at least once a week versus 48% of nonreligious married adults
- Secondary
- 55% of churchgoing Catholics and 45% of churchgoing Protestants rated their sex lives excellent or very good, versus 45% of nominal Catholics, 35% of nominal Protestants and 40% of unaffiliated respondents; daily prayer was linked to higher satisfaction but not higher frequency
- Funding / conflicts
- Study funded by FOCUS, the Fellowship of Catholic University Students
The analysis is observational, so the authors acknowledge it cannot establish that religious practice directly causes better marital or sexual outcomes. Outcomes were self-reported, and differences in age, length of marriage and other unmeasured factors between religious and nonreligious respondents could account for some of the gap.
Dr. Axe's Take
I read this as evidence that shared meaning protects intimacy, not that religion itself works like an aphrodisiac. Couples who treat marriage as permanent and build regular rituals together, prayer, meals, unplugged evenings, are practicing the same nervous-system safety that makes closeness and desire possible in the first place. My advice this week: pick one daily ritual with your spouse, a walk, prayer, or a phone-free dinner, and protect it the way you would protect any other health habit. The connection matters more than the specific form it takes.
— Dr. Axe