Why Do People Worship? Sex and Stress Relief, Study Says

[Elmore Furth]

Source: ABC News

Ask 100 people what they get out of religion and you will probably get 100 different answers. Some worship out of habit, others out of fear of death. New experiments offer two surprising reasons people find God: sex and stress relief.

Men and women shown dating profiles of attractive members of the same sex will describe themselves as more religious than people who don't feel as if they have to compete in the attractiveness stakes. Meanwhile, another study finds that thoughts of randomness push people toward God – but only if they can't attribute feelings of stress to some easily defined external factor. Subjects were primed for random thoughts by being exposed to phrases containing words such as "chance", "haphazard" and "random".

In a previous survey of 22,000 mostly Christian Americans, he and colleague Jason Weeden found a strong correlation between mating behaviour and religiosity. As you might expect, believers were more likely to be married, want to have large families and frown upon cheating and contraception.

"People actually switch on and off their religious beliefs over their lifetime to fit the current mating context they're in," he adds.

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/people-worship-sex-stress-relief-study/story?id=9573447

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There is a strong correlation between religiousity and teen pregnancy. That is, the more religious the teen, the higher the rates of teen pregnancy.

It is unfortunate that the conflict between the science of contraception and the pro-conception beliefs very religious groups may not be in teens best interests if they are unduely swayed by the fundamentalist religious point of view.

http://www.reproductive-health-journal.com/imedia/1545549611271544_article.pdf?random=414460

[Sebastian Doyle]

1. Obviously I grew up in the wrong church.

Nothing like that happened at the Baptist Church of Saint Ronald Reagan :evilfrown:

[rcrush]

2. If I knew going to church would get me laid

I'd probably be at church right now.

[LiberalFighter]

6. It sure didn't help me.

But then again I wouldn't want a very needy woman as a mate.

[Kat45]

19. It did for me.

As an adult, I found a FWB at church! Sure hadn't expected that! :D

[WillParkinson]

3. It's true!

Sex is a great stress reliever. Never had to go to church for it, though.

[Ranting_Wacko]

4. Find me a demonination that holds The Gospel of Eve as canon...

... and I'll convert faster than you can say Saint Wacko. :)

[treestar]

5. I kind of get that

When single, don't be religious, but when married with kids and you don't want your husband cheating on you, religion is going to look more attractive.

[PassingFair]

8. What?

Variation in divorce rates by religion:
Religion % have been divorced
Jews 30%
Born-again Christians 27%
Other Christians 24%
Atheists, Agnostics 21%

Ron Barrier, Spokespersonn for American Atheists remarked on these findings with some rather caustic comments against organized religion. He said:

"These findings confirm what I have been saying these last five years. Since Atheist ethics are of a higher caliber than religious morals, it stands to reason that our families would be dedicated more to each other than to some invisible monitor in the sky. With Atheism, women and men are equally responsible for a healthy marriage. There is no room in Atheist ethics for the type of 'submissive' nonsense preached by Baptists and other Christian and/or Jewish groups. Atheists reject, and rightly so, the primitive patriarchal attitudes so prevalent in many religions with respect to marriage." 2

[treestar]

17. People don't check statistics

It's like a gut feeling, if you can get him going to church and to be religious, he's more likely to make a good family man. It's not statistically true perhaps, but people don't think of that.

If they did, people would never get married at all. Women over 35 who were never married before would realize they could only date. People think statistics just don't apply to them if that's not what they want.

[PassingFair]

18. Your gut feelings must be different than mine.

The more religious a person seems,
the less I trust them.

[Leopolds Ghost]

21. Since there's no meaningful basis for proclaiming the superiority of "atheist ethics"

I don't see how any of that's relevant.

As for the OP, I imagine many hypocrites go to church to find a mate, but I would not describe them as particularly religious. ABC is running this tripe?

[Better Today]

7. To this line, I say...

"As you might expect, believers were more likely to be married, want to have large families and frown upon cheating and contraception."

Apparently their "wants" and their actions don't line up since divorce, cheating, etc are rampant in christian societies.

[alp227]

9. K&R - and btw, religion sucks!

It is unfortunate that the conflict between the science of contraception and the pro-conception beliefs very religious groups may not be in teens best interests if they are unduely swayed by the fundamentalist religious point of view.

Fundies just can't get over the fact that sex is a natural thing!

[Ian David]

10. If I'm reading this correctly...

If I'm reading this correctly, people who think themselves less-attractive declare themselves to be more-religious, in the hopes it will give them an edge finding a mate?

[ananda]

11. We're talking about cultist, brainwashing tribalism here..

.. not religion in the true sense.

[Scruffy1]

12. Reminds me of a Mecken article

When he was reporting on the Scopes Monkey trial he spied on an outdoors revival meeting in the woods and noted that at the height of excitement many couples snuck off into the woods together.
I don't put much credence in the divorce numbers because there are so many different factors involved,
especially economic and social that go beyond religion. Besides divorce is not necessarily a bad thing. I know it made me happier twice.

[daleo]

13. Church goers do seem more anxious than secular folks

I have gotten that feeling, over the years. They seem more obsessed by sex too.

[Fearless]

14. Or maybe the moral majority just likes to sleep around....

:rofl:

[bigendian]

15. There are many things to worship.

When you live in a culture of the idol rich you can mask your anxiety with video games, porn, gambling, tv, politics, the internet, whatever......... even religion.
Oh, I forgot rationality. Having been around a lot of elderly, I can tell you that you will lose that before you lose your faith.

[bemildred]

16. Well, I do worship sex and stress relief, it's true.

Among other things. But not in church.

[dickthegrouch]

20. Dear Abby often recommends church as a place to find a partner

There is supposed to be a 'better class' of people there.
If you've read any of my other religion-related posts, you know my feelings on the matter.