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Joint Religiosity and Married Couples’ Sexual Satisfaction
Jeffrey P. Dew
Brigham Young University
Jeremy E. Uecker
Baylor University
Brian J. Willoughby
Brigham Young University
Although many studies have examined the association between religion and sexuality, the majority of
these studies have focused on nonmarital sex. Unfortunately, despite the fact that a satisfying sexual
relationship plays a critical role in married couples’ relationship quality and stability, the associations
between religiosity and marital sexual satisfaction are not well understood. Thus, to examine the
association between religiosity and couples’ reports of married sexual satisfaction, the authors of this
study used dyadic data from a nationally representative sample of married couples (N⫽1,368) between
the ages of 18 and 45. They used both joint and individual measures of religiosity as well as examining
the relationship mechanisms that might link religiosity and sexual satisfaction. In the models, individual-
level reports of marital sanctification were positively associated with wives’ and husbands’ reports of
sexual satisfaction. Furthermore, joint religious activities done in the home were positively associated
with husbands’ reports of sexual satisfaction. Marital commitment, relationship maintenance behaviors,
and spousal time fully mediated these associations for husbands, while commitment partially mediated
the association for wives.
Keywords: commitment, conflict, marital quality, religion, sexuality
Religion and family are closely related institutions (Christiano,
2000;Wilcox & Wolfinger, 2007;Wolfinger & Wilcox, 2008)—so
closely related that scholars of religion and family life refer to them as
“interdependent” (Edgell, 2006,p.2;Ellison & Hummer, 2010,p.4).
As such, religious institutions’ success is associated with the form and
function of American family life (Christiano, 2000), and religion
continues to emphasize and encourage individuals’ investment in
family (Edgell, 2006;Wilcox & Wolfinger, 2007;Wolfinger & Wil-
cox, 2008). Researchers have detailed many of the associations be-
tween religion and family life in recent years (see Mahoney, 2010,
and Ellison & Hummer, 2010, for two recent reviews), including
sexuality. Nevertheless, most investigations of religion and sexual
behavior focus not on marital sexuality, but on nonmarital sexual
behavior (e.g., Freitas, 2008;Regnerus, 2007;Uecker, 2008).
The lack of studies of marital sex is not unique to religion
research. Marital sexuality remains an understudied area of inquiry
and has recently been called “one of the least researched aspects of
marital functioning” (Hernandez, Mahoney, & Pargament, 2014,
pp. 432– 433). The sexuality of married couples is an important
element of positive relationship functioning, long assumed to
relate to underlying relationship well-being. Scholars have linked
sexual satisfaction to marital quality and instability (Byers, 2005;
Yeh, Lorenz, Wickrama, Conger, & Elder, 2006), better mental
health outcomes (Davison, Bell, LaChina, Holden, & Davis, 2009;
Nicolosi, Moreira, Villa, & Glasser, 2004), and heightened pur-
pose in life (Prairie, Scheier, Matthews, Chang, & Hess, 2011).
Given the importance of sexual satisfaction in the lives of married
adults, and the close linkages between religion and family func-
tioning, it is imperative for scholars of both religion and family life
to better understand how religion is tied to this type of marital
functioning. Religion, by potentially imbuing marital relationships
with sacred qualities and situating couples in social networks that
value marriage (Mahoney, 2010), may lead individuals to invest in
their sexual relationship for the overall good of the marriage.
Existing research on religion and sexual satisfaction yields
mixed results and is limited in a number of ways. Laumann and
colleagues’ (Laumann, Gagnon, Michael, & Michaels, 1994) sem-
inal study of adult sexual relationships in the United States found
that those with no religious affiliation were the least likely to have
satisfying sexual relationships. Similarly, Waite and Joyner (2001)
reported a positive association between religious service atten-
dance and ratings of sexual pleasure. Other studies, however, have
failed to find such an association (Davidson, Darling, & Norton,
1995;Young, Denny, Luquis, & Young 1998). These mixed
results may owe to the complexity of religion, which likely has
both positive and negative associations with sexual satisfaction
depending on the aspect of religion and the social context in
question (Pargament, 2002). Further, it is possible that a bidirec-
tional association exists. For example, a couple that is less sexually
satisfied may also be less willing to engage in activities, including
religious activities, together.
This article was published Online First December 27, 2018.
Jeffrey P. Dew, School of Family Life, Brigham Young University;
Jeremy E. Uecker, Department of Sociology, Baylor University; Brian J.
Willoughby, School of Family Life, Brigham Young University.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Jeffrey P.
Dew, School of Family Life, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT
84602. E-mail: jeff_dew@byu.edu
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Psychology of Religion and Spirituality
© 2018 American Psychological Association 2020, Vol. 12, No. 2, 201–212
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