Married couples who regularly attend church report having sex more often and enjoying greater sexual satisfaction than couples who attend less frequently or not at all, according to a new report from the Institute for Family Studies in Charlottesville, Virginia.
The analysis drew on multiple datasets, including the 2026 IFS Religion and Family Survey of 3,125 married adults ages 18 to 54, the long-running General Social Survey, and a separate survey of 1,219 alumni of FOCUS, a Catholic campus ministry. Across the data, regular churchgoers consistently reported higher sexual frequency than less religious or nonreligious married adults, with regularly attending Catholics reporting some of the highest levels of sexual frequency. The association held even after researchers accounted for demographic differences.
Among married adults ages 20 to 54, 62 percent of regular churchgoers said they had sex at least once a week, compared with 48 percent of nonreligious spouses. Sexual satisfaction followed a similar pattern. Catholics and Protestants who regularly attended services were more likely to rate their sex lives positively than those who attended less often or claimed no religious affiliation.
Daily prayer was linked to greater sexual satisfaction among married Catholics and Protestants, though it was not associated with more frequent sex. Among churchgoers, 55 percent of Catholics and 45 percent of Protestants rated their sex lives as «excellent» or «very good,» compared with 45 percent of nominal Catholics, 35 percent of nominal Protestants and 40 percent of religiously unaffiliated respondents.
The report also found that those who viewed marriage as a permanent commitment were more likely to report both frequent and satisfying sex. That belief, along with shared values, was strongly associated with overall marital quality.
The authors acknowledged that the analysis was observational and cannot determine whether religious practice directly causes better marital or sexual outcomes. Marital outcomes were self-reported, and other unmeasured differences between religious and nonreligious respondents could have influenced the results. Differences in age and length of marriage could also complicate comparisons with the broader population. The study was funded by FOCUS, the Fellowship of Catholic University Students.
Jessica Steinman, a licensed marriage and family therapist and certified sex addiction therapist in Los Angeles, told Fox News Digital that the findings challenge common assumptions about religious couples. «When we think of people who are really involved in religion … we might think they're not having a lot of sex or that they're having very constricted views on their sex lives,» she said. «And this article and research show that's changing.»
Steinman, who is also chief clinical officer for No Matter What Recovery in Los Angeles, Chicago and Austin, said people who actively participate in a shared spiritual or religious life may feel more connected to one another as partners. «If they're showing up and looking at things outside themselves — things that are spiritual, things that are religious, things are having them look inward, things that are having them look into larger morals and values within their marriages and partnerships — I think they're going to possibly have happier marriages and partnerships,» she said.
She added that such couples may also be more vulnerable and open with one another, which could contribute to a more active sex life. The rituals and shared practices associated with religious life likely play a role in strengthening that connection. «Certain religious settings are really focused on rituals and traditions,» Steinman said. «And if you're looking at partnership and marriage … engaging in sexual connection and sexual intimacy can really become a ritual itself.»
The research comes amid what has been described as an ongoing «sex recession,» in which people are not engaging in sexual intimacy as much as they once did. Regardless of religious affiliation, Steinman encourages couples to find ways to connect. «Get off the phones, get off of the internet, turn the TV off and start really connecting with your partner,» she advised. She suggested partners build connections that go deeper than simply asking, «How was your day?» — including building emotional openness and discussing how they want to connect sexually.