title: Religiosity, religious affiliation, and patterns of sexual activity and contraceptive use in France.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the association between religiosity and sexual and contraceptive behaviours in France.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were drawn from the 2005 Health Barometer survey, a random sample of 7495 women and 5634 men aged 15 to 44. We used logistic regression models to study the associations between religiosity and sexual and contraceptive behaviours, by gender and religious denomination.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Three quarters of respondents (73%) reported no religious practice, 20% practised occasionally, and 7% regularly. Regular practice was associated with later sexual debut, regardless of religious denomination. Among participants less than 30 years old, religious respondents were less likely to have used a condom at first sexual intercourse (odds ratio [OR] = 0.2 for women, OR = 0.4 for men) or any form of contraception (OR = 0.2 for women). At the time of the survey, sexually experienced adolescents who reported regular religious practice were less likely to use contraception (84.7% vs. 98.1%, p < 0.001). Regular practice was associated with a 50% decrease in the odds of using very effective methods for Catholics, but had no effect among Muslims.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study, conducted in the French secularised context, shows a complex relationship between religiosity and sexual behaviours, which varies by gender, religious affiliation and during the life course.
authors.affiliation: Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA. cmoreau@jhsph.edu
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Moreau
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Trussell
authors.forename: Nathalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bajos
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003268:Contraception Behavior / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012068:Religion and Medicine; D012071:Religion and Sex; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
references.citation: J Adolesc Health. 2000 Jan;26(1):42-8
references.pmid: 10638717
references.citation: Arch Sex Behav. 2007 Feb;36(1):33-46
references.pmid: 17136592
references.citation: Ethn Health. 2008 Jan;13(1):55-72
references.pmid: 18066738
references.citation: J Sex Res. 2007 Feb;44(1):3-16
references.pmid: 17599260
references.citation: J Adolesc Health. 2005 Apr;36(4):279-88
references.pmid: 15780783
references.citation: Demography. 2007 Aug;44(3):603-21
references.pmid: 17913013
references.citation: Ann Epidemiol. 2007 May;17(5):327-34
references.pmid: 17395484
references.citation: PLoS One. 2011;6(10):e24658
references.pmid: 22022362
references.citation: J Health Soc Behav. 1996 Mar;37(1):59-74
references.pmid: 8820311
references.citation: J Sex Res. 2003 Nov;40(4):358-67
references.pmid: 14735410
references.citation: Fam Plann Perspect. 2000 May-Jun;32(3):104-10
references.pmid: 10894255
references.citation: J Adolesc Health. 2006 Jan;38(1):83-7
references.pmid: 16387257
references.citation: J Adolesc Health. 2002 Nov;31(5):401-6
references.pmid: 12401426
references.citation: J Adolesc. 2003 Dec;26(6):731-9
references.pmid: 14643743
references.citation: J Psychol. 1996 Jan;130(1):23-33
references.pmid: 8618212