The United States and France share a constitutional commitment to keep religion out of affairs of state, but a major multicountry online survey shows that only one of those nations is equally committed to keeping religion out of affairs of the heart.
A substantial 39 percent of Americans agree "my religious beliefs factor into my sexual behavior," while at the other extreme, a very meager 3 percent of French respondents agree and an overwhelming 91 percent disagree. No other nation surveyed comes close to the United States in terms of allowing religion into the bedroom, the nearest being the U.K., with 16 percent in agreement. In Germany, just 6 percent agree.
"If the last few years have proved anything, it's that sex and religion are highly charged subjects that need to be handled with great care," commented Ira Matathia, Managing Director of the New York office of Euro RSCG Worldwide. "These results confirm that these are another areas in which marketers need to be mindful of the deep differences in attitudes between mainstream Americans and Europeans."
Among the surprising findings of the survey is the proportion of respondents in China who assert that religion plays a role in their sex lives. The Chinese authorities have a long track record of discouraging religion (and indeed sex), to say the least, so it's striking that 15 percent of Chinese agree that religion factors into their sexual behavior. The Chinese result probably reflects the fact that religion in Asia tends not to carry with it the "whiff of piety" it has in the West.
Euro RSCG's Prosumer Pulse(R) 2004 survey explores attitudes around the world on a broad array of topics, ranging from technology, commerce, and brands through to finance and sex. The findings reflect samples of 1,982 Americans, 2,127 British, 2,000 French, 3,158 Germans, and 2,079 Chinese.