Does religion have any impact on a girl's decision about sex? The latest government research says yes.
A new study by the National Institute of Child Health and Development (NICHD) shows religious teenage girls are less likely to have sex. The results are part of a growing body of research that takes a positive look at faith.
The idea behind the survey was to see if, indeed, there's a connection between a teen's faith and staying away from sex. There is, and the results are conclusive, according to Ann Meier, of the University of Wisconsin, who was the lead researcher on the project.
"Religion affected their attitude about sex and it was those attitudes, in turn, that made them less likely to have sex," Meier said.
She said being involved in a religious environment made a huge difference in those teenagers' attitudes.
"(Most important was) when (girls) thought about how their friends would think of them and their parents and their peer group and if they would get more respect or if they'd be more attractive or feel less lonely; things like that," Meier said.
Shepherd Smith, president of the Washington, D.C.-based Institute for Youth Development, said the implication here is obvious.
"It does show the strength of faith as being a strong benefit to the lives of young people," Smith said.
For years the education establishment has refused to do quantitative studies on religious beliefs. That era may be coming to an end.
"We're seeing many, many more studies in the academic community on the impact of faith and lo and behold they're finding that, overall, it's a good thing," Smith said.
That conclusion comes should come as no shock for people who have seen faith in God work in their lives.
Still, the news wasn't all good. Another part of the study found that, for boys, religious beliefs only have a minor influence on whether they have sex.
The study was comprised of 90,000 teens in the seventh through 12th grades. The NICHD is hoping the information helps health researchers come up with programs to prevent teens from engaging in sexual activity.