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Is Religiosity a Barrier to Sexual and Reproductive Health? Results from a Population-Based Study of Young Croatian Adults

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Abstract

Following the demise of socialism in 1989, religious identification substantially increased in most countries of Central, East, and Southeast Europe. Considering that there is evidence that religiosity is associated with reduced sexual risk taking among young people, this study explored associations between religiosity—assessed at three different levels (religious upbringing, personal religiosity, and social network religiosity)—and sexual risks among young Croatian adults. In addition, we examined whether religiosity predicted chlamydial infection among women and men aged 18–25. The data were collected in a national probability survey carried out in 2010 (n = 1,005). Overall, the effects of religiosity were sporadic, present primarily among women, and of small size. This lack of a sizeable impact of religiosity on young adults’ sexuality was likely related to a particular type of religiosity, characterized by individualized morality, found among young people in the country. Although Croatia seems to be one of the most religious countries in Europe, our findings suggest that promoting religious morality—as recently attempted by an abstinence-based educational program—may not be an efficient tool in reducing sexual risks.

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Notes

  1. Croatia is a predominantly Catholic country, with almost 90% of religious individuals self-identifying as Catholics.

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Acknowledgements

The study was funded by the Croatian Ministry of Science, Education and Sports, and UNDP Croatia. Biological data collection and testing was supported by Pliva and T-Com Croatia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, University of Zadar, Obala Kralja Petra Kresimira IV. br. 2, 23000, Zadar, Croatia

    Ivan Puzek

  2. Department of Sociology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia

    Aleksandar Štulhofer

  3. WHO Collaborating Centre for Capacity Development in HIV Surveillance, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia

    Ivana Božičević

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  1. Ivan Puzek
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  2. Aleksandar Štulhofer
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  3. Ivana Božičević
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Correspondence to Ivan Puzek.

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Puzek, I., Štulhofer, A. & Božičević, I. Is Religiosity a Barrier to Sexual and Reproductive Health? Results from a Population-Based Study of Young Croatian Adults. Arch Sex Behav 41, 1497–1505 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-012-9924-8

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