Oral and anal sexual behaviors among religious and non-religious college students in the “bible belt”

Religious sanctions against premarital sex may cause young adults to avoid a variety of sexual behaviors. Religion can have an influence on morality and behavior choices in college students in the southern region of US labeled “The Bible Belt”. Some religious students may engage in oral and anal sex because you cannot get pregnant and based on personal definition, you can still be a virgin. This project surveyed undergraduate students from a large southern university to ask questions about their sexual health behaviors. Of the 322 respondents, 73% were White and 75.6% were Female. This analysis compared religious to non-religious students and the participation in oral and anal sexual behaviors. When asked “have you ever received oral sex?”, students who reported they are “moderately” religious, 40.2% of students had received oral sex compared to 33.3% had not. When asked “have you ever given oral sex?”, students who are “moderately” religious, 40.2% have given compared to 34.1% had not. When asked “have you ever had anal sex?”, students who reported they are “moderately” religious, 40.0% of students have had anal sex compared to 39.0% had not. The results show that while religion can be a protective factor, religious students are engaged in a variety of sexual activities. Because of the variety of definitions of “sex” among university students and the increase in oral and anal sexual behaviors, it is important that public health professionals include education on all sexual behaviors in the education to both religious and non-religious students.