Religious affiliation and sexual initiation among Ghanaian women

Religious disffernces in sexual initiation are examined using the Ghana Demographic and Health Survey 1993 (GDHS), for never-married and ever married women aged 15-49. Findings are presented with and without controls for education, childhood place of residence, age cohort, and age at first marriage riage (for ever-married women). Generally, the analyses suggest that religious affiliation is an important predictor of premarital sexual engagement among ever-married women but not for women who have never-married. The results from multivariate analyses reveal that women belonging to liberal religious groups (Protestants and Catholic) are more likely to experience premarital sex than are those from the more conservative Traditional religions, sectarian Christians, or women with No Religion. Muslim women are significantly less likely to report premarital sex compared to any group and controlling for all other factors. Implications of these findings are discussed.