Atheists Do It Better

[MountainLaurel]

I can't say this surprises me in the least: Religion and healthy sexuality aren't necessarily mutually exclusive, but in the US they're pretty damn close.

Do atheists have better sex? Yes. According to science, that is -- and more specifically, according to the recently released "Sex and Secularism" study.

In January 2011, organizational psychologist Darrel Ray, Ed.D. (psychologist for 30 years and author of The God Virus as well as two books on psychology) and Amanda Brown (undergraduate at Kansas University, focused on sexuality and sex therapy) conducted a sex survey of over 14,500 people -- atheists, agnostics, and other people in the secular community. The survey was looking at religion, atheism, and sex: how religion affects sex, how leaving religion affects sex, whether lifelong atheists feel differently about sex than people who have recently deconverted, and so on. The report -- "Sex and Secularism: What Happens When You Leave Religion?" -- is on the Internet, and if you want all 46 pages of the naughty details, including the charts and graphs and personal stories, you can download it free (you just need to register on the site).

But if you just want to know the gist?

Leaving religion improves people's sex lives.

A lot.

http://www.alternet.org/sex/150978/atheists_do_it_better%3A_why_leaving_religion_leads_to_better_sex/

[Ian David]

1. I disagree. I bet the Raelians have better sex than Atheists. And maybe the Wiccans. n/t

[sarge43]

8. There it is. Depends upon the religion

Individuals who believe in a religion steeped in guilt, misogyny and homophobia may feel a bit icky about doing the wild thing.

[Ian David]

11. Of course, the Raelians are required to have sex with a light-up butt plug up their asses. n/t

[sarge43]

12. IBTL n/t

[Union Scribe]

20. Well, where else would it go Ian?

Their vaginas are shaped like starfish.

[pipi_k]

2. Sorry, but I think their premise is bullshit

That guilt over sex fades when someone leaves religion behind.


Not without a lot of therapy. You don't just "get over" things like guilt and fear and whatever else comes along with religion.

Religion is like being brainwashed. If you have that much guilt, then you're going to need a lot of help dealing with the guilt.

Much like a sexual abuse victim doesn't just "get over it" once the abuser moves away or dies.

[dangin]

5. whatever

Sure, I'm anecdotal, but leaving religion behind at 17 was very hard for me. I felt afraid. But the greatest thought in my mind ever was "there is no sin". I don't mean that murder, rape, assault, theft, home invasion or any of that stuff is OK. But wanking, homosexuality, consensual sex, all of that became free of negative connotations for me. I thought masturbation was leading me to hell. Effing Tony Campolo (or whatever his name is, I refuse to google him) telling college kids that when you fool around Jesus is in the room with you being crucified again. That is seriously damaging, and people who carry that baggage around have my pity.

I was at the godless march on washington in 2002, and aside from the distressing fact that most of us atheists are uber nerds, I didn't meet to many sexually silly people. I used to moderate on Secular Web too, not too much sexual guilt in the house there either.

[pipi_k]

13. I'm anecdotal too...

I didn't grow up in any restrictive religion.

At the age of 10 we moved two doors away from a Protestant church, and my mom thought we should go to Sunday School, etc.

My father was an Atheist. He had some very puritanical ideas on sex. Whatever attitudes I got, most of them came from him. I was exposed on a few occasions to the attitudes of priests. Nothing huge.

I grew up with terrible guilt. Terrible.

I'm 58 years old. That guilt never went away.

Deep guilt and shame don't usually vanish just because someone gives something up.

[Ian David]

6. There's more to it than just that. If you don't read the report, at least read the whole article. nt

[pipi_k]

14. I did read the whole article

Unless I missed it, there was no mention of the fact that guilt and shame don't just vanish because someone stops doing something that put the guilt and shame there in the first place.

I don't believe that children are born with horrible shame regarding sex. Someone/something has to put it there. Sometimes it's the parents. Sometimes it's religion.

It's deeply rooted and doesn't just stop. People might like to think it does, but I'll bet for most of them it's just buried and manifests itself in other ways.

[Ian David]

18. You are correct on all counts. I was just pointing out this wasn't the main point of the article. nt

[dangin]

3. I'm an atheist

My wife recently was sitting around a beer garden with five of her friends from work (all with post graduate degrees) and the subject turned to sex. She was surprised to learn that they all didn't average 7 orgasms per episode like she does.

Now if only those chics would stop blowing up my text account.

[Fumesucker]

4. All I do when I wish to attract women..

Is lick my eyebrows..

Works quite often. ;)

[hootinholler]

16. Heh I have to resort to

Wearing a kilt.

-Hoot

[NightWatcher]

7. you're doing it right when you make an atheist scream "oh god!"

[pipi_k]

15. Now that's funny

:7

[and-justice-for-all]

9. well of course..nt

[originalpckelly]

10. They take their cue from the manGodchild...

After all, it's taken him 2000+ years to come again.

:P

[Atman]

17. The trouble is, I don't know what to yell when I cum...

"Oh, GOD!" doesn't seem right. "Jesus" is just as troublesome. "Woohoo!" seems a little pedestrian, like I'm cheering for a football team. Of course, there is always "Fuckin' A!" but I feel compelled to offer a high-five afterwards, and in my experience, women don't like high-fives at any time, especially during/after sex. But if I keep quiet, it might be inferred that I didn't have a good time.

It's not easy being an atheist.

.

(Damn...I didn't see Nightwatcher's post!)

[Ian David]

19. You're supposed to yell, "Oh, Darwin!" Or "Dawkins! Dawkins!" n/t

[MattBaggins]

21. As an atheist I can attest that sex is like x-mas morning

X-mas morning just comes more often.