Forbidden fruit? : religious influences on sexual attitudes of young people in Malta

Abstract

Adolescence is a time of discovery and awakening, a time when intellectual and emotional maturation combine with physical development to create increasing freedom and excitement (Master et al, 1988). Sexuality is a crucial part of the development process of adolescence because it involves development of young people's sexual values, attitudes and behaviour. This study tried to look into the sexual attitudes of young people within a Christian context. The study concentrated on the Catholic Religion as it is the main religion in the Maltese community. This research tried to look into the different attitudes that adolescents may have according to their religious beliefs. It was hypothesized that young people's sexual attitudes might differ between those holding a high level of commitment in the Catholic Church and those with a low commitment in the Catholic Church. The sample was derived from a large number of participants. This research was done out of a larger research which was carried out by the Programme of Youth Studies. It was interesting to find out that Religion seems to influence adolescents' sexual attitudes. From the questions asked about pre-marital and extra-marital sexual activity there was significant difference between the high and low religious committed groups. Those respondents holding a high religious commitment were most likely to disagree with pre-marital and extra-marital sexual activity while those respondents with a low religious commitment were most likely to agree with pre-marital and extra-marital sexual activity.