2009-09-16 Teen Birth Rates Higher in Highly Religious States

2009-09-16 Jeanna Bryner LiveScience \unwanted pregnancy\contraception\religious right\Mississippi http://www.livescience.com/culture/090916-religion-teen-pregnancy.html Teen Birth Rates Higher in Highly Religious States Teen Birth Rates Higher in Highly Religious States  U.S. states whose residents have more conservative religious beliefs on average tend to have higher rates of teenagers giving birth, a new study suggests.

The relationship could be due to the fact that communities with such religious beliefs (a literal interpretation of the Bible, for instance) may frown upon contraception, researchers say. If that same culture isn't successfully discouraging teen sex, the pregnancy and birth rates rise.

Mississippi topped the list for conservative religious beliefs and teen birth rates, according to the study results, which will be detailed in a forthcoming issue of the journal Reproductive Health. (See the full top 10 below.)

However, the results don't say anything about cause and effect, though study researcher Joseph Strayhorn of Drexel University College of Medicine and University of Pittsburgh offers a speculation of the most probable explanation: "We conjecture that religious communities in the U.S. are more successful in discouraging the use of contraception among their teenagers than they are in discouraging sexual intercourse itself." Reposts:
 * MSNBC

&ldquo;U.S. states whose residents have more conservative religious beliefs on average tend to have higher rates of teenagers giving birth, a new study suggests.&rdquo;   