U.S. states whose residents have more conservative religious beliefs tend to have higher rates of teen pregnancy according to a new study in the journal Reproductive Health. The likely reason, according to the researchers, is that teens in religious communities are less likely to use contraception, as the primary education received is that of abstinence. In the survey, religiosity was defined by the percentage of positive answers to an eight-question survey issued to over 35,000 participants across the United States. Data was aggregated by state, and the overall population in states that agreed with over 70% of the questions posed was considered ‘very religious. The states with the highest scores had more teen births and fewer abortions. The majority of the states with high birth rates, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control, were Southern States, including Mississippi with the highest rate of teenage pregnancy. Southern states have earned the nickname ‘Bible Belt because of its conservative Evangelical Protestant views, primarily of the Baptist faith. Statistically, over 80% of Evangelical Christians believe that it is morally wrong for unmarried people to engage in sexual intercourse, compared with around 30% of the general population. Evangelical Christians […]