The most conservatively religious states have the highest teen birth rates, according to the U.S. Religious Landscapes Survey and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“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,” says study researcher Joseph Strayhorn of Drexel University College of Medicine and University of Pittsburgh. Religious states also typically have lower abortion rates, which would increase the number of births, as well.[1]

Sources:

[1] “Teen Birth Rates Highest in Most Religious States” (Jeanna Bryner) MSNBC Online. September 16, 2009

[2] National Vital Statistics Report. Volume 57, Number 12, Page 16. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services / Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) March 18, 2009

[3] “U.S. Religion Map and Religious Populations” / U.S. Religious Landscape Study. (The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life)

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