SOUTH AFRICA: Sexual activity among young Anglican churchgoers revealed

JOHANNESBURG, 13 February 2006 (PlusNews) - Anglican teenagers in South Africa's Western Cape province are almost as sexually active as their peers outside the church, according to a new survey.

The findings, reported in the latest issue of the South African Medical Journal, showed that 31 percent of Anglicans aged 12 to 19 were sexually active, compared with 38 percent of young people in general.

Researchers from the Cape Town-based Fiklela AIDS project and the University of Stellenbosch's theology department also noted that 66 percent of the 1,306 respondents had a higher rate of multiple partners than non-Anglican youth.

It was recommended that the church emphasise building healthy relationships as an intervention rather than focusing on marriage among a population already hard-hit by the AIDS pandemic.