Having faith doesn't necessarily mean you're faithful... to your spouse.
A new survey conducted by Ashley Madison -- a dating website for people already in relationships -- sought to discover the link between religion and infidelity by asking 105,000 of its members around the world about their religious affiliation. More than 60,000 of the respondents were in the U.S.
It turns out, one in four members who responded described themselves as "born again" Evangelist Christians. Catholics comprised the next largest group at 22.75 percent, followed by Protestants (22.7 percent).
"People who have faith often use it as an outlet for forgiveness" said Dr. Eric Anderson, a sociologist at the University of Winchester in England, "so they're more likely to cheat and less likely to feel guilty."
Here's the entire breakdown:
- Evangelist 25.1%
- Catholic 22.75%
- Protestant 22.7%
- Agnostic 2%
- Mormon 1.6%
- Muslim 1.5%
- Jewish 1.4%
- Atheist 1.4%
- Jehovah’s Witness 0.5%
- Hindusim 0.3%
For comparison, Pew Research breaks down the religious composition of the U.S. on its website, and the world population of various religions.
CORRECTION: A previous headline on this article suggested that Ashley Madison's survey results were reflective of the general population, a conclusion that is not supported by the data. We regret the error. This article has also been updated with additional information about the survey's respondents.