Does religion matter in contraceptive use among Ghanaian women?

Using a subsample of currently married women from the 1993 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS), this study examines differentials in contraceptive use by religious affiliation, namely: Catholic, Protestant, Other, Christian, Muslim, No Religion, and Traditional. Logistic regression is employed to explore whether reported religious variations in contraceptive Else can be explained by religion per se (particularized theology hypothesis) or by other characteristics that distinguish the religious groups (characteristics hypothesis). Generally the findings are congruent with the characteristics hypothesis, because the contraceptive use differentials by religious groups is accounted for by the differences in socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of these women. However, for the urban Other Christian women, even after the necessary controls, religion continued to emerge as significant determinant of contraceptive Else. Policy implications of these results are discussed.