Churchgoing couples appear to be bucking America’s so-called “sex recession,” with new research finding that husbands and wives who regularly attend church have sex more often—and report greater satisfaction in the bedroom—than their secular peers.

A new report from the Institute for Family Studies examined the connection between religious practice, marriage and sexual intimacy. Researchers found that regular church attendance, prayer and a strong sense of marriage as a lifelong commitment were associated with healthier sex lives among married Americans.

“America is now in the grip of a ‘sex recession,’ in which only a minority of adult men and women have sex at least once a week, down from a clear majority in 2000,” researchers wrote. “Strikingly, this recession has largely spared churchgoing husbands and wives.”

Data from the General Social Survey show just how significant the shift has been. In the 1990s, 64 percent of married Americans ages 20 to 54 reported having sex at least once a week. Today, that number has fallen to 54 percent.

Regular churchgoers, however, have seen far less of a decline. In the 2000s, 64 percent of married regular churchgoers reported having sex at least weekly. Today, that figure remains at 62 percent. Among secular married couples, only 48 percent report having sex that often.

A separate Institute for Family Studies survey of 3,125 married adults ages 18 to 54 found a similar pattern. Among Catholics who regularly attend church, 69 percent reported having sex at least weekly, compared with 60 percent of nominal Catholics. Among Protestants, 60 percent of regular churchgoers reported weekly sex, compared with 52 percent of nominal Protestants. Among married adults with no religious affiliation, the number fell to 47 percent.

But frequency was only part of the story. Churchgoing couples were also more likely to be happy with their sex lives.

Fifty-five percent of churchgoing Catholics described their sex lives as “excellent” or “very good,” compared with 45 percent of nominal Catholics. Among Protestants, 45 percent of regular churchgoers reported that level of satisfaction, compared with 35 percent of nominal Protestants and 40 percent of religiously unaffiliated couples.

“The cultural trope of the sexually prudish, frustrated religious American does not fit the data,” researchers concluded.

Prayer also stood out. While daily prayer was not significantly associated with how frequently couples had sex, Catholics and Protestants who prayed daily reported higher sexual satisfaction. Researchers found that those who prayed daily had 1.29 times higher odds of reporting sexual satisfaction than those who did not.

The findings do not prove that church attendance or prayer directly leads to a better sex life. Instead, researchers point to qualities that religious practice may reinforce within a marriage, including commitment, connection and a sense that marriage and intimacy are sacred.

“Religious behaviors like frequent church attendance and prayer appear to foster a robust sense of communion and commitment that extends to the benefit of the bedroom,” researchers wrote.

For Christian couples, the findings offer an interesting reminder: Faith may shape more than what happens at church. The commitment, connection and shared spiritual life cultivated through faith may also strengthen the intimacy spouses share at home.