As the figure illustrates, young adults who believe premarital sex is wrong have consistently been about two to three times as likely to be sexually abstinent for several decades (in the 2021 GSS, rates of sexual abstinence are 52% vs. 16%).

But trends over time are somewhat imprecise due to small sample sizes and statistical noise. To account for that, I also showed “pooled” estimates, which lump together all valid GSS respondents in a given year, plus respondents from one or two years before and after that year. This expands the sample size to make it a bit easier to spot durable trends. Whether pooled or not, it seems like most of the increase in sexlessness among never married under-35s has been among those who say premarital sex is at least sometimes wrong. Though it is true they are a minority of never-married individuals in this age group, their distinctive behaviors are driving the trend. In other words, much of the rise in sexlessness has been driven by people who have moral concerns about premarital sex. It might be better to call it abstinence than sexlessness, since it’s consistent with expressed values.