...does the law stop religious Jews from engaging in pre-marital sex?  Many of the "religious" Jews i've known have been just as likely to have premarital sex--not to mention cheat--as "secular" Jews.  I've also known plenty of "secular" Jews (and others) who abstain for personal principles.  Religious Jews may aspire to something higher or different, but in the end, they're just human beings with desires, faults, and flaws, like everyone else.