It still boils down to economics. If you have no education, no skills and no money, it's one of the easier ways to start earning. If you're a gal you can even just fake your orgasm and your customer would know no better.
Though it's not always about being totally destitute. I remember reading a book were they interviewed a woman who was taking her master's I believe. Working as an escort meant she can earn money for far less the time her colleagues need to work regular jobs, meaning more time left for her studies and other project. She could have gotten her degree flipping burgers but she figured out that her time was more valuable.
Having masters degree wont do much for her in hell. what people don't understand is that whatever they have in this world will be gone soon, so what good could come out from a few years living by prostitution? they only ruin their own lives by doing this.
Haven't it occurred to you that she probably don't believe in any of that? As long as she use protection so as to not spread disease around, fine. It's her call, she can do whatever she wants with her life but she'll have to deal with any consequences.
By that same logic, all her customers are going to hell too, even if they've only hooked up with a prostitute once in their lives.
Because people lack faith in God, they are afraid of poverty and they simply don't believe that God is the only one who'd provide for them, therefore they would go into prostitution. just a bunch of lost sheeps if you ask me.
If you go to countries such as Thailand and Cambodia, you can find that most of the prostitutes are religious Buddhists. So lack of faith is not the reason for prostitution. And one of the emerging hubs for sex tourism in Asia is the Philippines, which happens to be a deeply religious Catholic country.
Prayers can't soothe a grumbling stomach. Can't say about those first two countries but it's definitely illegal in PH but people do it anyway to support their family. There was a push here to decriminalize it to an extent though. Many human traffickers threaten their captives that they'd go to jail for prostitution should they escape and notify the authorities.