The views of the various differentreligions and religious believers regardinghuman sexuality range widely among and within them, from givingsex andsexuality a rather negative connotation to believing that sex is the highest expression of the divine.[1] Some religions distinguish betweenhuman sexual activities that are practised forbiological reproduction (sometimes allowed only when in formalmarital status and at acertain age) and those practised only for sexual pleasure in evaluating relative morality.
Sexual morality has varied greatly over time and between cultures. A society'ssexual norms—standards of sexual conduct—can be linked to religious beliefs, or social and environmental conditions, or all of these. Sexuality and reproduction are fundamental elements in human interaction and societies worldwide. Furthermore, "sexual restriction" is one of theuniversals of culture peculiar to all human societies.[2][3]
Accordingly, most religions have seen a need to address the question of a "proper" role forsexuality. Religions have differing codes of sexual morality, which regulate sexual activity or assign normative values to certain sexually charged actions or ideas. Each major religion has developed amoral code covering issues ofhuman sexuality,morality,ethics, etc. These moral codes seek to regulate the situations that can give rise to sexual interest and to influence people'ssexual activities and practices.
Abrahamic religions (namelyJudaism,Samaritanism,Christianity, theBaháʼí Faith, andIslam) have traditionally affirmed and endorsed apatriarchal andheteronormative approach towardshuman sexuality.[4][5][6][7]
Catholicism in particular favours exclusivelypenetrative vaginal intercourse between men and women within the boundaries ofmarriage over all other forms ofhuman sexual activity,[6][7] includingautoeroticism,masturbation,anal sex,oral sex,non-penetrative andnon-heterosexual sexual intercourse (all of which have been labeled as "sodomy" at various times),[8] believing and teaching that such behaviors are forbidden and consideredsinful,[6][7] and further compared to or derived from the alleged behavior of the residents ofSodom and Gomorrah.[6][9][10][11][12] However, the status of LGBT people inearly Christianity[13][14][15][16] andearly Islam[17][18][19][20] is debated.
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In theBaháʼí Faith, sexual relationships are permitted only between a husband and wife, andmarriage is emphasized in the faith.[21]Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, forbade any sexual intercourse outside a heterosexual marriage in his book of laws; theKitáb-i-Aqdas.[22][23][24] Homosexual sexual relationships and same-sex marriages continue to be prohibited.[25][26]
TheOld Testament andChristianity have historically affirmed and endorsed apatriarchal andheteronormative approach towardhuman sexuality,[6][7] favouring exclusivelypenetrative vaginal intercourse between men and women within the boundaries ofmarriage over all other forms ofhuman sexual activity,[6][7] includingautoeroticism,masturbation,anal sex,oral sex,non-penetrative andnon-heterosexual sexual intercourse (all of which have been labeled as "sodomy" at various times),[8] believing and teaching that such behaviors are forbidden because they're consideredsinful,[6][7] and further compared to or derived from the behavior of the alleged residents ofSodom and Gomorrah.[9][6]
In theNew Testament,Jesus discussed little aboutsex, and most of the information about sex comes from theOld Testament andPaul's writings, and some are controversial today.[27]
Sexuality carried out betweendifferent sexes, between 2 people (Monogamy, althoughpolygamy is not forbidden) and in particularprocreation, is generally understood as the ideal state.[28][29]
Paul the Apostle stated in1 Corinthians "To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is well for them to remain unmarried as I am. But if they are not practising self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to be aflame with passion."[30] Importantly, Paul's view of sex is also that it is actually unnecessary for those with certain gifts[31] (presumably"celibacy").Jennifer Wright Knust says Paul framed desire a force Christians gained control over whereas non-Christians were "enslaved" by it.[32] Further, Paul says the bodies of Christians were members ofChrist's body and thus sexual desire must be eschewed.[32]
New Testament scholarN. T. Wright asserts that Paul absolutely forbade fornication, irrespective of a new Christian's former cultural practices. Wright notes "If a Corinthian were to say, 'Because I'm a Corinthian, I have always had a string of girl-friends I sleep with, that's part of our culture,' Paul would respond, 'Not now you're a Christian you don't.'... When someone disagreed with Paul's clear rules on immorality or angry disputes, the matters he deals with in Colossians 3.5–10, he is... firm, as we see dramatically in 1 Corinthians 5 and 6. There is no place in the Christian fellowship for such practices and for such a person."[33]
Some have suggested that Paul's treatment of sex was influenced by his conviction that theend of the world was imminent. Under this view, Paul, believing that the world would soon end, took it as a corollary that all earthly concerns,[34] including sex, should hold little interest for Christians.[35]Paul's letters show far greater concern with sexual issues than the gospel writers attributed to Jesus, since Paul was building Christian communities over decades and responding to various issues that arose.[36]
Inearly Christianity, reflection on scriptural texts introduced aneschatologicalhermeneutic to the reading of theBook of Genesis. TheGarden of Eden was seen as a normative ideal state to which Christians were to strive; writers linked the future enjoyment ofHeaven to the original blessedness of Adam and Eve in their reflections.[37]
The valuation ofvirginity in the ancient church brought into relief a tension between the Genesis injunction to "be fruitful and multiply"[38] with its understood contextual implication of marriage as a social institution, and the interpretation of the superiority of virginity over marriage, sexual activity and family formation from the Gospel textsMatt 19:11-12,Matt 19:29. One way patristic thinkers tried to harmonize the texts was through the position that there had actually been no sexual intercourse in Eden: on this reading, sex happened after thefall of man and the expulsion from Eden, thus preserving virginity as the perfect state both in the historicalParadise and the anticipated Heaven.John Chrysostom,Gregory of Nyssa,Justin Martyr,Epiphanius of Salamis, andIrenaeus of Lyons all espoused this view:
Prof. John Noonan suggests that "if one asks... where the Christian Fathers derived their notions on marital intercourse – notions which have no express biblical basis – the answer must be, chiefly from theStoics".[44] He uses texts fromMusonius Rufus,Seneca the Younger, andOcellus Lucanus, tracing works ofClement of Alexandria,Origen andJerome to the works of these earlier thinkers,[44] particularly as pertaining to the permissible use of the sexual act, which in the Stoic model must be subdued, dispassionate, and justified by its procreativeintent.[45]
Augustine of Hippo had a different challenge: to respond to the errors ofManichaeism.[46] The Manichees, according to Augustine, were "opposed to marriage, because they are opposed to procreation which is the purpose of marriage".[46] "The method ofcontraception practised by these Manichees whom Augustine knew is the use of the sterile period as determined by Greek medicine",[46] which Augustine condemns (this stands in contrast to the contemporarily permitted Catholic use ofNatural family planning).Elaine Pagels says, "By the beginning of the fifth century, Augustine had actually declared that spontaneous sexual desire is the proof of—and penalty for—universal original sin", though that this view goes against "most of his Christian predecessors".[47]
As monastic communities developed, the sexual lives of monks came under scrutiny from two theologians,John Cassian andCaesarius of Arles, who commented on the "vices" of the solitary life. "Their concerns were not with the act of masturbation, but with the monks who vowed chastity. The monks' vow made masturbation an illicit act; the act itself was not considered sinful... In fact... prior to Cassian, masturbation was not considered a sexual offence for anyone."[48]
From the beginning of the thirteenth century, the Catholic Church formally recognizedmarriage between a freely consenting, baptized man and woman as asacrament – an outward sign communicating a special gift of God's love. TheCouncil of Florence in 1438 gave this definition, following earlier church statements in 1208, and declared that sexual union was a special participation in the union of Christ in the church.[49] However thePuritans, while highly valuing the institution, viewed marriage as a "civil", rather than a "religious" matter, being "under the jurisdiction of the civil courts".[50] This is because they found no biblical precedent for clergy performing marriage ceremonies. Further, marriage was said to be for the "relief ofconcupiscence"[50] as well as any spiritual purpose.
The Catholic moral theologianCharles E. Curran stated "the fathers of the Church are practically silent on the simple question of masturbation".[51]
TheCatechism of the Catholic Church teaches that "the flesh is the hinge of salvation".[52] TheCatechism indicates that sexual relationships in marriage is "a way of imitating in the flesh the Creator's generosity and fecundity"[53] and lists fornication as one of the "offenses against chastity",[54] calling it "an intrinsically and gravely disordered action" because "use of the sexual faculty, for whatever reason, outside of marriage is essentially contrary to its purpose".[54][55] The "conjugal act" aims "at a deeply personal unity, a unity that, beyond union in one flesh, leads to forming one heart and soul"[56] since the marriage bond is to be a sign of the love between God and humanity.[57]
Pope John Paul II's first major teaching was on thetheology of the body, presented in a series oflectures by the same name. Over the course of five years he elucidated a vision of sex that was not only positive and affirming but was about redemption, not condemnation. He taught that by understanding God's plan for physical love we could understand "the meaning of the whole of existence, the meaning of life."[58] He taught that human beings were created by a loving God for a purpose: to be loving persons who freely choose to love, to give themselves as persons who express their self-giving through their bodies. Thus, sexual intercourse between husband and wife is asymbol of their total mutual self-donation.[original research?]
For John Paul II, "The body, and it alone, is capable of making visible what is invisible: the spiritual and divine." He says there is no other more perfectimage of the unity and communion of God in mutual love than the sexual act of a married couple, whereby they give themselves in a total way – exclusively to one another, and up to the end of their lives, and in a fruitfully generous way by participating in thecreation of new human beings. Through this perspective, he understands the immorality of extra-marital sex. It falsifies the language of the human body, a language of total love worthy of persons by using the body for selfish ends, thus treating persons as things and objects, rather than dealing with embodied persons with the reverence and love that incarnate spirits deserve. John Paul II stresses that there is greatbeauty in sexual love when done inharmony with the human values of freely chosen total commitment and self-giving. For him, this sexual love is a form ofworship, an experience of thesacred.[59][60]
Roman Catholics believe that masturbation is a sin.[61]
In September 2015, the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, responsible for enforcing Catholic doctrine, did not permit a transgender man in Spain to serve as a godfather effectively barring transgender Catholics from serving as a baptismal sponsors. The statement concluded: "[...] the result is evident that this person does not possess the requisite of leading a life conformed to the faith and to the position of godfather (CIC, can 874 §1,3), therefore is not able to be admitted to the position of godmother nor godfather. One should not see this as discrimination, but only the recognition of an objective absence of the requisites that by their nature are necessary to assume the ecclesial responsibility of being a godparent."[62]
Views over sexuality inProtestant churches differ.
Conservative Protestants assert that any and all sex outside of marriage, including that conducted between committed, engaged or cohabiting couples, is the sin of fornication.[63][64][65][66][67]
Unlike Roman Catholics, certain Protestants do not disapprove ofmasturbation due to the lack of a Biblical injunction against the act, including mainline[68][69][70] and conservative denominations.[71] Among those Protestants who do not view masturbation as being sinful, there are various restrictions, such as making sure it does not lead to use of pornography or looking lustfully at people or mutual masturbation or addiction to the act. It must also not be undertaken in a spirit of defiance against God.[72]
TheConfessional Lutheran tradition, which includes several denominations worldwide (such as theLutheran Church – Missouri Synod) takes a traditional stance towards human sexuality, teaching that "God created male and female, sexual human beings".[73] Confessional Lutherans hold that "Upon creating man and women and the rest of creation, God observed that 'it (was) good,' including the gift of sex."[73] The Confessional Lutheran denominations view "pornography, homosexuality and cohabitation" as sinful.[73]
All 20Lutheran andReformed churches of theEvangelical Church in Germany welcome LGBT members,[74] as well as theProtestant Church in the Netherlands.[75] In these Lutheran and Reformed churches gay ministers are permitted in ministry and gay married couples are allowed in their churches.[76][77]
Inside the LutheranChurch of Sweden, the Bishop of Stockholm,Eva Brunne is alesbian in a registered partnership with Gunilla Lindén, who is also an ordained priest of the Church of Sweden.[75]
TheAnglican Church upholds human sexuality as a gift from a loving God, designed to be between a man and a woman in a monogamous, lifetime union of marriage. It also recognises singleness and dedicated celibacy as Christ-like. It reassures people with same-sex attraction they are loved by God, and are welcomed as full members of theBody of Christ. The church leadership has a variety of views in regard to homosexual expression and ordination. Some expressions of sexuality are considered sinful, including "promiscuity, prostitution, incest, pornography, paedophilia, predatory sexual behaviour, and sadomasochism (all of which may be heterosexual and homosexual), adultery, violence against wives, and female circumcision." The church is concerned with pressures on young people to engage sexually and encourages abstinence.[27]
In the Anglican Church, there is a large discussion over the blessing of gay couples, and over tolerance of homosexuality. The discussion is more about the aspect of love between two people of the same-sex in a relationship than it is about the sexual aspect of a relationship.[78]
TheFree Methodist Church teaches:[79]
Sexual intercourse is God’s gift to humanity, for the intimate union of a man and woman within marriage. In this relationship, it is to be celebrative (Hebrews 13:4). Marriage, between one man and one woman, is therefore the only proper setting for sexual intimacy. Scripture requires purity before and faithfulness within and following marriage.[79]
TheAllegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection teaches: "We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of marriage between a man and a woman."[80] It additionally holds that those who remarry after divorce are living in a state of adultery.[80]
TheUnited Methodist Church permits its clergy to officiate same-sex weddings.[81]
TheMetropolitan Community Church, also known as the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches, has a specific outreach to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender families and communities.[82]
Within the many branches of theLatter Day Saints movement, the principal denomination,The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), teaches conservative views aroundsexual ethics in theirLaw of Chastity, which holds that masturbation, pre- and extra-marital sex, and same-sex sexual activity are sins. In the mid-1800s, however, it was allowed for men to be married to and have children with several women, and this was also discontinued in the late 1800s.[83]On various occasions,[84][85] LDS Church leaders have taught that members should not masturbate[86][87][88] as part of obedience to the LDSlaw of chastity.[89][90] The LDS Church believes that sex outside of opposite-sex marriage is sinful, and that any same-sex sexual activity is a serious sin.[91] God is believed to be in a heterosexual marriage with theHeavenly Mother, and Mormons believe that opposite-sex marriage is what God wants for all his children. Top LDS Church leaders formerly taught that attractions to those of the same sex were a sin or disease that could be changed or fixed,[91] but now have no stance on the etiology[92] of homosexuality, and teach that therapy focused on changing sexual orientation is unethical.[93] Lesbian, gay, and bisexual members are, thus, left with the option of attempting tochange their sexual orientation, entering amixed-orientation opposite-sex marriage, or living acelibate lifestyle without any sexual expression (includingmasturbation).[94]: 11
The LDS Church teaches that women's principal role is to raise children. Women who rejected this role as being a domestic woman in the home, were seen as unstable and corrupted.[95] Before 1890, the Mormon leaders taught that polygamy was a way to salvation, and many had multiple wives into the early 1900s, and some women practiced polyandry.[95][96]
The Mormon religion teaches that marriage should be with a man and a woman. The LDS Church teaches its members to obey the law of chastity, which says that "sexual relations are proper only between a man and a woman who are legally and lawfully wedded as husband and wife." Violations of this code include: "adultery, being without natural affection, lustfulness, infidelity, incontinence, filthy communications, impurity, inordinate affection, fornication." The traditional Mormon religion forbids all homosexual behavior, whether it be intra-marriage or extramarital. In Romans 1:24-32, Paul preached to the Romans that homosexual behavior was sinful. In Leviticus 20:13, Moses included in his law that homosexual actions and behaviors were against God's will. In the 1830s, LDS founder,Joseph Smith, instituted the private practice on polygamy. The practice was defended by the church as a matter of religious freedom. In 1890, the church practice was terminated. Since the termination of polygamy, Mormons have solely believed in marriage between two people, and those two people being a man and a woman. The LDS community states that they still love homosexuals as sons and daughters of the Lord, but if they act upon their inclinations, then they are subject to discipline of the church.[97][98]
SeveralUnitarian Universalist congregations have undertaken a series of organizational, procedural, and practical steps to become acknowledged as a "Welcoming Congregation": a congregation which has taken specific steps to welcome and integrate gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) members. UU ministers performsame-sex unions and nowsame-sex marriages where legal (and sometimes when not, as a form of civil protest). On June 29, 1984, the Unitarian Universalists became the first major church "to approve religious blessings on homosexual unions."[99]
Unitarian Universalists have been in the forefront of the work to make same-sex marriages legal in their local states and provinces, as well as on the national level. Gay men, bisexuals, and lesbians are also regularlyordained as ministers, and a number of gay, bisexual, and lesbian ministers have, themselves, now become legally married to their partners. In May 2004,Arlington Street Church was the site of the first state-sanctioned same-sex marriage in the United States. The official stance of the UUA is for the legalization of same-sex marriage—"Standing on the Side of Love." In 2004 UU Minister Rev. Debra Haffner ofThe Religious Institute on Sexual Morality, Justice, and Healing publishedAn Open Letter on Religious Leaders on Marriage Equality to affirm same-sex marriage from a multi-faith perspective. In December 2009, Washington, DC MayorAdrian Fenty signed the bill to legalize same-sex marriage for theDistrict of Columbia inAll Souls Church, Unitarian (Washington, D.C.).
Unitarian Universalists for Polyamory Awareness is a group within Unitarian Universalism whose vision is "for Unitarian Universalism to become the firstpoly-welcoming mainstream religious denomination."[100]
Interfaith marriages are recognized between Muslims and Non-Muslim "People of the Book" (usually enumerated asJews,Christians, andSabians).[101][102] According to the traditional interpretation ofIslamic law (sharīʿa), a Muslim man is allowed to marry a Christian or Jewish woman, but this ruling does not apply to women who belong toother Non-Muslim religious groups,[103] whereas a Muslim woman is not allowed to marry a Non-Muslim man of any Non-Muslim religious group.[103][104] In general, theQuran tells Muslim men not to marry Non-Muslim women,[103] and it tells Muslim women not to marry non-Muslim men,[105] but it makes an allowance for Muslim men to marry women of the People of the Book under certain conditions, such as a low amount of Muslim women in their vicinity. Additionally, the non-Muslim wife must be devout in her religion and not be unchaste.[103][101] Some Muslim scholars[who?] discourage all interfaith marriages, citing cultural differences between Muslims and Non-Muslims.[106]
In some societies outside the traditionaldar al-islam, interfaith marriages between Muslims and Non-Muslims are not uncommon, including marriages that contradict the historic Sunni understanding ofijmāʿ (the consensus offuqāha) as to the bounds of legitimacy.[107] The tradition ofreformist and progressive Islam, however, permits marriage between Muslim women and Non-Muslim men;[108] Islamic scholars opining this view includeKhaleel Mohammed,Hassan Al-Turabi, among others.[109] DespiteSunni Islam prohibiting it, interfaith marriages between Muslim women and Non-Muslim men take place at substantial rates.[107][108] In theUnited States, about 10% of Muslim women are today married to Non-Muslim men.[110]
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Attitudes towardLGBTQ+ people and their experiences in theMuslim world have been influenced by its religious, legal, social, political, and cultural history.[18][19][20][111][112] The religious stigma andsexual taboo associated with homosexuality in Islamic societies can have profound effects for those Muslims who self-identify as LGBTQ+.[111][113][114][115] Today, most LGBTQ-affirming Islamic organizations and individual congregations are primarily based in theWestern world andSouth Asian countries; they usually identify themselves with theliberal and progressive movements within Islam.[111][116][117]
Homosexual acts areforbidden in traditionalIslamic jurisprudence and are liable to different punishments, includingflogging,stoning, and thedeath penalty,[18][112][115] depending on the situation andlegal school.[115] However, homosexual relationships were generally tolerated inpre-modern Islamic societies,[18][19][112] and historical records suggest that these laws were invoked infrequently, mainly in cases ofrape or other "exceptionally blatant infringement onpublic morals".[112] Public attitudes toward homosexuality in the Muslim world underwent a marked negative change starting from the 19th century through theglobal spread ofIslamic fundamentalist movements such asSalafism andWahhabism,[115] and the influence of the sexual notions and restrictive norms prevalent inEurope at the time: a number of Muslim-majority countries have retained criminal penalties for homosexual acts enacted under Europeancolonial rule.[115] In recent times, extremeprejudice,discrimination, andviolence against LGBT people persists, bothsocially and legally, in much of the Muslim world,[111] exacerbated by increasinglysocially conservative attitudes and the rise ofIslamist movements in Muslim-majority countries.[115]
In the perspective of traditionalJudaism, sex and reproduction are the holiest of acts one can do, the act through which one can imitateGod, and in order to preserve its sanctity there are many boundaries and guidelines. Within the boundaries, there are virtually no outright strictures, and it is in fact obligatory. It prohibits sexual relations outside of heterosexual marriage, maintains biblical strictures on relations within marriage including observance ofniddah, a prohibition on relations for a period including the menstrual period, andtzniut, requirements of modest dress and behavior. Traditional Judaism views the physical acts of adultery, incest, intentional waste of semen, the physical act ofmen having sex with men, and male masturbation as grave sins. Judaism permits relatively free divorce, withOrthodox Judaism andConservative Judaism requiring areligious divorce ceremony for a divorce to be religiously recognized. Worldwide movements in Judaism considered more liberal have rejected Jewish law as binding but rather inspirational and allegorical, so adapted perspectives more consistent with general contemporary Western culture.
Most of mainstream Judaism does not acceptpolyamory, although some people consider themselves Jewish and polyamorous.[118] One prominent rabbi who accepts polyamory isSharon Kleinbaum, who was ordained inReconstructionist Judaism, which considers biblical Jewish law as not necessarily binding, but is treated as a valuable cultural remnant that should be upheld unless there is reason for the contrary. She is the senior rabbi at Congregation Beit Simchat Torah in New York which works independently of any major American Jewish denomination. R Kleinbaum states that polyamory is a choice that does not preclude a Jewishly observant, socially conscious life.[118] Some polyamorous Jews also point to biblical patriarchs having multiple wives and concubines as evidence that polyamorous relationships can be sacred in Judaism.[119] There is an email list dedicated to polyamorous Jews, calledAhavaRaba, which roughly translates to "big love" in Hebrew.[119] (Its name echoes theAhava rabbah prayer expressing thanks for God's "abundant love").
There are several levels to the observance of physical and personal modesty (tzniut), according toOrthodox Judaism, as derived from various sources inhalakha. Observance of these rules varies from aspirational to mandatory to routine across the spectrum of Orthodox stricture and observance.
Orthodox Judaism also maintains a strong prohibition on interfaith sexual relations and marriage. Orthodox Judaism, alone of all the Jewish denominations, retains relatively mild traditional disabilities on divorce, including a Biblical prohibition on aKohen (priestly descendant ofAaron) marrying a divorcee or a woman who has engaged in certain types ofsexual misconduct. An Orthodoxbill of divorce is required for a divorce to be recognized.
Conservative Judaism, consistent with its general view thathalakha (Jewish law) is a binding guide to Jewish life but subject to periodic revision by the Rabbinate, has lifted a number of strictures observed byOrthodox Judaism. In particular, in December 2006, Conservative Judaism'sCommittee on Jewish Law and Standards adoptedresponsa presenting diametrically opposed views on the issue of homosexuality. It adopted an opinion restricting a prior prohibition on homosexual conduct to male-male anal sex only, which it declared to be the only Biblical prohibition, declaring all other prohibitions (e.g. male-male oral sex or lesbian sex) rabbinic, and lifting all rabbinic restrictions based on its interpretation of the Talmudic principle ofKevod HaBriyot ("human dignity"). While declining to develop a form of religious gay marriage, it permitted blessing lesbian and gay unions and ordaining openly lesbian and gay rabbis who agree not to engage in male-male anal sex.[120] It is also a traditionalist opinion, upholding all traditional prohibitions on homosexual activity, also adopted as a majority opinion,[121] The approach permits individual rabbis, congregations, and rabbinical schools to set their own policy on homosexual conduct. It reflects a profound change from a prior blanket prohibition on male homosexual practices. It acknowledges a sharp divergence of views onsexual matters within Conservative Judaism, such that there is no single Conservative Jewish approach to matters of sexuality. Conservative Judaism currently straddles the divide between liberal and traditional opinion on sexual matters within contemporary American society, permitting both views.[122]
Conservative Judaism has maintained on its books a variety of requirements and prohibitions, including a requirement that married women observe the family purity laws and a general prohibition on non-marital heterosexual conduct. The family purity laws require women to be recognized astumah orniddah during theirmenstrual period. As a tumah, a woman is to wait 7 days for her menstrual cycle to end and then 7 "clean days" in order to enter themikveh and begin sexual relations.[123] During this time, it is forbidden to have any type of contact with the niddah, thus anything she touches is not to be touched and no physical contact is permitted.[124] On the same day as theCommittee on Jewish Law and Standards released its homosexuality responsa, it released multiple opinions on the subject of niddah including a responsum lifting certain traditional restrictions on husband-wife contact during the niddah period while maintaining a prohibition on sexual relations. The permissive responsum on homosexuality used the Conservative movement's approach to niddah as an analogy for construing the Biblical prohibition against male homosexual conduct narrowly and lifting restrictions it deemed Rabbinic in nature. The responsum indicated it would be making a practical analogy between an approach in which male homosexual couples would be on their honor to refrain from certain acts and its approach to niddah:
We expect homosexual students to observe the rulings of this responsum in the same way that we expect heterosexual students to observe theCJLS rulings on niddah. We also expect that interview committees, administrators, faculty and fellow students will respect the privacy and dignity of gay and lesbian students in the same way that they respect the privacy and dignity of heterosexual students.
The responsum enjoined young people not to be "promiscuous" and to prepare themselves for "traditional marriage" if possible, while not explicitly lifting or re-enforcing any express strictures on non-marital heterosexual conduct.[120]
Even before this responsum, strictures on pre-marital sex had been substantially ignored, even in official circles. For example, when theJewish Theological Seminary of America proposed enforcing a policy against non-marital cohabitation by rabbinical students in the 1990s, protests by cohabiting rabbinical students resulted in a complete rescission of the policy.
Conservative Judaism formallyprohibits interfaith marriage and its standards currently indicate it will expel a rabbi who performs an interfaith marriage. It maintains a variety of formal strictures including a prohibition on making birth announcements in synagogue bulletins for children on non-Jewish mothers and accepting non-Jews as synagogue members. However, interfaith marriage is relatively widespread among the Conservative laity, and the Conservative movement has recently adapted a policy of being more welcoming of interfaith couples in the hopes of interesting their children in Judaism.
Conservative Judaism, which was for much of the 20th century the largest Jewish denomination in the United States declined sharply in synagogue membership in the United States the 1990s, from 51% of synagogue memberships in 1990 to 33.1% in 2001, with most of the loss going to Orthodox Judaism and most of the rest to Reform. The fracturing in American society of opinion between increasingly liberal and increasingly traditionalist viewpoints on sexual and other issues, as well as the gap between official opinion and general lay practice vis-a-vis the more traditionalist and liberal denominations, may have contributed to the decline.[125]
Reform Judaism,[126]Humanistic Judaism, andReconstructionist Judaism do not observe or require traditional sexuality rules and have welcomed non-married and homosexual couples and endorsed homosexual commitment ceremonies and marriages.
Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism are more tolerant of interfaith partnerships and often explicitly welcome interfaith families at their synagogues and services. Reform and Liberal branches of Judaism do not currently perform religious (and therefore legally binding) marriage ceremonies for interfaith couples; however as of October 2020, Liberal Rabbis may bless an interfaith marriage under achuppah at their discretion, provided the couple intend to keep a Jewish household.[127][128] Humanistic Judaism permits interfaith marriage. Reform, Reconstructionist, and Humanistic Judaism also do not require a religious divorce ceremony separate from a civil divorce.
It has been speculated that the more tolerant attitudes of Reform, Reconstructionist, and Humanistic Judaism towards both sexual diversity and interfaith marriage may have contributed to the rise in their popularity during the 1990s, from about 33% of affiliated households to 38%, passing Conservative Judaism as the largest Jewish denomination in the United States.[125]
The most common formulation ofBuddhist ethics are thefive precepts and theNoble Eightfold Path, which say that one should neither beattached to nor crave sensual pleasure. These precepts take the form of voluntary, personal undertakings, not divine mandate or instruction.
Of the five precepts, the third vow is to refrain from sex with another's spouse, someone under age (namely, those protected by their parents or guardians), and those who have taken vows of religious celibacy.[129][130] InChinese Buddhism, the third vow is interpreted as refraining from sex outside marriage.[131]
Buddhist monks and nuns of most traditions are expected to refrain from all sexual activity and theBuddha is said to have admonished his followers to avoid unchastity "as if it were a pit of burning cinders."[132] While laypersons may have sex within marriage, monastics are not to have any sexual conduct at all.
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Religiously,Hindus begin life at theBrahmacharya or "student" stage, in which they are directed to chastely advance themselves educationally and spiritually to prepare themselves for a life of furthering theirdharma (societal, occupational, parental, etc. duties) andkarma (right earthly actions); only once they reach theGrihastya or "householder" stage can they seekkama (physical pleasure) andartha (worldly achievement, material prosperity) through marriage and their vocations, respectively.[citation needed][133]
According to theDharmasastras or the religious legal texts of Hinduism,marriage in Hinduism is an institution for reproduction and thus is naturally limited to heterosexual couples. Furthermore, sex outside of marriage is prohibited. TheManusmriti list eight types of marriage of which four are consensual and encouraged and four are non-consensual and discouraged. However, popular practices did not necessarily reflect religious teachings.[134]
TheKama Sutra (Discourse on Kāma) by Vatsayana, widely believed to be just a manual for sexual practices, offers an insight into the sexualmores,ethics and societal rules that were prevalent in ancient India. The erotic sculptures ofKhajuraho also offer insight. Abhigyana Shakuntalam, a drama in Sanskrit byKālidāsa, cited as one of the best examples of shringara rasa (romance, one of the nine rasas or emotions), talks of the love story ofDushyanta andShakuntala.[135][136]
A disciplinedSikh is expected to be in control of sexual desire at all times.[137]Kaam, orexcessive lust, is one of thefive thieves, or vices, that interfere with one's spiritual journey.[138] Normal and healthy amounts of sexuality and lust are not condemned nor consideredkaam.[139][140]
InChinese mythology,Jiutian Xuannü is the goddess of war, sex, and longevity.[141] She is closely related toSunü (素女), who is her divine sister.[142] Both their names combined, asxuansu zhidao (玄素之道), signify theDaoist arts of the bedchamber.[142] Most books bearing Jiutian Xuannü's name were about warfare, but there were a few books that were specifically about sex.[141] TheXuannü Jing (玄女經, "Mysterious Woman Classic") and theSunü Jing (素女經, "Natural Woman Classic"), both dating to theHan dynasty, were handbooks in dialogue form about sex.[141] Texts from theXuannü Jing have been partly incorporated into theSui dynasty edition of theSunü Jing.[141] From the Han dynasty onwards, these handbooks would be familiar to the upper class.[141] On the other side, during the Han dynasty,Wang Chong had criticized the sexual arts as "not only harming the body but infringing upon the nature of man and woman."[141] During theTang dynasty and earlier periods, Jiutian Xuannü was often associated with the sexual arts.[141] TheXuannü Jing remained a familiar work among the literati during the Tang and Sui dynasties.[141]
TheDongxuanzi Fangzhong Shu (洞玄子房中術, "Bedchamber Arts of the Master of the Grotto Mysteries"), which was likely written by the 7th-century poetLiu Zongyuan, contains explicit descriptions of the sexual arts that was supposedly transmitted from Jiutian Xuannü.[141] The sexual practices, that Jiutian Xuannü supposedly taught, were often compared to alchemy and physiological procedures for prolonging life.[141] InGe Hong'sBaopu Zi, there's a passage in which Jiutian Xuannü tells Huangdi that sexual techniques are "like the intermingling of water and fire—it can kill or bring new life depending upon whether or not one uses the correct methods."[141]
Tu'er Shen (Chinese:兔儿神 or 兔神), The Leveret Spirit is a ChineseShenist orTaoist deity who manages love and sex between men. His name is often colloquially translated as "Rabbit God". Wei-Ming Temple in the Yonghe District ofNew Taipei City inTaiwan is dedicated to Tu'er Shen.[143] About 9000 pilgrims visit the temple each year to pray to find a suitable partner.[144] The Wei-ming temple also performs love ceremony for gay couples.[145][146]
WithinCandomblé, asyncretic religion primarily found in Brazil, there is widespread (though not universal) support for gay rights, many members are LGBT, and have performed gay marriages.[147][148][149][150] Practitioners ofSantería, primarily found in Cuba, generally (though not universally) welcome LGBT members and include them in religious or ritual activities.[151][152] Also a Brazilian syncretic religion,Umbanda houses generally support LGBT rights and have performed gay marriages.[153][149][150][154] Homosexuality is religiously acceptable inHaitian Vodou.[155][156][157] The lwa or loa (spirits)Erzulie Dantor andErzulie Freda are often associated with and viewed as protectors of queer people.[158][159] The laoGhede Nibo is sometimes depicted as an effeminate drag queen and inspires those he inhabits to lascivious sexuality of all kinds.[160][161]
Individuals who went against the traditionalgender binary were heavily involved in the cult ofInanna, an ancient Mesopotamian goddess.[162][163] During Sumerian times, a set of priests known asgala worked in Inanna's temples, where they performed elegies and lamentations.[162] Men who becamegala sometimes adopted female names and their songs were composed in the Sumerianeme-sal dialect, which, in literary texts, is normally reserved for the speech of female characters. Some Sumerian proverbs seem to suggest thatgala had a reputation for engaging inanal sex with men.[164] During the Akkadian Period,kurgarrū andassinnu were servants of Ishtar whodressed in female clothing and performed war dances in Ishtar's temples.[164] Several Akkadianproverbs seem to suggest that they may have also had homosexual proclivities.[164] Gwendolyn Leick, an anthropologist known for her writings on Mesopotamia, has compared these individuals to the contemporary Indianhijra.[162] In one Akkadian hymn, Ishtar is described as transforming men into women.[164] Some modern pagans include Inanna in their worship.[165]
Among theIndigenous peoples of the Americas prior to theEuropean colonization, many Nations had respected ceremonial, religious, and social roles for homosexual, bisexual, and gender-nonconforming individuals in their communities and in many contemporaryNative American andFirst Nations communities, these roles still exist.[166][167][168][169] Homosexual and gender-variant individuals were also common among other pre-conquest civilizations inLatin America, such as theAztecs,Mayans,Quechuas,Moches,Zapotecs, and theTupinambá of Brazil and were accepted in their various religions.[170][171]
Since the beginning of thesexual liberation movement in the Western world, which coincided withsecond-wave feminism and thewomen's liberation movement initiated in the early 1960s,[172][173] new religious movements and alternative spiritualities such asModern Paganism and theNew Age began to grow and spread across the globe alongside their intersection with the sexual liberation movement and thecounterculture of the 1960s,[172][173] and exhibited characteristic features, such as the embrace ofalternative lifestyles, unconventional dress, rejection ofAbrahamic religions and theirconservative social mores, use ofcannabis and otherrecreational drugs, relaxed attitude,sarcastic humble or self-imposed poverty, andlaissez-fairesexual behavior.[172][173] The sexual liberation movement was aided by feminist ideologues in their mutual struggle to challenge traditional ideas regardingfemale sexuality,male sexuality, andqueer sexuality.[173] Elimination of undue favorable bias towards men and objectification of women, as well as support for women's right to choose their sexual partners free of outside interference or societal judgment, were three of the main goals associated with sexual liberation from the feminist perspective.[173]
MostNeopagan religions have the theme of fertility (both physical and creative/spiritual) as central to their practices, and as such encourage what they view as a healthy sex life, consensual sex between adults, regardless of gender.
Heathenry, amodern Germanic Pagan movement, includes several pro-LGBT groups. Some groups legitimize openness toward LGBT practitioners by reference to the gender-bending actions ofThor andOdin inNorse mythology.[174][175] There are, for instance, homosexual andtransgender members ofThe Troth, a prominent U.S. Heathen organisation.[176] Many Heathen groups in Northern Europe performsame-sex marriages,[177] and a group of self-described "Homo-Heathens" marched in the 2008Stockholm Pride carrying a statue of the Norse godFreyr.[178] Research found a greater proportion of LGBT practitioners within Heathenry (21%) than wider society, although noted that the percentage was lower than in other forms of modern Paganism.[179]
Wicca, like other religions, has adherents with a broad spectrum of views, ranging from conservative to liberal. It is a largely nondogmatic religion and has no prohibitions against sexual intercourse outside of marriage or relationships between members of the same sex. The religion's ethics are largely summed up by theWiccan Rede: "An it harm none, do as thou wilt", which is interpreted by many as allowing and endorsing responsible sexual relationships of all varieties. Specifically in the Wiccan tradition of modern witchcraft, one of the widely accepted pieces ofCraft liturgy, theCharge of the Goddess instructs that "...all acts of love and pleasure are [the Goddess'] rituals",[180] giving validity to all forms of sexual activity for Wiccan practitioners.
In theGardnerian andAlexandrian forms of Wicca, the "Great Rite" is a sex ritual much like thehieros gamos, performed by a priest and priestess who are believed to embody the Wiccan God and Goddess. The Great Rite is almost always performed figuratively using the athame and chalice as symbols of the penis and vagina. The literal form of the ritual is always performed by consenting adults, by a couple who are already lovers and in private. The Great Rite is not seen as an opportunity for casual sex.[181]
Raëlism, an internationalnew religious movement andUFO religion which was founded in France in 1974,[182][183] promotes apositive outlook towards human sexuality, including homosexuality.[182][183][184][185] Its founderRaël recognised same-sex marriage, and a Raëlian press release stated that sexual orientation is genetic and it also likeneddiscrimination against gay people toracism.[186] Some Raëlian leaders have performed licensed same-sex marriages.[187]
The cult ofSanta Muerte is anew religious movement[188] centered on the worship of Santa Muerte, acult image,female deity, andfolk saint which is popularly revered inMexicanNeopaganism andfolk Catholicism.[189][190] Apersonification of death, she is associated with healing, protection, and safe delivery to theafterlife by her devotees.[191] Santa Muerte is also revered and seen as a saint and protector of thelesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) communities in Mexico,[192][193][194][195][196] since LGBTQ+ people are considered and treated as outcasts by theCatholic Church,evangelical churches, and Mexican society at large.[192][193] Many LGBTQ+ people ask her for protection from violence, hatred, disease, and to help them in their search for love. Her intercession is commonly invoked insame-sex marriage ceremonies performed in Mexico.[197][198] TheIglesia Católica Tradicional México-Estados Unidos, also known as the Church of Santa Muerte,recognizes gay marriage and performs religious wedding ceremonies for homosexual couples.[199][200][201][202] According to R. Andrew Chesnut,PhD inLatin American history andprofessor ofReligious studies, the cult of Santa Muerte is the single fastest-growing new religious movement in the Americas.[188]
LaVeyan Satanism is critical of Abrahamic sexualmores, considering them narrow, restrictive and hypocritical. Sex is viewed as an indulgence, but one that should only be freely entered into with consent.The Eleven Satanic Rules of the Earth only give two instructions regarding sex, namely "Do not make sexual advances unless you are given the mating signal" and "Do not harm little children", although the latter is much broader and encompasses physical and other abuse. This has always been consistent part ofChurch of Satan policy since its inception in 1966 asPeter H. Gilmore wrote in an essay supportingsame sex marriage:
Finally, since certain people try to suggest that our attitude on sexuality is "anything goes" despite our stated base principle of "responsibility to the responsible," we must reiterate another fundamental dictate: The Church of Satan's philosophy strictly forbids sexual activity with children as well as with non-human animals.[203]
Satanists are pluralists, accepting gays, lesbians, bisexuals,BDSM,polyamorists,transgender people, andasexuals. In that essay, he also stated:
The Church of Satan is the first church to fully accept members regardless of sexual orientation and so we champion weddings/civil unions between adult partners whether they be of opposite or the same sex. So long as love is present and the partners wish to commit to a relationship, we support their desire for a legally recognized partnership, and the rights and privileges which come from such a union.[203]
Allegations have been made by antifascist organisations, several British politicians and the media that theOrder of Nine Angles condones and encourages sexual abuse, and this has been given as one of the reasons why the O9A should be proscribed by the British government. Many O9A members openly view rape as an effective way to undermine society by transgressing against its norms. White Star Acception commits rapes by their own admission and O9A texts such as "The Dreccian Way", "Iron Gates", "Bluebird" and "The Rape Anthology" recommend and praise rape and pedophilia, even suggesting rape is necessary for "ascension of the Ubermensch". To advance in rank, ONA member must perform assaults, lynching and sexual assault being the most recommended.[204][205][206] Material promoting pedophilia has also appeared in ONA's in house magazineFenrir.[207] According toBBC News, "the authorities are concerned by the number of paedophiles associated with the ONA".[208]
Sex magic is a term for various types ofsexual activity used inmagical,ritualistic, or otherwisereligious andspiritual pursuits found withinWestern esotericism which is a broad spectrum ofspiritual traditions found inWestern society, or refers to the collection of themystical,esoteric knowledge of theWestern world. One practice of sex magic is using the energy ofsexual arousal or orgasm with visualization of a desired result. A premise of sex magic is the concept that sexual energy is a potent force that can be harnessed totranscend one's normally perceivedreality. The earliest known practical teachings of sex magic in the Western world come from 19th-century American occultistPaschal Beverly Randolph, under the heading ofThe Mysteries of Eulis.[209] In the latter part of the 19th century, sexual reformerIda Craddock published several works dealing with sacred sexuality, most notablyHeavenly Bridegrooms andPsychic Wedlock.Aleister Crowley reviewedHeavenly Bridegrooms in the pages of his journalThe Equinox, stating:
It was one of the most remarkable human documents ever produced, and it should certainly find a regular publisher in book form. The authoress of the MS. claims that she was the wife of an angel. She expounds at the greatest length the philosophy connected with this thesis. Her learning is enormous. [...]
This book is of incalculable value to every student of occult matters. No Magick library is complete without it.[210]
Aleister Crowley became involved withTheodor Reuss andOrdo Templi Orientis following the publication ofThe Book of Lies between 1912 and 1913.[211] According to Crowley's account, Reuss approached him and accused him of having revealed the innermost (sexual) secret of O.T.O. in one of the cryptic chapters of this book. When it became clear to Reuss that Crowley had done so unintentionally, he initiated Crowley into the IX° (ninth degree) of O.T.O. and appointed him "Sovereign Grand Master General ofIreland, Iona and all the Britains."[211][212][213]
While the O.T.O. included, from its inception, the teaching of sexmagick in the highest degrees of the Order, when Crowley became head of the Order, he expanded on these teachings and associated them with different degrees as follows:[214]
Hugh Urban, professor of comparative religion atOhio State University, noted Crowley's emphasis on sex as "the supreme magical power".[212] According to Crowley:
The Book of the Law solves the sexual problem completely. Each individual has an absolute right to satisfy his sexual instinct as is physiologically proper for him. The one injunction is to treat all such acts as sacraments. One should not eat as the brutes, but in order to enable one to do one's will. The same applies to sex. We must use every faculty to further the one object of our existence.[215]
Many religions are based on teachings of peace, love, and tolerance, and thus, at least based on those specific teachings, these religions promote intergroup pro-sociality. However, evidence from studies of religion and social attitudes have paradoxically revealed that religion is typically a predictor of intergroup anti-sociality, or in other words religion tends to predict most forms of prejudice. When conceptualizing religion in terms of self-reported categorical religious affiliation (i.e.,Christian,Muslim,Jewish, etc.), religiously affiliated individuals tend to report more negative attitudes against a variety of social outgroups than individuals who are not religiously affiliated. [...] In addition, mostAbrahamic religions (e.g.,Judaism,Christianity, andIslam) contain dogmas in which their respective deity create mankind with individuals who are perfectly entrenched in the gender binary (e.g.,Adam and Eve), and thus religions might be instilling cisgender normativity into individuals who ascribe to their doctrines.
Patriarchal beliefs assert the "natural"superiority of men with a right to leadership in family and public life. Such beliefs derive particularly fromAbrahamic religions. Patriarchal attitudes relating to sexual behaviour are mixed and inconsistent. They include, on one hand, the idea that as part of their natural inferiority,women are less in control of their sex drives and are therefore essentially lustful, with a constant craving for sex. This belief leads to therape myth – even when women resist sexual advances they are using it merely as a seductive device. On the other hand, patriarchal beliefs also dictate that women, in contrast to men, are naturally submissive and have little interest in sex, so men have a "natural" right to sexual intercourse whether women want it or not.
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{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Abandoning sensual misconduct, he abstains from sensual misconduct. He does not get sexually involved with those who are protected by their mothers, their fathers, their brothers, their sisters, their relatives, or their Dhamma; those with husbands, those who entail punishments, or even those crowned with flowers by another man
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link){{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of July 2025 (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of July 2025 (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)One piece of propaganda the group produced is called The Rape Anthology, a collection of ONA writings praising Hitler, Satan and rape, while employing Islamic terminology and demonizing Jews and minorities. Some of the essays suggest that rape is necessary for the ascension of the Ubermensch.
Over the last 12 months four nazis convicted of terrorist offences have been linked to O9A, and there are two more cases pending.
The Sonnenkrieg Division, with its glorification of sexual violence, highlights another disturbing theme relating to the ONA – sexual offending as a way of undermining social norms. ... The authorities are concerned by the number of paedophiles associated with the ONA, taking the group into a different area of law enforcement activity.
The satanist text demonstrated a 'marked fixation with blood, the sexualisation of violence, a paedophilic projection of adult sexuality onto children, and with achieving National Socialist political goals through political violence and acts of terrorism'.
ONA's Nazi-Satanist ideology, a supernatural worldview that encourages the disruption of society through violence, criminality and sexual offending.
Shortly after publication [of theBook of Lies], the O.H.O. (Outer Head of the O.T.O.) came to me... He said that since I was acquainted with the supreme secret of the Order, I must be allowed the IX {degree} and obligated in regard to it. I protested that I knew no such secret. He said 'But you have printed it in the plainest language'. I said that I could not have done so because I did not know it. He went to the bookshelves; taking out a copy of THE BOOK OF LIES, he pointed to a passage... It instantly flashed upon me. The entire symbolism not only of Free Masonry but of many other traditions blazed upon my spiritual vision. From that moment the O.T.O. assumed its proper importance in my mind. I understood that I held in my hands the key to the future progress of humanity...
