Ethics - Applied Ethics - Sexual Ethics

Question 1

What is sexual ethics?

Answer 1

Sexual ethics is the study of human sexuality and the expression of human sexual behavior.
Sexual ethics seeks to understand and evaluate the moral conduct of relationships and sexual activities.
Sex and sexuality is debated based on your particular worldview, religion, or ethical framework.

Question 2

Catholic belief’s surrounding marriage

Answer 2

• For Roman Catholic Christians marriage is a sacrament, not just a legal bond
• It is one of the ways that God’s grace is given to creation
• It is a living symbol of Christ’s love for the Church, and should be open to the gift of children

Question 3

The Catholic Church believes marriage is indissoluble, what does this mean, and why?

Answer 3

• The Catholic Church maintain that marriage is indissoluble (cannot be ended) as it is a union with God

Question 4

For Catholics, marriage is indissoluble, what does this mean for sex?

Answer 4

o It is only within the bounds of this union between man and wife that the celebration of each other’s bodies in sexual intercourse can take place
o The sexual act becomes an intimate, physical expression of each one’s profound life-long love for the other
In simpler terms, the Catholic Church is clear that sex should only take place within the bond of marriage:

Question 5

CCC quote on sex and mariage

Answer 5

• ‘The sexual act must always take place exclusively within marriage … and not trial marriages.’ – Catechism of the Catholic Church

Question 6

Two aspects of sex for Catholics

Answer 6

There are two aspects of sex in marriage:
- Unitive
o Sex can help the couple to become closer in their married lives
o This is what the Church calls the unitive function of marriage
- Procreative
o Sex should be ‘open to the transmission of life’

Question 7

The Catholic Church thinks that the two aspects of marriafe should not be separated, what does this mean for their relationship?

Answer 7

• A married couple cannot seek to be closer without having that act open to the procreation of life
• Having sexual intercourse without being open to procreation is seen as not being open enough to God’s grace

Question 8

Sex outside marriage is wrong for Catholics, why?

Answer 8

The Church also argues that children deserve the very best chance in life and that a child born in a married situation with a man and a woman who have pledged to love each other throughout their lives gives that child the very best environment in which to thrive
- Sex outside of marriage, whether pre-marital or extra-marital, risks a child being born outside of a loving, stable and God-centred environment

Question 9

Catholic teachings on sexual love

Answer 9

• The Church thinks of sexual love as extremely important and that is why it is only permissible within a certain context
• Sexual activity is not ‘dirty’ or sinful – it should be the joyous celebration of two people who have decided to be faithful to each other for the rest of their lives

Question 10

Pope John Paul II teachings on sexual union

Answer 10

• In his encyclical, The Gospel of Life, Pope John Paul II says that the context where sexual union takes place is extremely important. having sex with someone who is not your spouse threatens to devalue what is a sacred gift:
  o ‘Sex is depersonalized and exploited, from being the sign, place and language of love… it increasingly becomes the occasion and instrument for self-assertion and the selfish satisfaction of personal desires and instincts’
  o In other words, sex outside of a particular context encourages the view that sex is merely a kind of appetite that needs to be satisfied rather than as an act which expresses love and absolute loyalty to the other person whilst also being an act which is open to God’s gift of new life

Question 11

What is extramarital sex

Answer 11

• Premarital sex is having sexual intercourse before marriage, while extra-marital is sex with someone who is not your spouse when married
• The traditional Christian view is that both are sinful

Question 12

Where does the catholic view on extra marital sex come from

Answer 12

• The Church takes much of the inspiration of its teachings from two biblical texts
  o First we have an explicit prohibition against adultery (extra-marital sex) in the Ten Commandments:
   ‘Do not commit adultery’
   So one of the central or core values that is expressed in biblical values is respect for marriage
  o Another influential text is Genesis 2:24:
   ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.’
   A man or a woman leaves their family, gets married and so forms a family of their own
   They become one flesh and this bond cannot be broken

Question 13

• For many Protestant Christians, marriage is often described as a covenant rather than a sacrament, what does this suggest?

Answer 13

• This suggests that marriage is intended to be a union of two people in the creation of a loving and stable environment in which children may flourish
• In this type of marriage divorce is a possibility when a relationship has broken down

Question 14

Natural Law and sexual ethics

Answer 14

This is the ethical approach held by the Catholic Church and its arguments are as follows:

1. Attitudes to sex and marriage form both part of the divine (laws of God) and natural (laws available through reason) laws, Augustine and Aquinas both argued that marriage and sex were created by God as a way in which a couple can procreate and unite
2. Natural Law is also enshrined (protected) by human law, marriage is a legal contract and the vows focus on fidelity (faithfulness), this implies we have an innate awareness of right action
3. The ‘Primary Precepts’ support the view that sex is ‘procreative’ and the precept of an ‘orderly society’ makes it clear that sexual activity should be within the safety of marriage
4. Aquinas would argue that this is the difference between ‘apparent’ and ‘real’ goods, pre-marital and adultery may appear ‘good’ as they bring about pleasure, however the intention is selfish

Question 15

Kant’s attitudes to sexual ethics

Answer 15

Kant’s attitude is linked to his ‘Categorical Imperative’:

1. Pre-marital and extra-marital sex can be seen ‘as a means to an end’ – an action in which we use another person to increase pleasure. As marriage is sacrament and legal contract then sex is mutual.
2. Kant argues that laws should be universalised. Promise keeping and faithfulness are duty based actions and we should not lie. Adultery is never acceptable.
3. Kant spoke directly on the dangers of ‘pre-marital sex’: “Nobody can make themselves into an object of the others enjoyment…carnal intercourse cannot be admitted” (Kant)
4. Humans are the pinnacle of creation, they must be treated with dignity and any action that undermines this is wring.

Question 16

Utilitarian approach to sexual ethics

Answer 16

This approach can be seen through the lens of ‘Act’ and ‘Rule’:

1. Basic principle is to increase pleasure and minimise pain – if pre marital sex is mutual and safe the it is acceptable. The availability of contraception has strengthened this argument.
2. Jeremey Bentham (Act) rejects the Catholic attitude. The Hedonic Calculus’ is a method that can be applied to determine whether the action is right or wrong. The outcome will provide the answer.
3. John Stuart Mill may look at the well established law of marriage and base his decision on this. If the majority of the population affirm marriage then it is the best place to have a sexual relationship.
4. Bentham would not see ‘adultery’ as intrinsically wrong. He may support the idea of open marriage. The GHP is the guide used to determine the best action.
5. Some Christian utilitarian’s argue that pre-marital sex and adultery increase pain.

Question 17

Situation ethics and sexual ethics

Answer 17

This approach focuses on the use of the 4 working principles:

1. This is a relative ethical theory – right or wrong is determined by the outcome not the action. Agape is the rule, therefore, pre-marital sex is at the discretion of the couple and should not be a law established by the Church.
2. Cohabitation is pragmatic (practical) and positive as a couple can establish compatibility.
3. Joseph Fletcher used the example of ‘sacrificial adultery’. A woman is separated from her husband and children and held in a concentration camp in the Ukraine during the Second World War. To reunite with her husband and children, she must become pregnant so that she can be sent to Berlin. She therefore sleeps with one of the guards and when found to be pregnant, she is sent to Berlin.
4. The ‘end can justify the means’ – if the outcome is positive & loving then it is right and good.

Question 18

Concerning homosexual ethics, Traditional Christian Doctrine (Policy) States what?

Answer 18

• Having homosexual desires or being attracted sexually to someone of the same gender is not sinful since that is not chosen
• People who cannot form a sexual relationship in a marriage between a man and a woman must lead single lives
• Homosexual sexual activity is seen as objectively wrong as this is chosen
• Being homosexual is then not sinful (although is it disordered – in other words, part of the fall of creation)

Question 19

Traditional Christian Doctrine is based on the Bible and Tradition, how?

Answer 19

• God created male and female according to the book of Genesis to complete each other, and to procreate
  o As the act of homosexual sex cannot lead to procreation then it
• Homosexual practice is forbidden in the book of Leviticus
  o ‘You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination’
• The natural order represented in nature is for male and female to unite, this is often linked to Aquinas Natural Law argument and the primary precepts
• The New Testament contains teachings from St Paul on sexual morality
  o ‘Wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God … neither the sexually immoral, nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men’

Question 20

Summarise ethical theories

Answer 20

1. Natural Law – traditional Catholic approach to ethics based on the teachings of St Thomas Aquinas.
2. Kantian Ethics – duty based/absolute ethical theory based on the teachings of Immanuel Kant.
3. Utilitarianism – consequentialist and teleological form of ethics based on the teachings of Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill.
4. Situation Ethics - consequentialist and teleological form of ethics based on the teachings of Joseph Fletcher.

Question 21

How do the primmary precepts fit in with homosexuality?

Answer 21

Reproduction is a primary precept, in a homosexual relationship it is impossible to reproduce. Therefore, for some Roman Catholics is could be seen as wrong. However homosexuals are still able to undergo IVF, surrogacy, and adoption/fostering – in order to build a family and care for children in a loving setting.

Question 22

Aquinas quotes concerning homosexuality

Answer 22

“It is evident from this that every emission of semen, in such a way that generation cannot follow, is contrary to the good of man. And if this is to be done deliberately, it must be a sin.” – Aquinas

“These views have been given a solid basis in divine authority…there is the text of Leviticus ‘thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind.”

Question 23

What does Aquinas argue?

Answer 23

Aquinas argues that homosexual sex is contrary to both natural and divine law. For this reason, the Church has maintained its approach toward homosexual activity.

Question 24

Papal Encyclical: Humanae Vitae 1968

Answer 24

In 1968, Pope Paul VI set out the official teaching of the Catholic Church which is based on natural law.
The document argues that sex should be unitive but must also be procreative. Homosexual sex is regarded as an improper and misdirected use of the sexual organs due to the impossibility of conception.
“The Church teaches that each and every marriage act must remain open to the transmission of life”

Question 25

Modern Natural Law Perspective

Answer 25

Time for Consent: A Christian’s Approach to Homosexuality (1967) by Theologian W. Norman Pittenger
The first work in the English language by a prominent theologian that argued for the full acceptance of committed same-sex relationships within the Christian Church.
“To deny and to condemn homosexual sex would be like asking someone to reject something basic to his or her nature.”