Religious Views On Sex

Question 1

What is agape?

Answer 1

Heighest of all Christian love. Unconditional love which expects nothing in return. Volitional, eg helping a stranger

Question 2

What does Eros mean in the ancient world?

Answer 2

Erotic love. Love at first sight, passions of love. It is not necessarily virtuous and can lead the moral person astray. Can represent a very dangerous focus on the physical body, while missing the virtuous intellectual love or unconditional love

Question 3

What is philial love?

Answer 3

Brotherhood or sisterhood. Friendship.

Question 4

How does the secular world view religious views on sex and relationships?

Answer 4

Marriage reflects patriarchal cultures and biological ignorance. Women are seen in misguided and utilitarian terms solely as mothers. Religions have rarely given women equal status to men in relationships and in marriage.

Question 5

What did Ancient Greek philosopher Pythagoras say?

Answer 5

Humans should abstain from the physical, and live a quiet contemplative life

Question 6

What did the stoics think?

Answer 6

Disapproved the sense of loss of control and animal instinct involved sexual excitement

Question 7

What were the Cyrenaics?

Answer 7

A group who celebrated physical pleasure and led a life of sensual enjoyment

Question 8

How do the ancient Israelites have a more positive attitude to sex?

Answer 8

The Song of Songs- a couple expresses the sensual erotic beauty that they see in each other.
Newly married men were excused from military service for one year to allow the couple to enjoy each other

Question 9

How is sex presented in the modern world?

Answer 9

A holy grail, pursued purely for its immediate physical satisfaction. Observes that with mutual consent, any form of love is morally right. Some see the greater difficulty to commit to relationships as a decay in traditional values, as undermining the family and creating a social disaster

Question 10

How can there be seen to be a separation between sex and the sacred in the bible?

Answer 10

Moses’ commandment to Israel to abstain from sex for three days before the revelation from God at Mt Sina

Question 11

What does St Paul say about celibacy?

Answer 11

Recommends celibacy in the light of the imminent end of the world. He acknowledges that it is a special gift from God that is not for all, and he warns that it is better to be married than to commit sin and risk damnation

Question 12

What did the Corinthians say about marriage duty?

Answer 12

‘The husband should fulfil his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband.’

Question 13

What does the Corinthians say about the body in marriage?

Answer 13

‘The wife’s body does not belong to her alone but to her husband’. It means that sexual activity with anyone else means giving away which we do not have to to give away.

Question 14

What are the Christian views on polygamy?

Answer 14

Against Christian teaching. Marriage is compared to the trinity as the two become one.

Question 15

What was Jesus’ attitude to sexual sinners?

Answer 15

Forgiving and open approach. Breaks many taboos of the time by talking to a Samaritan woman who has had many husbands.

Question 16

What did St Augustine think of sex?

Answer 16

Considered it to be a sin except for the process of reproduction

Question 17

What did Aquinas think of sex?

Answer 17

Held a more positive view of the enjoyment of sex, although he still retained the idea that sex has to be connected to reproduction

Question 18

What do Christians think of celibacy?

Answer 18

Almost all Christian monastic communities have been celibate and the Roman Catholic Church still advocates celibacy for priests

Question 19

What is marriage to Christians?

Answer 19

Men are women are equal, but created different, and united physically in love making. It is a sacred union, part of God’s divine plan. Sexual pleasure is a gift from God, no child rearing is part of the purpose of marriage.

Question 20

What does Thatcher say about Christian marriage?

Answer 20

Catholic Christianity understands marriage in terms of sacrament. A marriage between baptised Christians is a shared commitment to Jesus Christ, a realisation of Christian identity, or the pursuit of holiness and sanctity

Question 21

What does the bible say about the purpose of sex?

Answer 21

Having children. In Genesis the man was sent to ‘go forth and multiply’, and that matched the view ascribed to by natural law.

Question 22

What was the natural law purpose of sex?

Answer 22

Natural law believed that by identifying what the function of the human being was, they could see what should and should not be done. Sex led to reproduction, and so that was the purpose of sexual organs. They should not be used for anything other than reproduction, and contraception was forbidden as preventing God’s purpose

Question 23

What does understanding marriage in terms of complementarity mean to Christians?

Answer 23

Men and women offer complementary and distinct gifts and roles. Men have a greater responsibility than women. ‘He has the God-given responsibility to provide for, to protect and to lead his family. A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband

Question 24

What did St Augustine say about the image of god?

Answer 24

Denied that women possessed the image of God within them, conferring that on only men. Augustine stated that men have headship over women. This leads to the Catholic Church teaching that only men can be priests

Question 25

Why have Christians viewed homosexuality as wrong?

Answer 25

There is no possibility of life arising from the sexual union, and so it is wrong on a natural law basis

Question 26

What did Leviticus say about homosexuality?

Answer 26

‘Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman: that is detestable’

Question 27

What did St Paul’s letters say about homosexuality?

Answer 27

Engaging in same sex acts is ‘degrading their bodies’

Question 28

What does the Catechism say about homosexuality?

Answer 28

The Church maintains that there is no sin involved in an inclination towards a member of the same sex, as such an inclination is not freely chosen and is a trial for the person. The homosexual person should be treated with respect, compassion and sensitivity, and unjust discrimination should be avoided. The Church teaches that such people are called to chastity

Question 29

How is the Christian view of homosexuality criticised?

Answer 29

Unitive acts between a loving couple us a good enough purpose for sex, despite being non reproductive. Many sexual acts cannot lead to pregnancy. If reject the reproductive imperative in sex, then natural law no longer opposes homosexual sex

Question 30

What does Moore argue?

Answer 30

We are ignoring laws that we find inconvenient while pursuing those that attack minorities we do not like. Scripture is being used inconsistently to reinforce prejudices

Question 31

What restrictions are there on sexual activities within marriage in Judaism?

Answer 31

Restriction on sexual relations with a menstruating women for seven days after menstruation

Question 32

What did Early Hebrew regard marriage as?

Answer 32

A purchase and assigned women the lowly status of the husband’s property. Arguable this is still the case in Orthodox Judaism. The wife could not own or inherit property herself and divorce was a right that only men could exercise.

Question 33

What is cohabitation referred to by Christians as?

Answer 33

‘Living in sin’

Question 34

What is Islam’s attitude to sex?

Answer 34

Sex and sexuality are a part of normal married life. The idea that the pleasures of human sexuality provide a foretaste of life after death is a way of giving a sense of sacredness or sexuality. This is a long way from the idea that sex and sexuality are sinful. This positive expression of sexuality is not realised fully for women. While men have a right to have their sexual desires fulfilled by their wives, traditionalists have held that the same is not so for their wives. Sexual activity is widely held to be the preserve of marriage, and the virginity, especially of women, is frequently held to be of the utmost importance in securing a good marriage

Question 35

How is the teachings of sexuality enforced in Islam?

Answer 35

Some Muslim countries today use forms of Sharia law which have very severe punishments for sexual crimes, yet at the same time sycamore interpretations seem to ignore many of the Qur’anic principles of equality for women

Question 36

What is the Islamic view of polygamy?

Answer 36

‘Marry such women as seem good to you, two, three, four’. This quote shows that the Quran permits husbands to take more than one wife. The prophet had more than a dozen wives. It seems to conflict with the fundamental Jude’s Christian value of monogamy

Question 37

What are the Islamic opinions on marriage?

Answer 37

Marriage in Islam is a contractual arrangement rather than a sacrament and it must be negotiated. Such negotiations is whether the family of the woman has wealth and power. Unlike Christianity with its virtue of celibacy, all muslims are encouraged to marry. Husbands have the power to issue divorce. Women do not have this authority as it is men who are considered to be head of the household

Question 38

What are views of marriage in Hinduism?

Answer 38

Marriage is the biggest lifecycle ritual in most people’s lives. In marriage two people enter the householder stage, a great transition of responsibility. Marriages are often arranged. A suitable match is sought out by parents using extended family networks

Question 39

Buddhist attitudes to sex?

Answer 39

Sacred texts prohibit monks from speaking to women about obscene or erotic acts despite the traditions. Buddhism does not require of expect procreation as birth is a gateway to a life of suffering. Making babies is not part of a divine plan, though the birth of babies is considered to be a precious event

Question 40

What does Keown argue about Buddhist sex?

Answer 40

Buddhism is a ascetic tradition, it is naturally suspicious of desire and sexual desires have their dangers. Craving a cause suffering and erotic cravings can be incredibly strong. Buddha said that nothing can overpower a man’s mind as much as ‘the form of a woman’.
‘Lord how should we behave towards women?- do not see them’

Question 41

What marriage prohibitions are there in Buddhism?

Answer 41

Marrying very young girls and marrying relatives, and it is assumed sex is for me arraign only

Question 42

What are Buddhist opinions on homosexuality?

Answer 42

There have been modern calls to expel gay Buddhist monks from monasteries. The Dalai Lama has stipulated that homosexual men and women have dignity and rights, but sex other than penetrative is an improper use of organs

Question 43

What is marriage to Sikhs?

Answer 43

Teaching family responsibilities and self restraint are very important. Arranged marriage is the norm, many members of the family should support a proposed marriage and the marriage I’d a union between two families. However, the couple must agree and there should be no coercion. Marriages are often arranged before puberty. The honour of an extended family is affected by the individual conduct of one member of the family and the honour of a girl is particularly important. Girls should not behave without decent modesty. Sex before marriage is completely out of the question. Boys do not have as strict requirements

Question 44

What is the libertarian approach to sex?

Answer 44

Does not allow for sexual crimes such as rape, as they go against the freedom principle. It does not allow sex with minors as they cannot be said to truly have free will.
They may adopt the harm principle to sexuality. To observe the harm principle is to ensure that no harm is done to epithet party or to other third parties. If two consenting adults want to have sex they can as long as it doesn’t harm someone else. Eg if the sex is adulterous and the betrayed spouse finds out and is harmed, then the act is called into question

Question 45

What is the feminist approach to sexuality?

Answer 45

Most religious approaches rest on a defined cultural role for women, that of the child bearer, wife and submissive companion. The Judeo Christian approach is the view of women being created for the man, the property of the man, and in all senses secondary to the man. This social construct of women are mothers and wife disempowered women by restricting their status in society and socialising them to meet the desires of men

Question 46

Is religious teaching relevant to people today?

Answer 46

It seems that the values of modern western society are a long way from those of religion. Modern liberal western society seems to challenge each religious view with a basis that as long as people consent to wha is going on, and no one else is harmed, they are fine. It is possible to argue that religion essentially offers and old fashioned pre scientific view of the world which has none of the advantages of modern ideas. According to this view, religion is quite simply wrong about its view of the world and has nothing to offer people in the modern world. A reverse way of looking at this is to say that religion holds truths which have been lost to society today

Question 47

Should religion concern itself with sexual behaviour?

Answer 47

For some this is religion playing an important role in holding society to account. For others this is religion encroaching too far into their personal and private lives.
If religion is about how people actually live as opposed to simply what people believe or think, then to ignore sexuality is to ignore a fundamental aspect of human beings. Our sexuality is not simply about acts to even relationships with others, but an essential part of our humanity. For religion to be of relevance it cannot ignore human sexuality.
Sexuality seems to be less fixed and standard for all humans than it once was thought

Question 48

Is modern society setting its own codes of behaviour?

Answer 48

It sometimes seems as if there is a deepening gap between the way modern society lives and the way religions suggest people should live. Religion no longer sets moral codes which society accepts