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Sexual Ethics / Ethics ~Philosophy of Religion (PREMARITAL SEX: (In ethics…
Sexual Ethics / Ethics ~Philosophy of Religion
Spec Requires:
Consideration of the following areas of sexual ethics,
premarital and extramarital sex
The influence of developments in religious beliefs and practices on debates about morality, legality and tolerability of these areas of sexual ethics.
Application of the following theories to sexual ethics:
NATURAL LAW
SITUATION ETHICS
KANTIAN ETHICS
UTILITARIANISM :
KEY TERMS:
Cohabitation
: an unmarried couple living together in a sexually active relationship. Sometimes knowns as pejoratively, 'living in sin.'
Consent
: freely agreeing to engage sexual activity with another person. CONSENT ALWAYS NEEDS TO BE GIVEN FOLKS!!!
Premarital sex
: sex before marriage (pre meaning before)
Extramarital sex
: sex beyond the confines of marriage; adulterous sex
Betrothal
: traditionally the exchange of promises. in earlier times, this marked the point at which sex was permitted
Consummation
: an act of sexual intercourse that indicates, in some traditions, the finalisation of marriage
Exclusive
: A commitment to be in a sexual relationship with a person to the exclusion of others. Opposite of a 'casual' relationship
Homosexuality
: the sexual attraction between people of the same sex
PREMARITAL SEX:
In ethics, premarital sex and extramarital sex raises questions around cohabitation
(living in sin)
and sexual intercourse between two people who are not married to one other
(the sin of fornication)
.
Premarital sex - sex before marriage
In Christian teaching, they traditionally view sex before or outside of marriage as a sin. The Christian understanding of sex places it as a bond of marriage between two people.
It's argued that premarital sex indicates a lack of moral discipline and poses a threat to the institutions of marriage and family - cohabitation is seen less than marriage in the eyes of Christian dogma.
POPE PAUL VI:
'husband and wife become in a way one heart and one soul'
- Churches adopt differing approaches to the practical application of traditional Christian thinking. This implies a life-long commitment that cannot be broken.
This contrasts against...
GENESIS:
'united to his wife and they become one flesh.'
- emphasising spiritual, emotional, social and sexual purposes of marriage. Marriage and sexual union are God's plan as well as God's approval of marriage as a sacrament, not a 'free union' which the Catholic Church view marriage as.
For the Catholic Church, premarital sex doesn't express fidelity, exclusivity and commitment, consequently leading to no toleration towards sex before marriage. People who engage in premarital sex are in a state of sin. However, some Christian leaders have advocated recognising premarital sex different, viewing it as a progression towards marriage rather than a rejection of marriage.
THATCHER
argues that Christians who believe pre-ceremonial sex is immoral, have wrongly assumed that the ceremony is a requirement of marriage
In Western countries, social attitudes and law do not follow the Christian moral teaching. For instance, civil marriages not outnumber religious marriages in the UK as well as people waiting longer to marry, resulting into the cohabitation increasing.
Christianity seems to take two approaches to this changing norm:
One rejects the changing social norms and asserts traditional sexual rules to wait for marriage which binds members to follow them, even if the law does not.
Another reinterprets sexual acts as sinful and looks for ways to encourage a more positive engagement with who are following premarital sex. Although this reinterpretation does not accept casual relationships, premarital sex is seen as a process towards marriage.
EXTRAMARITAL SEX:
This can be understood in two ways:
A married person has sex with someone other than their spouse
A single person has sex with someone who is married
In Christian thought, sex is exclusively associated with married relationships. The Catholic Church forbids divorce between two baptised Christians in a marriage who have already consummated.
The Catholic Church holds the view that anyone remarrying after divorce is having extramarital sex with their new partner. The Church of England, however, is more divided on the matter, but in theory, they still forbid it.
CAHILL
argues that Christianity's stance against divorce originated in an attempt to limit men's ability to manipulate marriage, women and children in the interests of power and wealth.
Social attitudes and Christian beliefs share the notion of consent. Consent has been an important factor in Christian marriage. Christian teaching maintains that marriage must be free and willing entered into.
HOMOSEXUALITY:
In recent decades, Western liberal democracies have undergone radical change in legal frameworks relating to sexuality.
CHRISTIANITY
and
HOMOSEXUALITY
:
Traditional Christian teachings understand homosexuality as wrong for several reasons. This is because of no production of life (counter-productive, some would argue) in same-sex couples and so it goes against natural law. It undermined the traditional idea of Christian marriage being between a woman and a man due to their purpose of procreating.
LEVITICUS
says homosexuality is
'detestable.'
God commands that homosexuality and homosexual acts are wrong and, therefore, taking part in homosexual acts is sinful. There has also been a tendency in the eyes of Christianity, that homosexuality is a shameful condition of uncontrollable and unnatural lust.
However, there has been disagreement over Biblical passages and whether they should be interpreted and understood in the contexts they were written rather than applying to the contemporary world today.
ROMANS
:
'Men committed shameful acts with other men.'
MOORE
writes that while Christians are happy to follow the view set out by LEVITICUS in that it's immoral for a man to lie with a man yet Christians reject the passage later on that advocates beheading as punishment for the homosexual act committed. MOORE thinks that scripture is being used inconsistently and interpreted inconsistently to enforce prejudice.
The ANGLICAN CHURCH and HOMOSEXUALITY:
The Church of England opposes same-sex marriage and requires a gay and lesbian clergy who are in a same-sex relationship to remain celibate.
The Church of England remain divided on homosexuality. The worldwide community has debated the issue of gay priests and gay marriage, commenting that the ordination of
'practising homosexuals and the blessing of same-sex unions call into question the authority of Holy scriptures.'
The C of E have disagreements on homosexuality, notably:
whether homosexuality is ethically valid
whether it is right to give a blessing to long-term same-sex relationships
whether practising homosexuals are suitable for ordination
whether the normal requirements of heterosexual monogamy are applicable to bisexuals
whether a person's God-given sexual identity is determined by their physical nature or self-perception
The CATHOLIC CHURCH and HOMOSEXUALITY:
Homosexual people should be treated with respect, compassion and sensitivity, and unjust discrimination should be avoided. The Catholic Church teaches that such people are called to chastity and with the help of friendship, prayer and grace, will they achieve Christian perfection
The Catholic Church state that there is no sin involved in an inclination towards a member of the same sex, as such inclination is not freely chosen.
Despite the Catholic Church's claims,
SAUNDERS
and
STANFORD
argued that the words of some Catholic cardinals about homosexuality in the past fuelled intolerance towards homosexuality.
However,
POPE FRANCIS
has said,
'If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge?'
CHANGING CHRISTIAN MORAL THOUGH ON HOMOSEXUALITY:
Some Christians Churches and thinkers have challenged traditional condemnation of homosexuality. They maintain the view that the
quality of the relationship
(whether it is either homosexual or heterosexual) is what
determines the moral value
of the relationship. They dispose of the biblical basis for Christian opposition towards homosexuality and reject the natural law approach (
AQUINAS
, 13th Century) as unsound.
They also draw on the teaching of
GENESIS
in that we all are made
'in the image of God.'
- If God created men and women as homosexuals, they argue, then that nature and inclination must be good. Otherwise, it would suggest that God intentionally created disordered human beings.
MOORE
argues that there is a Christian belief for an indecisive attitude towards homosexuality because Christianity is a religion that positively seeks to make room for the marginalised and outcasts in society, highlighted in Jesus and his inclination towards the poor and suffering.
SECULAR THINKING ON SEXUAL ETHICS:
JOHN STUART MILL
argued that individuals should be protected from unnecessary political power and from the social attitudes of the masses (
tyranny of the majority
) and should be free ti behave as they choose to as long as no-one is harmed by their behaviour - MILL argued that individuals who are different should be protected.
A Liberation view and harm principle.
MILL was concerned with religion forbidding certain behaviours, and this included the homosexual acts.
MILL wasn't opposed to marriage but sought to make marriage fairer. However, he didn't believe that society and the Church had gone far enough to make this possible. He fought for women's right and gender equality. hell yeah
He, therefore, believed that marriage should be an equal partnership a marriage of true mindes and was concerned about the constraints on women and the oppression of women subjugated from the patriarchy.
'Over himself, over his own body and the mind, the individual is sovereign.'
-
J.S. MILL