
Comparison of teachings by various faith
groups on aspects of human sexuality
Two additional faith groups: one liberal and
one Neopagan. Openness of
sexual discussions
within evangelical faith groups

Sponsored link.

This discussion is a continuation of a previous essay

Two additional faith groups and religions:Unfortunately, the full range of religions in North America was not represented. The Chronicle selected three very conservative
and one mainline Christian denomination. Liberal/progressive Christian groups were ignored.
In order to give a wider range of
faith groups, we have added two columns for:
Ratings for these two religions were estimated by three members of the OCRT who belong to
these faith groups. (The OCRT is the multi-faith agency that sponsors this web
site.)
Factor |
Unitarian Universalist |
Wicca |
Teen Sex |
3 |
3 |
Premarital Sex |
4 |
4 |
Extramarital Sex |
2 |
2 |
Divorce |
4 |
4 |
Masturbation |
5 |
5 |
Abortion |
4 |
4 |
Birth Control |
5 |
5 |
Married Clergy |
5 |
5 |
Female Clergy |
5 |
5 |
Homosexual Orientation |
5 |
5 |
Homosexual Sex Acts |
4 |
3 |
Homosexual Marriage * |
5 |
5 |
Homosexual Ordination |
5 |
5** |
* This term is no longer used extensively. It has been replaced by "same-sex marriage" or the acronym "SSM." This is a more inclusive term because it includes persons with a bisexual orientation.
Some consider "SSM" to be inadequate because it implies that same-sex marriages are different from opposite-sex marriages. They prefer the term "marriage of same-sex couples" or simply "marriage." ** Wiccans use the term "initiation" rather than "ordination." 
Sponsored link:

Summary of beliefs:
 |
With the exception of masturbation, each of the factors received a 1 rating
("condemned") by at least one faith group.
|
 |
With two exceptions
(teen and extra-marital sex) each of the factors received at least a 4 rating ("morally acceptable in most cases")
by at least one faith group.
|
 |
The only factor over which most faith groups agreed
was their near universal condemnation of extra-marital sex.
|
 |
There are enormous variations even within the four Christian denominations. Yet all are based on intelligent, sincere, devoted, diligent, and careful theologians analyzing the same book: the Bible. Obviously, the Bible is ambiguous. Theologians bring their cultural beliefs and world view to the Bible and interpret its contents differently. With few exceptions, Christian theologians agree on what the Bible says; they are unable to agree on what the Bible means.
|
 |
With such massive differences of opinion, conflicts between faith
groups over sexual matters will probably be not harmonized long into the
future. |

Openness to discussion within evangelical denominations:The Beliefnet website contained a interesting essay by Lauren F.
Winner about the openness with which evangelical Christian churches
discuss sexual matters. 1 It was followed by a series of readers' postings.
The specific topic was premarital sexual activity between two single,
heterosexual individuals, apparently within a committed relationship. This is extremely common today; surveys show that about 95% of spouses are non-virgins when they marry. The
author was referred to by her girlfriend Sarah as an "evangelical
whore," because she had not remained celibate until marriage like
Sarah did. Ms. Winner's boyfriend is not recorded as having been
criticized. Winner wrote:
"...the church tells all of us to be
celibate outside of marriage, and then turns a blind eye to those
thousands of unmarried evangelicals who ignore this injunction. We
Christians spill plenty of ink moralizing about sex, but we seem unwilling
to talk about it in any honest or theologically engaged way."
She
discusses the book "Singles at the crossroads" by Al Hsu,
which describes the consensus of conservative Christian faith groups that:
"Sexual expression is not essential for life. While we acknowledge
that sex is a good gift designed by God, we must also affirm that it is
intended for only appropriate circumstances."
"Appropriate circumstances" would seem to refer to sexual acts between an opposite-gendered, married couple. 2 Hsu recommended that
couples attempt "to pursue holiness and purity," using
whatever method "works for us." "Purity" is a
term used primarily within the conservative Protestant community to refer to sexually inexperienced persons. An individual is considered to become impure if she/he engages in sex
before marriage. Over the past decade, the term "secondary virginity" has come into common use. It means that a person had lost their virgin status, but has made a decision to not engage in sexual acts in the future, until marriage. Ms. Winner concludes:
"...what I am or am not doing in
bed affects my relationship with God as much as what I do in church does,
and it's the job of my sister in Christ to hold me accountable. The
problems isn't that Sarah made my sex life her business. It's that her
evangelical vocabulary left her with nothing to say but 'whore.'
"
Comments posted by visitors to the Beliefnet essay were all supportive of Ms. Winner. 
References:
-
"Morality & Ethics: Sex and the single evangelical: the church
lady vs. the 'evangelical whore,' " Beliefnet website, at: http://www.beliefnet.com
-
Albert Y Hsu, "Singles at the crossroads: A fresh perspective on
Christian singleness," Intervarsity Press, (1997). Read
reviews or order this book safely from Amazon.com online book store
Copyright © 1997 to 2014 by
Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Latest update: 2014-JUL-07
Author: B.A. Robinson with data from Jef Poskanzer

Sponsored link

|