All Religions Have Condemned Sex
By
Sumit Paul, New Age Islam
5 December
2022
"
Religion is a veritable spoilsport when it comes to sex."
-Gina
Lollobrigida, Hollywood actress of yore
------
I fully
agree with Mr Ghulam Mohiyuddin that sex outside marriage is none of
government's business (refer to, 'Indonesia Set To Penalise Sex
Outside Marriage').
Let me also
add religion to make it all the more complete and comprehensive: Sex outside
marriage is none of government and religion's business. All religions and their
custodians have always cast opprobrium on the most pleasurable and ecstatic
human experience.
Recently,
Pope Francis advised nuns and priests to refrain from watching pornography. Why
this draconian restriction? Aren't they also humans? Why is religion so
anti-pleasure?
Havelock
Ellis, the high-priest of sex, and his coeval Sigmund Freud, the father of
psychoanalysis, wrote a combined paper on the religion's debilitating role in
condemning sex. Both considered this attitude as something sadistic and argued
that human sexuality was seen as an act of defiance to the early gods.
The Pagan
and Polytheists believed that sex was the prerogative of Pagan deities who
could INDULGE in it as their divine right. They (Pagan deities) bestowed sex
upon humans only for procreation and not for recreation.
This early
erroneous belief percolated down to the evolving dynamics of somewhat 'modern'
thinking and got strengthened as sexual abstinence.
Psychologically
as well as sociologically, humans are the products of their prehistoric
thinking. Our sexual evolution was stunted by religious behaviour. Alternative
ways were created and concocted as poor substitutes for sex. Focusing on god,
prayers, scriptures, moral code and meditation came into being to thwart sex.
Marriage was made sacrosanct and a means to controlling sex.
Thus, the
taboo of pre-marital sex and sex outside marriage became humankind's so-called
guiding force to discipline 'erratic' humans. Today, very many countries have
done away with the foolish term pre-marital sex. Doesn't it suggest that those
who never marry should also refrain from having sex? Are they celibates or
impotent? Utter nonsense!
Yours truly
decided never to marry but he didn't turn a celibate. Where does the idea of
pre-marital sex, as a sin, figure in this scheme of things? I'm not a reprobate
or libertine either.
With
pre-marital restriction came celibacy as a means to achieving enlightenment.
Semen was called the White Ambrosia and its conservation was scripturally
advocated. Two most deranged Hindus, Vivekananda, Aurobindo and the whole
religious order of Catholic Christianity eulogised celibacy and advised people
to conserve semen or use it sparingly, only for procreation.
This is
rank idiocy and arrant ignorance. Educated people have begun to realize this
blunder. In fact, the latest exhortation in the west is: Save water, not semen
(refer to Playboy, North American Edition, December 2021).
Eastern
religions like Buddhism and Jainism also declared sex to be a sin for their
monks. It's, therefore, time to consider sex as a normal behaviour and no
religion and government should try to stop or regulate it. We must also strive
to scrub off the eternal taboo factor that has sullied the sanctity of sex and
relegated it to the level of being the most reprehensible sin mankind is
saddled with for ages.
-----
A regular columnist for New Age Islam,
Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to
Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in
several languages including Persian.
URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/religions-condemn-sex/d/128564
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