Should Religion Have Anything To Do With Sex?

[Sunstone]

What, if anything, should religion have to do with sex?

There are religions that seem to have little or nothing to do with sex. Taoism, for instance. And then there are religions that seem wrapped up in sexual issues. Christianity, for instance. But what has sex to do with religion? Why is sex important to some religions and not to others? What is the proper relationship between sex and religion? Why would that relationship be the proper one?

 

[Willamena]

Should religion have anything to do with sex? What, if anything, should religion have to do with sex?

Absolutely! Religion is a person's relationship with the divine that exists in all of us. All matters of human concern are tools by which to relate, as they touch on our very being and can be thought of in sacred terms.

There are religions that seem to have little or nothing to do with sex. Taoism, for instance. And then there are religions that seem wrapped up in sexual issues. Christianity, for instance. But what has sex to do with religion? Why is sex important to some religions and not to others? What is the proper relationship between sex and religion? Why would that relationship be the proper one?

Any other aspect of human existence can be elevated to the primary tool to relate --that's okay, too.

In religions that honoured the sacred feminine, sex was the method of relating, because the godhead was a Mother image. Mother is the being through whom we are brought into being, in both a literal (mom) and metaphorical (goddess) sense.

I think one problem with Christianity is that the metaphorical Father image does not have a corresponding literal reality --that is, the idea of the care-giver, the spirit in Heaven who looks after our spirits here on earth does not have a correspondence in "dad who looks after his family" because the spirit exists transdimensionally (within and without us) and dad does not. Hence part of the reason why god is literally mistaken for a person, and Heaven for a place.

But I'm rambling now. There is no "proper" relationship between sex and religion except that which is sacred, and that may take any form it needs to (we need it to).

 

[retrorich]

Oh, God.
Oh, God!
OH, GOD!!!
OOOOOOOOOOOOOH, GOD!!!!!
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you, God!

 

[Inky]

I'd say that if a religion has specific spiritual principles which could apply to sex, then it doesn't get a special exception, but I am wary of religious principles which were made specifically to regulate sexual behavior and don't seem to have any greater meaning besides that.

 

[BFD_Zayl]

lets just say, yes mine IS influenced....some might call it kinky:cover:

 

[Ingledsva]

*

NOPE! But they won't listen. It is far too much of a power high to stop people from doing what comes naturally!


*

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

What an old thread!

 

[Harmonious]

I think the question "What is the proper relationship between sex and religion?" asks for a subjective answer. People who believe that God is the arbiter of all human activities, and sex is no exception, the idea that God should make the rules will feel that is the proper relationship.

People who don't feel God is that pervasive in life, or in God at all, will probably answer that God has no business dictating anything about sex.

I have very specific ideas, but I'm not sure that people who don't share my opinion about religion (or, at the very least, share my opinion about God's intimate nature with the world Created, particularly the humans) would agree with my concept of what is proper and why.

 

[George-ananda]

What, if anything, should religion have to do with sex?

A lot....Religion should guide us in all areas of our lives. Sexuality, particularly without boundaries, can be damaging to spiritual progress. Spiritual teachers understand this relationship and give us advice.

 

[Gnostic Seeker]

What, if anything, should religion have to do with sex?

There are religions that seem to have little or nothing to do with sex. Taoism, for instance. And then there are religions that seem wrapped up in sexual issues. Christianity, for instance. But what has sex to do with religion? Why is sex important to some religions and not to others? What is the proper relationship between sex and religion? Why would that relationship be the proper one?

Some religions maintain that their god created sex for a specific purpose, namely to produce children, but that doesn't explain why deviations exist althroughout nature.

I'm glad that in my religion this isn't an issue. Even if some of the gods did think homosexuality was icky, they wouldn't see their devotees' sex lives as their business.

Some of the Hellenic deities like Apollo and Zephyrus are said to have a gay side.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

Some religions maintain that their god created sex for a specific purpose, namely to produce children, but that doesn't explain why deviations exist althroughout nature.

I'm glad that in my religion this isn't an issue. Even if some of the gods did think homosexuality was icky, they wouldn't see their devotees' sex lives as their business.

Some of the Hellenic deities like Apollo and Zephyrus are said to have a gay side.

Zeus is in a gay relationship with Ganymede. No, the Hellenes were not homophobes.

 

[Gnostic Seeker]

Zeus is in a gay relationship with Ganymede. No, the Hellenes were not homophobes.

Indeed, though to be accurate to their culture, its interesting to contemplate how they would have seen female homosexuality.

 

[icehorse]

Absolutely! Religion is a person's relationship with the divine that exists in all of us. All matters of human concern are tools by which to relate, as they touch on our very being and can be thought of in sacred terms.

I think you're confusing religion with spirituality. Religion comes with middlemen called "clergy".

 

[icehorse]

Back to the OP...

Well religion is about controlling people. It's easier to control people if you give one group an "other" to be intolerant of. It's easier to control people if you give them prescriptions for life. These seem like a couple of reasons why we see sex showing up in various religions.

 

[pro4life]

What, if anything, should religion have to do with sex?

There are religions that seem to have little or nothing to do with sex. Taoism, for instance. And then there are religions that seem wrapped up in sexual issues. Christianity, for instance. But what has sex to do with religion? Why is sex important to some religions and not to others? What is the proper relationship between sex and religion? Why would that relationship be the proper one?

Think of it like this. How would society be without any sexual norms and standards. In anything, standards should be set on stone. Chaos will incur without any standards.
How do you know your grapes are 1 pound that you bought from the grocery store? What is 1 pound?

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

Indeed, though to be accurate to their culture, its interesting to contemplate how they would have seen female homosexuality.

I can't seem to find much about it, but Sappho was a celebrated Greek poet and she famously wrote of her passion for women and men. So female homosexuality wasn't something talked about much but it certainly did exist and didn't seem to be scandalous.

 

[Riverwolf]

Depends on the religion.

Any polytheistic sect that places emphasis on a Sex God or Goddess will invariably have sex all over its Lore and Rituals. A sect that deals more with Gods like Athena or Artemis will probably place little, if any, emphasis on sex.

And, of course, ascetic religions that teach renunciation will avoid sex except in certain situations, if at all.

 

[Buttercup]

Oh, God.
Oh, God!
OH, GOD!!!
OOOOOOOOOOOOOH, GOD!!!!!
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you, God!

Hope you're still resting in peace, retrorich!

 

[Willamena]

What, if anything, should religion have to do with sex?

So you're trying to say that religion should have something to do with sex?

(Trying an experiment here.)

 

[Riverwolf]

I think you're confusing religion with spirituality. Religion comes with middlemen called "clergy".

Religion does not need clergy at all. Many religions have clergy, but it's hardly necessary.

Back to the OP...

Well religion is about controlling people. It's easier to control people if you give one group an "other" to be intolerant of. It's easier to control people if you give them prescriptions for life. These seem like a couple of reasons why we see sex showing up in various religions.

No, religion is not about controlling people. Some organized religions engage in such control, but I don't know of any decentralized religion that does this.