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 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism