Religion, Enlightenment and The Sexual Revolution

Question One 

Human beings and animals have a set of biological attributes commonly referred to as sex, which is primarily associated with psychological and physical features such as sexual anatomy, gene expression, hormonal functions, and chromosomes. Generally, sex is categorized into either male or female, and their variations depending on the variations of the four psychological and physical features. Chromosomes, specifically sex chromosomes, determine the sex of individuals. Since most animals and humans have two sex chromosomes, X and Y, female cells consist of two X chromosomes while males have both Y and X chromosomes. Sexual anatomy is external and internal organs whereby males have penis and testicles while females contain uterus and vulva.

Question Two 

Celibacy is an act of abstaining from sexual activities or even marriage, usually because of religious factors. Individuals who participate in celibacy are usually motivated by either religion or personal concerns. Regarding religion, celibates are committed to a higher power that they believe in, while non-religious celibates feel more empowered to abstain or not get married since the acts make them more empowered to focus on personal development rather than sex or relationships. Different religions have different opinions on celibacy. In Islam, Muslims believe that marriage is a service and gift to God; thereby, celibacy is personal spiritual advancement and cannot be controlled by the institution. Judaism had the same beliefs. However, Christians first practised celibacy as an expectation of the apocalypse. Some of their ancient prophets, such as Saint Paul and some followers of Jesus, gave up family and devoted themselves to the higher powers ( Evans, 2018) . Even though some religion such as Christianity advocate for celibacy, it should be an act of personal choice rather than an institutional control.

Question Three 

When a woman does not get pregnant despite having frequent unprotected sex for at least a year, it might be caused by infertility issues in either the man or woman ( Inhorn & Van Balen, 2019) . Infertility issues occurring in both male or female occurs from a combination of various factors. In men, infertility is caused by overexposure to certain environmental factors, including marijuana, cigarette smoking or exposure to certain pesticides, chemicals or radiation. Other causes might include abnormal sperm production due to enlarged veins in the testicles or due to genetic defects, problems with sperm delivery caused by premature ejaculation or damage related to cancer treatment methods such as chemotherapy. On the other hand, infertility in women could be caused by pelvic adhesions, cancer treatment methods, cervical abnormalities, or ovulation disorders, affecting the release of eggs from the ovaries to the fallopian tube.

Question Four 

During the Victorian era, sex was a subject that could be only discussed with a personal doctor and not publicly or privately with anyone. Additionally, after marriage, it was a wife’s duty to permit their husband’s to have sex with them as often as they desired to accommodate for a thriving society since infant mortality was high and therefore, celibacy was discouraged ( Masters & Graycar, 2017) . Therefore, a ‘non-conforming’ wife might drive their husbands to masturbation which was considered a mortal sin and self-mutilating behaviour. Finally, even though prostitution was frowned upon, the act was encouraged in private to assist long-suffering husbands and women who wanted to improve their financial situations. Due to these views on sex, Sigmund Freud opposed these principles influencing his psychoanalytic theory, which stated that individuals had three elements id, ego, and superego, which worked harmoniously to create complex human behaviour.

Question Five 

While passionate love exhibits intense longing for belonging and union with one another, compassionate love is often characterized by affection, commitment and trust. Therefore, since love is emotions characterized by passion and commitment, its prerequisites are communication and honesty. With communication, one is able to express their feelings and concerns, whereas honesty creates a framework of trust.

References 

Evans, J. (2018). Sex and The Church in The Long Eighteenth Century. Religion, Enlightenment and The Sexual Revolution.  The Journal of Ecclesiastical History ,  69 (4), 896-897. 

Inhorn, M., & Van Balen, Fimek. (2019).  Infertility Around the Globe: New Thinking On Childlessness, Gender, and Reproductive Technologies . University of California Press. 

Masters, A., & Graycar, A. (2017). A New Victorian Era: Getting Crime Out of Commercial Sex. In  Crime Prevention in the 21st Century  (pp. 293-315). Springer, Cham.