Sexual Ethics

• 1. Marriage should reflect the nature of God - Unity

  • Just as the Holy Trinity, as each person gets closer to God they should likewise get closer to each other, as they share their love for God 
  • The  wedding ceremony literally says the husband and wife join a union with God 
• 2. Male and female should come together as one flesh 

  • ‘That is why a man leave his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh’ [Genesis 2:24] 
  • This reinforces their idea of both people coming together and being together through God’s blessing 
  • Also reinforced by Jesus in Mark 10:6-9
• 3. Show God’s grace 

  • Develop grace through each other and the world - it is a covenant (bond)
  • The holy significance of marriage is seen within Catholicism having 1/7 of their sacraments as marriage 
  • “Outward sign of an inner blessing” - St Augustine about sacraments
• Catholic Church - Catechism 1603

  ‘In the very nature of man and women as they came from the hand of the Creator’

  ‘These differences should not cause us to forget its common and permanent characteristics’

  • Marriage is ordained by God, thus is required and innate within us
  • The cultural and traditional customs may influence this but should not have overarching influence
• Cohabitation - the state of living together and having a sexual relationship without being married 
• Cohabitation Example - Boris Johnson & Carrie Symonds - were cohabitating win 10 Downing Street before they got married (makes Boris the first PM to be in a cohabitating relationship) 
• Cohabiting couple families are the second largest family type; they have increased from 15.3% to 17.9% equating to 3.4 million 
• Christian views on premarital sex. - Scripture 

  Traditional Christian view is against premarital sex 

  • Sex is a gift from God and should be done in marriage 
  • Many Christians will wait until they are married to have sex 
• Christian views on premarital sex. - Scripture 

  “But because of the temptation to sexual immortality, each man should have his own wife and each women her own husband.’ [1 Corinthians 7:2] 
• Christian views on premarital sex. - Scripture 

  ‘But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion’ [1 Corinthians 7:9]

      — Marriage is essential to prevent sexual promiscuity and guarantee loyalty 
• Christian views on premarital sex. - Scripture  

      

  ‘Or do you know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral not idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men.’ [1 Corinthians 6:9]
• Christians are against this cohabitation 

  Catholic Church 

  • Within the Catechism of the RCC they refute the notion of a ‘right to a trial marriage’ as this practice of marriage is inacceptable ad ‘carnal union’ (sex) is only permitted when one is married 
  • This is so serious as if you consciously cohabitate and have premarital sex the Roman Catholic Church will excommunicate you 
• Christians are against this cohabitation 

  Church of England 

  • Within the General Synod (1995) the CoE state that premarital sex is not the preferred option as people need to ‘hold fast to the centrality of marriage’ 
  • But it also ‘accepts that cohabitation’ is a leeway to marriage 
  • Church of England 
• Example of Christians allowing cohabitation 

  Prince William & Kate Middleton were cohabitating before they got married and had children 

  John Setamu (Bishop of York) said in response to their marriage  that ‘many modern couples want to test the milk before using the cow’
• Liberal Christian Teaching

  Adrian Thatcher 

  • Christians shouldn’t over-emphasise the ceremony 
  • Long tradition of betrothal located the people commitment as betrothal, when promises are made 
  • ‘Marriage after Modernity: Christian Marriage in Post-Modern Times’
  • Rachel & Jacob were betrothed (Genesis 29)
• Impact of Secularisation 

  It does not put marriage at the centre of life

  • Rise in STI means that it can cause a greater issue

  Likely to create single-parent families; seen through its rise

  • These children are marginalised in society as they come from ‘broken families’

  Can lead to a rise in abortion

  • People may be more inclines to have abortions now that it is easily accessible 
• Natural Law & Premarital Sex: 

  • Basic position is that the natural purpose of sex is reproduction 
  • Non-traditional sexal activity is morally wrong since it conflicts with the aim
  • Sex without that purpose of reproduction is referred to as ‘sins against nature’ 
  • The primary vice related to human sexuality shown in premarital sex is lust 
• E.g. Aquinas view on unnatural vices and sins against right reason 

  Masterbation > Rape

  • The unnatural vices are all more grave than the sins against reason bevause they involve a violation of the natural order.

  This ‘reasoning’ is based on the inevitable consequence of placing the ‘natural order’ before the importance of the human good.

  Aquinas labels sex between two consenting unmarried people (premarital sex) as a ‘simple fornication’, as such this is seen as ‘sins agianst right reason’
• LOA1 - Tiers of Law

  Telos -  ‘Sanctity of marriage is the only place for sex to take place, this is necessary for God like perfection, premarital sec hinder human flourishing.

  Eternal Law - Morality set at the foundation of the earth one way to know this is through divine law - aim to receive God like perfection - human flourishing 

  Divine Law - premarital sex goes against the teaching in the Bible - fulfil our purpose through telos - always one from the Old Testament (‘Two will become one flesh’) & New Testament (Corinthians - stop people from being immoral) 
• Primary Precepts

  Reproduction - Aquinas’ understands of this is that it should not take place in marriage as this is the right place for children to be born - sins against the right reason, e.g. no masterbation 

  Order of society - life with only be formed with the safety of a family setting, through marriage ensuring life is preserved

  Pre-marital sex is an apparent good as it might feel good, but this is not a real good, because the primary purpose of sex are frustrated - it is nothing more than felicitas 
• LOA1 - Six Propositions 

  Love is the only thing that is intrinscially good - So premarital sex is not in and of itself morally wrong 

  Love is the goal or end of the act and that justifies any means to achieve that goal - Cohabitating couples that are in a committed relationship and want to be able to show their commitment of love through sex

  Love decides on each situation as it arises without a set of laws to guide it - Each situation deserves to be thought of individually 
• LOA2 - Four Working Principles 

  Pragmatism: It is based on experiences rather than theory - setting aside fixed moral truths in order to put the person and their relationship at the heart of each decision 

  Personalism: Persons, not laws or anything else, are at the centre of situation ethics; the people involved need to be at the centre of the decisions

  Relativism: Looking at each situation dependent to the scenario; takes away the legalistic approach to ethical situation
• Kant & Premarital sex

  Premarital sex increases individual freedom which is important to Kant - but freedom should be used to do morally right acts 

  Premarital sex involves sexual relationships taht are outside normative social rules. Social rules exist to protect the vulnerable, sex not governed by those rules is more risky for some; it opens up the possibility that the person will less power in the relationship will be abused. 
• Kant & Premarital sex

  Kant believed that in having sex, we were allowing someone to use us to fulfil theor desires (as a means to an end). Through marriage people giving themselves to the other person in law, so there is a common will.
• Kant & Premarital sex

  The only time for Kant that someone is not being used in sex is when it happens in marriage:

  “If I yield myself completely to another. And obtain the person of the other in return, I win myself back… In this way the two persons become a unity of will.”
• Kant & Premarital sex

  Kant believes that sex outside of marriage led to women being abused and treated as things as opposed to partners if they were married first. 

  Any sexual activity out of marriage is considered wrong: 

  “Because sexual desire is not an inclination that a person has for another as a human, but an inclination for another’s sex, this inclination is a principle of degradation of humanity.”
• Kant & Premarital sex - LOA1

  Duty - freedom should be used to do morally right acts

  • Sex can have no place outside of marriage 
  • Kant argues there is something unique about the marriage relationship since it involves a commitment to once’s spouse as a whole person, not just as a sexual thing 
  • “If a person devotes to another, he is dedicated to her not only sexually, but to her whole person, and these cannot be separated”
  • Any use of sexual inclinations except within marriages, he argues, is an abuse of humanity 
• Kant & Premarital sex - LOA2 

  Categorical Imperative

  The formula of the end within itself - human beings should not be used, they should  always be treated with dignity 

  The formula of the universal law of nature - premarital sex if universalised would not allow for ordered society to Kant, so he would not support it 

  The formula of the kingdom of ends - the commitment of marriage will be respected 
• Libertarian approach: consenting adults to do whatever they life and considers that they should be free to do so. If both parties consent then pre-marital sex should not be considered wrong.
• Jeremy Bentham wrote in favour on non-traditional views: 

  “Permanent connections are suitable to some situations in life: transient, to others” [Theory of Legislation] 
• Be careful not to go to far: Bentham also says: 

  “whatever point of view we regard the institution of marriage, we cannot fail to be struck by the utility of that excellent arrangement; the bond that hold society together; the very groundwork of our civilisation”
• LOA1: Act Utilitarianism 

  • Premarital sec is acceptable beacuse it can maximise pleasure for the majority as they have a freedom to make their own decisions 
  • If happiness is equated with hedonistic pleasure, rather than a wider sense of well-being and happiness, then utilitarianism could be used to legitimise a free, unregulated approach to sexual behaviour 

  Purity — Will it be pure pleasure? 

  Certainty — Will it definitely bring pleasure?

  Duration — How long is the pleasure likely to last?
• LOA2: Rule Utilitarianism

  • Mill everyone has the right to decide when they want to have sex because relationships are guided by the need for freedom (ultimate higher pleasure)
  • He tried to make contraception available to the poor at the time when the Christian Church opposed artificial contraception 

  On liberty: 

  • Mill said people should make their own choices - liberty principle - personal autonomy: ‘over the mind and body the individual is sovereign’ 
  • Restrictions religion placed (via laws) & impact this had on society; this is true as long as it does not affect the harm principle 
• Extra-marital sex: A married person has sex with someone else/ a single person has sex with someone who is married

  • E.g. Open relationship/ Affair
• Influence of Secularisation 

  • Secularisation allows for humans autonomy, as long as you bear in mind the harm principle 
  • Ashley Madison - it was a dating app set up for affairs; ‘Life is Short. have an Affair.’
• Christian views on Extra-Marital sex - Scripture

  ‘If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife - with the wife of his neighbour - both the adulterer and the adulteress are to be put to death.’ [Leviticus 20:10] 
• Christian views on Extra-Marital sex - Scripture

  ‘But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultry, and anyone who marries a divorced women commits adultry’ [Matthew 5:31] 

  • Only in cases for ‘sexual immorality’ and adultery is a person allowed to get divorced, yet the person cheater and cheated should not get married
• Christian views on Extra-Marital sex - Scripture

  ‘God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and join his wife, and the two shall become one flesh… Therefore what God has joined together, let on one seperate.’ [Mark 10:2-12]
• Christian views on Extra-Marital sex - Scripture

  ‘Or do you know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral not idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men.’ [1 Corinthians 6:9]
• Woman caught in adultery

  ‘Then  neither do I condemn you,’ Jesus declared. ‘God now and leave your life of sin’ (John 6:1-11)