Author: Dag Ølstein Endsjø
Publisher: Reaktion Books
ISBN: 1861899882
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 336

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Book Description
Sex and religion are inevitably and intricately linked. There are few realms of human experience other than sex in which religion has greater reach and influence. The role of religion, of any faith, to prohibit, regulate, condemn, and reward, is unavoidably prominent in questions of sex—namely with whom, when, how, and why. In Sex and Religion, Dag Øistein Endsjø examines the myriad and complex religious attitudes towards sex in cultures throughout the world. Endsjø reflects on some of the most significantly problematic areas in the relationship between sex and religion—from sex before or outside of marriage to homosexuality. Through many examples from world religions, he outlines what people mean by sex in a religious context, with whom it’s permissible to have sex, how sex can be a directly religious experience, and what consequences there are for deviance, for both the individual and society. As Endsjø explains, while Buddhist monks call attention to gay sex as a holy mystery, the Christian church questions a homosexual’s place in the church. Some religions may believe that promiscuity leads to hurricanes and nuclear war, and in others God condemns interracial marriage. Sex and Religion reveals there is nothing natural or self-evident about the ways in which various religions prescribe or proscribe and bless or condemn different types of sexuality. Whether sex becomes sacred or abhorrent depends entirely on how a religion defines it. Sex and Religion is a fascinating investigation of mores, meanings, rituals, and rules in many faiths around the globe, and will be of interest to anyone curious about the intersection of these fundamental aspects of human history and experience.

Author: Christel Manning
Publisher: Cengage Learning
ISBN: 9780534524937
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
"Offers a collection of diverse and authoritative viewpoints on the ... relationship between spirituality and sexuality in the world's major religions ... Each chapter explores the teachings and practices of a particular religion regarding sex and sexuality, explains controversial issues, and describes the diverse responses to those issues that exist within that traditions. This collection is perfect for courses in religion and sexuality, religion and gender, world religions, or the social aspects of religion"--Page 4 of cover.

Author: Larry Falls
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN: 1440151636
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 294

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Book Description
Evidence of the connection between sex and religion can be found in fertility cults in all nations of the past. When Sex Was Religion takes a comprehensive look at how sexual practices were originally considered a religion before the introduction of Christianity. Dr. Larry Falls, a registered clinical sexologist specializing in sexual abuse trauma and emotional health, spent five years traveling throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe learning about different religions, cultural history, and sexual behavior while working on his doctoral thesis. In his fascinating exploration into the beginning of human reason and the birth of religious thought includes the importance of reproduction, virgins and temple prostitutes, the original meaning of the cross, Devil worship, witches' Sabbath, and the curse of the evil eye. Dr. Falls also proves that the Kama Sutra, an ancient Hindu religious narrative about pleasure, love, and sexuality was really a Bible designed for the purpose of teaching others to gain favor from the gods by engaging in sexual intercourse. Dr. Falls' examination into sex worship demonstrates that phallic reverence was not only a religion, but also a cause for dominance and sexual exploitation that, to this day, remains part of our social structure.

Author: Calum Carmichael
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300153783
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 518

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Book Description
If we look to the Bible for historical accounts of ancient life, we make a profound error. So contends Calum Carmichael in this original and incisive reading of some of the Hebrew Bible and New Testament’s most famous narratives. Sifting through the imaginative layers of these texts with an uncanny sensitivity and a panoptic critical eye, he unearths patterns connecting disparate passages, providing fascinating insights into how ideas were expressed, received, and transformed in the ancient Near East. Ranging from Jacob’s encounter with Leah to the marriage at Cana to Jesus’ encounter with the woman at the well, these readings demonstrate the remarkable subtlety and sophistication of the biblical views on marriage, sexuality, fertility, impurity, creation, and love.

Author: Randy Elrod
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780615346052
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 162

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Book Description
A seductive God desires to know us intimately. As Lover He calls for all of our spiritual and physical senses to come alive during this journey called life. Your freedom to be spiritually sexual is far less limited than your religious baggage would have you think. Sex, Lies, and Religion will help the reader: Enjoy Guilt-Free Sexual Pleasure Unlearn Sexual Lies Know The Difference Between Art and Pornography Bring ALL Of Who You Are To The Sexual Experience Let Sacred Consummation Deepen Your Passion And Intimacy Embrace Sexual Redemption Understand The Beauty and Sexual Symbolism of Holy Communion"

Author: Gillian A. Frank
Publisher: UNC Press Books
ISBN: 1469636271
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 316

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Book Description
At a moment when "freedom of religion" rhetoric fuels public debate, it is easy to assume that sex and religion have faced each other in pitched battle throughout modern U.S. history. Yet, by tracking the nation's changing religious and sexual landscapes over the twentieth century, this book challenges that zero-sum account of sexuality locked in a struggle with religion. It shows that religion played a central role in the history of sexuality in the United States, shaping sexual politics, communities, and identities. At the same time, sexuality has left lipstick traces on American religious history. From polyamory to pornography, from birth control to the AIDS epidemic, this book follows religious faiths and practices across a range of sacred spaces: rabbinical seminaries, African American missions, Catholic schools, pagan communes, the YWCA, and much more. What emerges is the shared story of religion and sexuality and how both became wedded to American culture and politics. The volume, framed by a provocative introduction by Gillian Frank, Bethany Moreton, and Heather R. White and a compelling afterword by John D'Emilio, features essays by Rebecca T. Alpert and Jacob J. Staub, Rebecca L. Davis, Lynne Gerber, Andrea R. Jain, Kathi Kern, Rachel Kranson, James P. McCartin, Samira K. Mehta, Daniel Rivers, Whitney Strub, Aiko Takeuchi-Demirci, Judith Weisenfeld, and Neil J. Young.

Author: Lou Andreas-Salome
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351491261
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 118

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Book Description
As a psychoanalyst and author, Lou Andreas-Salome traverses the mystery of sexuality in much of her work. This book, comprised of two texts originally written for adolescents, uniquely explores sexual education and the collision of sexuality and religion across the lifespan.The first piece, "Three Letters to a Young Boy" (1917), is a psychoanalytic fairy tale. The letters offer an interesting version of the evolution of sexual knowledge from childhood through adolescence. The second piece, "The Devil & His Grandmother" (1922), merges sexuality with religion, encapsulating three ages of woman child, to a lost soul and the Devil's bride, to the Devil's Grandmother. Written in charmingly convoluted dialogue, this work has a cinematic, fanciful feel. Both pieces dispense with academic formality and point to a relaxed new phase in Salome's writing life. Interestingly, this tone can also be detected in her blossoming correspondence with Sigmund Freud, which contrasts starkly with her sombre letters to Rainer Maria Rilke.It is with the spirit of free thinking demonstrated in these two selections, perhaps informed by Salome's experimentation with free association, that the reader is transported to a new theatre of Salome's imagination.

Author: Darrel Ray Ed D.
Publisher: Ipc Press
ISBN: 9780970950543
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Why are all the major religions consumed with sex? What makes sex so important, whether Buddhism or Islam, Christianity or Mormonism? What is the impact of religion on human sexuality? This book explores this and more. It ventures into territory that has never been examined. You will be surprised at how much religion has influenced your sexuality, who you marry, the pleasure you get or don't get from sex, and what you can do about it.

Author: Nina Hoel
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351749560
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 186

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Book Description
How does religion relate to bodies and sexualities? Many people would answer, simply, "through repression," but the relationship is much more complicated than that. While many religions draw boundaries between what they consider to be appropriate and inappropriate use of the human body, especially in the realm of sexuality, the same religions often celebrate human sexuality and even expect sexual partners to provide each other with sexual pleasure. Celibacy, too, is more than just repression, and sometimes it is even seen as providing the practitioner with great spiritual power; in other settings, the sex act itself is understood to provide this power. Religion, the Body, and Sexuality offers students and general readers a sophisticated and accessible exploration of the connections between religion, sexuality, and the body, through case studies and overviews in the following thematic chapters: Celibacy Regulation Controversy Violence Innovation Instrumentalization Ecstasy Each chapter includes suggestions for further reading, questions for further thought, and a list of relevant media resources. This engaging book is an excellent addition to introductory courses on religion or sexuality and is a much-needed new volume for advanced courses on the intersections of these areas of human experience.

Author: Donna Freitas
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0190221283
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 349

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Book Description
First published in 2008, Donna Freitas's Sex and the Soul achieved national acclaim, illuminating the as-yet-unexplored struggles of college students navigating the lines of faith and sexuality. Conducting face-to-face interviews at a wide range of colleges and universities-from public to private, Catholic to evangelical-Freitas discovers what students really think about these highly personal subjects. Their stories will not only engage readers, but, in many cases, move them with the painful struggles these candid young women and men face. This updated edition includes a new Afterword in which Freitas reflects on the hundreds of conversations she has had with college students since the book was first published, and offers further practical advice for dealing with hookup culture.