The Catholic Teaching On Chastity

Catholicism is one of the most recognized religions in the world. The most common misconception about Catholics is that practitioners are obsessed with rules and they judge people if they make mistakes. True Catholics see life from a different perspective, that of love, which has nothing to do with following a series of strict guidelines established by the church.

chastity before marriage was an unbroken rule, and faithfulness to one’s spouse in marriage was as well.

Sexual Purity: A Call to Holiness INTRODUCTION The world in which Christians live today is very similar to the world that Paul taught, lived, and traveled in. Christians are surrounded by and struggle with the issue of sexual purity that believers struggled with in Paul’s day. Sexual immorality is a result of a much larger problem: the refusal of God’s call to be holy. The pagan Gentiles during the New Testament had a skewed picture of moral issues, including sexuality. F. F. Bruce provides a unique look into Greek culture and morality when he quotes Demosthenes who lived during this time period: “We keep mistresses for pleasure, concubines for our day-today bodily needs, but we have wives to produce legitimate children and serve as

The Christian religion implements the use of scripture as the highest command for the way in which sexual ethics is implemented. Christian teaching explores several issues in light of sexuality such as extra-marital and pre-marital sex, homosexuality and pro-creation and I will write about these in this essay.

of the church taught that sexual relations should be avoided if possible and indulged in

She was charming in speech, yet pleasant and proper in manner. She managed the household well. She spun wool – I have spoken. Go on your way (CIL, 1.2.1211, 59, 2-5).”The rape of Lucretia was a prime example of the importance of chastity to men and women back in Roman civilization, as Lucretia killed herself after realizing she had been unfaithful to her husband and knew she would be less respected, which she couldn’t live with. (Gibbs et al., 2014).

According to Our Sexuality by Crooks and Baur there are two forms of celibacy “In complete celibacy a person neither masturbates nor has sexual contact with another person. In partial celibacy an individual masturbates but does not have interpersonal sexual contact” (Crooks/Baur,2014, 226). There are so many reasons as to why some people choose to be celibate. Religion is a big reason. In most religions they teach that masturbating and sex before marriage is a sin. The people who are celibate because of religion do it because they agree with what they are being taught but some are scared into following. Another reason people decide to be celibate is because they are waiting for marriage, whether it’s for religion or morals. They want to wait until the wedding night.

This is important because priestly celibacy is very controversial. Chastity is living holy in the physical or sexual way. This will vary according to lifestyle and does not necessarily mean abstaining from sexual intercourse. The Church calls it’s faithful to lead a chaste life by experiencing sex within a sacramental marriage or by choosing to abstain while in an unmarried state. Deacons and married couples take vows of chastity as well as lay sisters and nuns. Celibacy is the state of abstaining from marriage which entails abstaining from sexual intercourse. This is the state of lifestyle or discipline for religious men and women, as well as those who simply live a single lifestyle. For some Roman Catholic priests, however, there are exceptions. For example, some Lutheran and Episcopal ministers who are married and have converted to Catholicism remain married. Deacons are not required to live this spiritual lifestyle. The religious take vows of celibacy when they are ordained or make their perpetual vows. Any sexual act, including the use of pornography, that violates one's vows or their lifestyle, is considered a sin against chastity or celibacy. Sexual abuse is such a sin. Not only is it a sin in itself, but it also entails other sins against chastity. These sins are lust, fornication, and rape and are in a violation of a priest’s vow of

There are many cultures around the world that do not expect clergy celibacy (Daly, 2009) including Christian denominations who allow ministers/priests to marry. These Churches demonstrate how marriage is compatible with the priestly life. These churches present a great example of how familial responsibilities are compatible with religious commitments. A study of married Evangelical ministers and Roman Catholic priests revealed that there were no significant differences in dimensions of religiosity or commitments to the parish between the celibate and married clergymen (Swenson, 1998). Both are

   Renaissance England has been labeled a culture of shame - a society in which an individual's identity was primarily constructed by the way in which his or her "reputation" or "honor" was perceived by others. A woman's public reputation was always based on her virginity or chastity. Just as women were considered the property of their fathers or husbands, a woman's chastity was an asset owned by and exchanged between the men who possessed her. (Gutierrez, 272) A man's public reputation was therefore determined not only by his own qualities, but also by his wife's reputation for chastity. Conversely, a woman's unchastity was a liability to her husband. Rape and

A Christin viewpoint of ethical sexual expression is essential in human beings. It involves all thinking, feeling, acting and interacting that is the result from our males and females that develop human relationships in ways that are basic to God's own nature (Gen. 1:27). Furthermore, it offers human beings partnership with God in holy creation and re-creation (Gen. 1:28) In their enjoyment of these privileges associated with sexuality, God's people are to be responsible. The church identifies love and promise as two procedures for sexual responsibility.

A book in which could mobilize people in living a chaste life is The Courage to be Chaste, written by Benedict J. Groeschel. This book showcases traditional theme of chastity to acknowledge that mature chastity can be loving, peaceful and fulfilled (GoodReads). The author, Benedict J. Groeschel, a Franciscan Friar of Renewal and a psychologist. In this book, he has shared his insights on the virtue of chastity and how to live it in the modern world. However, the book pivots on celibate chastity that includes addressing sexual problems in general and the benefits of spiritual connection, but it is open to married couples who wants to live in a chaste marriage. It gave sufficient information on psychological and spiritual reflections and diagnosis

Does anyone want to give their perspective on what the church teaches about chastity? (Hopefully I would receive a response).

A nun is required to take a vow of chastity, which states that she must not have any sexual or romantic relations;

The morality about sex had a main aim: An ideal of purity based on a chastity code which emphasized the relevance of premarital continence. In order to keep this chastity code, anything related to sex was silenced in an attitude of deliberated ignorance, an attitude of rejection of sex, especially in women, who usually associated sex with a marital duty.