Religious Dogma Removes Much of the Pleasure of Sex

Russian newspapers maintain it is religion that has aggravated one of man's greatest passions, which is sex. The result has been created unnecessary problems for many in the Western world.

A Russian reporter maintains that the church turned against sex in the 13th century, which initiated many of the present problems regarding sex. Prior to that humans inherited much of what could be called the rule of free love. After the 13th century, however, in one century only this was replaced by a Puritan view of sex that revealed a struggle against sex and love between a man and woman because popes and priests saw sex as an obstacle on their way to power. These prohibitions continue in modern-day Western civilization, where people continue to confess the sin of sex and where procreation as opposed to pleasure is the emphasis for many. In fact pleasurable activities with sex were at one time banned during church holidays, fasting days and on Sundays. Many of the taboos continue. This is in spite of the fact that scientific research shows that sex has considerable health benefits for both men and women. Religion, according to some theorists, has been the rock in the road towards realizing fully those benefits. Church prohibitions still prescribe specifics about sex and concerns about when and where it should be practiced. Taboos are present in non-Christian countries as well, some of which came about after the 13th century's boot gave impetus to additional restrictions. That was particularly true in the islands in the Pacific, such as Hawaii, where free and open relationships sexually were enjoyed. Some of the strict prohibitions were written into state laws in United States. These are caused significant hardships for some people, according to the Southern Center for Human Rights that has filed suit on behalf of Wendy Whitaker who had consensual oral sex with her boyfriend when she was 17 and he was three weeks shy of his 16th birthday. Whitaker was convicted of sodomy in 1997 in the State of Georgia. As a result, she was obliged to register as a sex offender for life, which restricts her job opportunities and housing because she can't live within 1000 feet of schools or churches. The suit came about when Whitaker was going to be evicted from her home because she had violated the law with respect to sex practices. News about this came in late 2008, reflecting the issues that continue in United States regarding sex. Russian newspaper reports declare that people should recognize the negative effect of religion on sexual activity and take that into consideration when they decide their personal relationships especially those that involve copulation.