The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (2199 page)
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Authors: John Bowker
BOOK: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions
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Sevorah
(Jewish Babylonian scholars):
(Jewish Babylonian scholars):
Sexagesima
.
.
Sex and religion
.
.
Since both sex and reproduction are fundamental in human and other life, it is not surprising that religions give central importance to both (the two are not synonymous, as will be seen). At the most basic level, religions have been in the past, and to a great extent still aspire to be, systems which protect gene replication and the nurture of children. It was not possible in the past to have any knowledge of genetics, but that, from an evolutionary point of view, is irrelevant. Natural selection operates on the heritable differences which occur between individuals whether those individuals are aware of it or not. The evolution of sex has therefore carried with it a vast range of different strategies through which the chances of successful reproduction are maximized (e.g. a mating pair might produce the maximum offspring in the minimum time with no nurture, so that a few individuals survive, e.g. herrings; or they might produce few offspring with long gestation and maximum nurture so that the few individuals survive, e.g. elephants—or humans). There is no suggestion that organisms make conscious decisions about the strategies they adopt; rather, the strategies adopted are winnowed impersonally by the test of whether they produce fit individuals to continue the process.
In the human case, however, consciousness is introduced. Thus although humans are carried by the same process of natural selection, they can also enhance the process by the creation of cultural defences and controls. It is in this sense that gene replication in the human case is protected by
both
the body
and
culture.
It is here that religions have been so important: they are the earliest cultural creations of which we have evidence which supply contexts of security and controls over human behaviours and evaluations of them. Sexual variance may thus be harnessed—or prohibited (e.g.
celibacy
or
homosexuality
may serve the community, or they may be regarded as aberrant): as always, religions produce a bewildering variety of different strategies. The resulting religious control has produced high degrees of stability: it has produced moral codes, designations of who may mate with whom (including prohibited relationships), techniques and rituals for producing offspring (often of a desired gender), education, protection of women, assurance of paternity (by restricting access to women) and thus of heredity and continuity in society. The consequence has been strong male control of women, in which have been combined reverence for women and subordination of them (see further
WOMEN
).
At the same time, religions have made much, in different ways, of the distinction between sex and reproduction. Even before the relation between sexual acts and reproduction was better understood, the potential of sex for pleasure and power was well-recognized. This, in itself, reinforced the male control of women, since promiscuous or unlicensed sexual activity would clearly subvert that ordering of families in particular and of society in general which was rewarded in natural selection. Within that context of restriction, the nature of sexuality and sexual feelings have evoked widely differing responses in religions, ranging from a fear of being enslaved to the passions (leading to a dualistic subordination of sexuality, as in
Manichaeism
) to a delight in sexuality as a proper end in life, as among Hindus: see
puru
rtha
,
k
ma
. In any case, the exploration of sexuality has been religiously important. In Eastern religions, in particular, the nature of sexual energy was explored in many directions. Since sexual arousal seems to make its own demands, what might be the consequence if that energy is brought under human control? In China this lent itself to the quest for immortality and the gaining of strength (see e.g.
breath
,
ch'i
,
fang-chung shu
,
hsien
,
Taoism
), in India to the acquisition of power (see
Cakra
P
j
,
D
t
P
j
,
k
lacakra
,
K
p
lika
In the human case, however, consciousness is introduced. Thus although humans are carried by the same process of natural selection, they can also enhance the process by the creation of cultural defences and controls. It is in this sense that gene replication in the human case is protected by
both
the body
and
culture.
It is here that religions have been so important: they are the earliest cultural creations of which we have evidence which supply contexts of security and controls over human behaviours and evaluations of them. Sexual variance may thus be harnessed—or prohibited (e.g.
celibacy
or
homosexuality
may serve the community, or they may be regarded as aberrant): as always, religions produce a bewildering variety of different strategies. The resulting religious control has produced high degrees of stability: it has produced moral codes, designations of who may mate with whom (including prohibited relationships), techniques and rituals for producing offspring (often of a desired gender), education, protection of women, assurance of paternity (by restricting access to women) and thus of heredity and continuity in society. The consequence has been strong male control of women, in which have been combined reverence for women and subordination of them (see further
WOMEN
).
At the same time, religions have made much, in different ways, of the distinction between sex and reproduction. Even before the relation between sexual acts and reproduction was better understood, the potential of sex for pleasure and power was well-recognized. This, in itself, reinforced the male control of women, since promiscuous or unlicensed sexual activity would clearly subvert that ordering of families in particular and of society in general which was rewarded in natural selection. Within that context of restriction, the nature of sexuality and sexual feelings have evoked widely differing responses in religions, ranging from a fear of being enslaved to the passions (leading to a dualistic subordination of sexuality, as in
Manichaeism
) to a delight in sexuality as a proper end in life, as among Hindus: see
puru
rtha,
k
ma. In any case, the exploration of sexuality has been religiously important. In Eastern religions, in particular, the nature of sexual energy was explored in many directions. Since sexual arousal seems to make its own demands, what might be the consequence if that energy is brought under human control? In China this lent itself to the quest for immortality and the gaining of strength (see e.g.
breath
,
ch'i
,
fang-chung shu
,
hsien
,
Taoism
), in India to the acquisition of power (see
Cakra
P
j,D
tPj,k
lacakra,
K
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