Outline the ways in which religious beliefs can be used to clarify dilemmas in sexual ethics. Many issues arise with sexual ethics when religious beliefs- particularly roman catholic- are considered. The largest and most noticeable dilemma is perhaps the contrast of modern, social beliefs and the teachings of religion, one disagreement present is the acceptance of homosexuality. Current law is being questioned over the legality of homosexual marriage whilst the Catholic bible and church strongly state otherwise. However, dilemmas in sexual ethics are not only approached through religion, for instance, in ancient Greece both Pythagoras and Stoics believed that the soul was imprisoned in the body and can only be released through the disregarding of the base pleasure, sex.
However it is the foundation of debates regarding the moral status of a large number of sexual acts – the latent stigma still attached to homosexuality is a prime example of the influence of the theological standpoint on sexual desires. Despite retaining some influence on the way we think about certain sexual practices the traditional theist conception of sexual desires is often widely ignored in modern times. A primary objection to the viewpoint is that it is an almost empirically observable fact that sexual desires do not necessarily aim at procreation. The massive use of contraceptives throughout the modern world is evidence
Introduction The United States Military adopted the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," policy in 1993, this policy states personnel may be discharged for homosexual conduct but not simply for being gay. Therefore, military commanders do not ask military personnel about their sexual orientations or begin an investigation except upon the receipt of "credible information" of homosexual conduct. If a person acknowledges his or her homosexuality publicly, military commanders presume that he or she intends to engage in homosexual conduct. The policy was a compromise between President Bill Clinton, who sought to repeal the military's ban on gay personnel, and the opponents of that repeal in Congress and among the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Professor Charles Moskos of Northwestern University developed the policy's framework, and Senator Sam Nunn of Georgia brokered the compromise (Frank).
People also have the ability to think morally for themselves so morality is relative to someone’s point of view. The main point favoring the cultural relativism argument is that if there are no moral principles, then the principles can only be relative to culture. If someone were to express their opinion about the morals of a culture that they didn’t agree with, including what the culture already believed to be right, then that person would lose the argument without any question. This can be easily disproved because in one culture, not every person is going to have the same moral judgments about what is right or wrong and people can establish objective moral principles. A culture also can’t think of them as having the power to decide which is right and
A Critique of William Bennett’s “Against Gay Marriage” The issue of homosexuals in our society is becoming more of a debate. The debate is no longer whether we should accept them, but rather, should they be legally recognized. Gay marriage should not be legalized because of its effect it would have on society. William Bennett’s article “Against Gay Marriage” was originally published in the Washington Post and highlights the negative effects of gay marriage on our society. Bennett wrongfully believes that homosexual and heterosexual unions are not comparable; however, if we change the definition of marriage, our society’s understanding of marriage would be irreconcilably ruined.
SHOULD HOMOSEXUALS BE ABLE TO MARRY? PHI103 01/16/2012 The simplest answer to the same-sex marriage issue is to determine the true meaning of the term "marriage" and what degree has it promoted and upheld a stable society based on the formation of moral ideologies and the control of the law. Which I have determined should not be made legal based on this premise. Religion is one of the main reasons some people do not like the idea of homosexuals having the right to marry. One of the most used arguments about the issue is that God says that same-sex interactions (marriage, sex, lesbian, homosexual acts) are abominations.
– A good introduction and link to the title When investigating about homosexuals, some people try to understand by looking for what may be the cause of their sexuality. A group of scientists in 2012 suggested that homosexuality is passed down through the generations from mother to son and from father to daughter leading American scientists to suggest that homosexuality is an epigenetic link and not a genetic one. Epigenetics explains how gene expression is regulated by temporary switches (epi-marks) which are attached to the backbones that determine their effect on our development. Sigmund Freud claims that homosexuality is a personality disorder and a result from the person failure to deal with repressed infancy and traced the causes back to the parent-child relationship. This is supported by Elizabeth Moberly who said “a homosexual orientation does not depend on a genetic predisposition, hormonal imbalance, or abnormal learning processes but on difficulties in the parent-child relationship”.
Foucault’s theory of social construction of sexual identity is not merely restricted to homosexuality, but it is within the discussion of homosexuality that it holds its greatest sway. Foucault underlines this belief by pointing out that sexuality in eras bygone was more judged by the sexual acts themselves, rather than the ‘orientation’ of the individual. Acts were judged as perverse based on the action or the individual; a separate subgroup of the ‘perverse’ did not exist as a category. Sodomy was seen as a personal vice, rather than a deep-seated identity or aspect of personality/identity. Sodomy was something one did, not something one was.
The Straight Way or the Gay Way; Why should it Matter Which Way The Straight Way or the Gay Way; You Don’t Choose to Be This Way According to procon.org, “Whether sexual orientation is a trait we are born with (nature) or is caused by the environment we are raised in (nurture) has been debated by scientists, religious leaders, elected officials, and the general public.” (Born Gay, 2013). Because this is an ongoing debate, homosexuals are denied the same civil rights as heterosexuals. Religion aside, why are homosexuals denied the same benefits as heterosexual couples? One main reason is because opponents consider homosexuality to be a choice. Scientist are still researching if humans are born gay, however, according to American Psychiatric Association (APA) “Sexual orientation emerges for most people in early adolescence without any prior sexual experience.
Homosexuality is unnatural because it disregards the natural use of sex organs of men and women. It’s sinful because the bible clearly rejects homosexual behavior and the behavior also disregards the divine and natural law of the bible. It’s also very unhealthy because homosexual activities remain a major source of our transmission of sexual transmitted diseases. First, homosexuality is unnatural for many of reason; one being that the act of homosexuality disregards the natural use of sex organs of men and women. The human reproductive system is designed to be sexually compatible in order to bare offspring.