Sexual Misconduct: What the Qur’an Tells Us about Pre-marital vs Extra-Marital Sex

In the Qur’an, sex outside marriage is a topic addressed to men and women equally, although society has come down much harder on women in this regard. A distinction is made between pre-marital and extra-marital sex (adultery), yet we hear almost nothing about that, with the two typically collapsed into a single category in the public discourse. While four witnesses are required to prove illicit sex of any kind, a mere expression of remorse is sufficient for the accused to be left alone per Qur’anic dictate. Where remorse is absent, the Qur’an takes a harder line against extra-marital sex and instructs “flogging”, an act of (limited) public shaming undertaken with harmless instruments, per the historical record, rather than the commonly held belief that its intention was corporal harm. How could it be otherwise, anyway, since women are prescribed the same number of “lashes” as men despite the physical differences between the two? As for stoning, it is not mentioned anywhere in the Qur’an.

“All I See Is Your Booty and Cleavage”: Sex and the Contemporary Gospel Song (1988–2017)

Gospel songs traditionally feature lyrics that glorify God. However, there is music by contemporary gospel artists that addresses pre-marital sex, homosexuality, and pornography. The fact that these topics are being lyrically confronted by some of the genre's most recognized performers invites exploration into the content, purpose, and impact of the songs.This article places these lyrics into categories: those that are testimonial narratives about the spiritual deliverance the singer has received after transgressing sexual mores of the Black Church and those that encourage the avoidance of specific sexual practices. These songs contribute to gospel music on several levels, providing a platform through which the artists can testify of their sexual journeys while giving listeners a format through which they can find direction regarding sexual steps, missteps, and spiritual realignment.The article delineates the changes within US culture that led to less silence about sex and support for the LGBTQIA+ community from some within the Black Church. The major analysis involves the lyrics, the differences in what men and women tend to address, and the fact that despite breaking new ground, in virtually every instance, they reflect traditional Biblical interpretations.

Study on perception on HIV infection and prevention among religious leaders of Presbyterian Church, Aizawl, Mizoram

Aim of the study is to find the perceptions of Presbyterian Church leaders about HIV prevention in Aizawl, Mizoram. For the study, mixed method was followed for data collection. From 15 Presbyterian churches, 293 Church leaders representing four groups, that is, Pastor/Elder, Women, Youth and Men were randomly selected and used self-administered questionnaire for the purpose of understanding perceptions on HIV prevention from them. Chi-square test was done to understand the associations with different factors. Qualitative information was collected using in-depth interviews from 12 and focus group discussions from 3 leaders. Thirty four percent of leaders expressed willingness to advocate condom for prevention. Majority (97.3 %) of leaders felt they need to intervene and 90% were for including HIV prevention in church services. Two third (70 %) felt Biblical disobedience causes HIV and 80% felt homosexuals deserved it. Leaders preferred abstinence, marital fidelity, and condom use as appropriate methods for HIV prevention. About 70% agreed with the Church statement, ‘condoms encourage pre-marital sex’, and above 80% reported condom prevents HIV. Analysis show, contacting person living with HIV (PLHIV) was not positively associated with willingness to advocate condom use. Church leaders their inability quoting the church doctrine as constraint. Many felt disobedience to Biblical teachings and sinful acts result in HIV. Leaders felt, educating church leaders and disseminating sex education using church media were effective methods for HIV prevention.

Elder Sexual Abuse and Sexual Freedom in Faith-based Residential Care Facilities: Ethical Dilemmas, and Institutional Integrity

The issues of elder sexual abuse and sexual freedom in residential care facilities are complicated by the existence of many residents with cognitive impairments of a kind that compromise their ability to make decisions based on informed consent. The issues of elder sexual abuse and sexual freedom in faith-based residential care facilities, in particular, are further complicated by restrictive, theologically based, ethical principles pertaining to sexual activity – for instance, prohibitions on extra-marital sex and the use of prostitutes by residents. The tension that arises must necessarily deal with the integrity of faith-based aged-care facilities and current legislation that promotes the rights of age-care residents to sexual freedoms. In the midst of much public concern about the level and quality of institutional age care this particular aspect seldom attracts notice. It nevertheless exposes a quandary to do with how ought public theology and ethics respond.

Hubungan Antara Perilaku Cybersex dengan Pre-Marital Sex pada Mahasiswa Universitas X di Kota Bandung

With the development of the internet that is increasingly fast and easy to access, a person or especially students, it is easier to see content that is inappropriate for viewing, such as adult advertisements, Western and local movie streaming sites that are not censored by related institutions, and also pornographic content on social media or on certain websites. On the other hand, at around the age of early adulthood or at the level of students, is the age of exploration of things that smelled of sex and consider it a matter of course, so that more and more pre-marital sexual behavior appears or pre-marital sex. There are differences in the results of research that researchers have explored, namely 6 studies that said that the two things had a relationship and 1 study said it had a weak relationship. After researchers interviewed 20 University X students, 14 of them had committed cybersex behavior with pre-marital sex. Because of differences in research and phenomena at the University X, researchers are interested in examining the relationship between cybersex behavior and pre-marital sex in University X students who are in Bandung. Respondents in this study were 122 students. The theory used in this study is the cybersex theory from Canners, Delmonico, and Griffin (2001) and the pre-marital sex theory from Duvall and Miller (2005). The correlation results show a correlation coefficient of 0.469 with a significance level of 0.000 which indicates that there is a close positive relationship between cybersex and pre-marital sex. Abstrak. Dengan berkembangnya internet yang semakin pesat dan mudah untuk di akses, seseorang atau khususnya mahasiswa, menjadi lebih mudah melihat konten yang kurang pantas untuk dilihat, seperti iklan-iklan dewasa, situs-situs streaming film Barat maupun lokal yang tidak disensor oleh lembaga terkait, dan juga konten pornografi di media sosial atau pada website tertentu. Di sisi lain, pada usia sekitar dewasa awal atau pada tingkatan mahasiswa, adalah usia eksplorasi pada hal-hal yang berbau seksual dan menganggap hal tersebut adalah hal yang biasa, sehingga semakin banyak muncul perilaku seksual pranikah atau pre-marital sex. Terdapat perbedaan hasl penelitian yang telah peneliti telusuri, yaitu 6 penelitian yang mengatakan bahwa kedua hal tersebut memiliki hubungan dan 1 penelitian mengatakan memiliki hubungan yang lemah. Setelah peneliti mewawancarai 20 orang mahasiswa Universitas X, 14 diantaranya pernah melakukan perilaku cybersex dengan pre-marital sex. Karena adanya perbedaan penelitian dan fenomena pada Universitas X tersebut, peneliti tertarik untuk meneliti hubungan antara perilaku cybersex dengan pre-marital sex pada mahasiswa Universitas X yang berada di Kota Bandung. Responden dalam penelitian ini adalah 122 orang mahasiswa. Teori yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah teori cybersex dari Canners, Delmonico, dan Griffin (2001) serta teori pre-marital sex dari Duvall dan Miller (2005). Hasil korelasi menunjukkan koefisien korelasi sebesar 0.469 dengan taraf signifikasi 0.000 yang menunjukkan bahwa terdapat hubungan positif yang erat antara cybersex dengan pre-marital sex.

Sexualization of Sharīʿa: Application of Islamic Criminal (Ḥudūd) Laws in Pakistan)

In 1979, General Zia ul-Haq promulgated the Hudood Ordinances to provide Islamic punishments for several offenses, but the prosecution for extra-marital sex (zinā) has been disproportionately higher. Based on the analysis of reported judgments, I argue that the higher rate of prosecutions for zinā was a direct result of new laws. Despite carrying the name “Hudood”, these Ordinances specified several taʿzīr offenses with the objective of ensuring prosecutions. By incorporating ḥadd and taʿzīr offenses for zinā, the Zina Ordinance blurred the distinction between consensual sex and rape, and thus exposed victim women, who reported rape, to prosecution for consensual sex. The Qazf Ordinance, which might have curbed the filing of false accusations of zinā, encouraged them by providing the complainants the defense of good faith. The number of zinā cases has decreased after the reform of the Zina Ordinance and the Qazf Ordinance under the Protection of Women Act, 2006.

I’m Taking Back My Body (The Female Body in the ‘Purity’ Culture)

This paper aims to analyse the American purity movement by examining how the female body became part of an ideology offered as the most viable solution to moral and cultural crises and how this generated counterreactions from the members of the evangelical community (insiders and outsiders alike) since the evangelical discourse on body with its gender-based expressions produces schematised gender constructions and toxic forms of masculinity and femininity that generate confusion, shame and guilt. The four American writers mentioned here (Dianna Anderson, Bromleigh McCleneghan, Rachel Held Evans and Sarah Bessey) agree that biblical womanhood is a myth; a woman’s body is not what “purity” culture suggests it should be; human sexuality is more than premarital abstinence and a set of rules; sacredness is not the appanage of marital sex. The red thread of all four writings is given by the non-dualistic thinking (rejecting Neoplatonic dichotomous separation between body and spirit) that asserts women’s right to body ownership, a sexual ethics based on consent, mutuality, safety and respect, gender equality and partnership. Anderson, McCleneghan, Evans and Bessey are also among the fiercest contesters of the “purity” movement, an American evangelical movement that reduced purity to its genital dimension and salvation to purification of sexual desire.

Frank Discussions in Verse: What Women Tell Each Other in Opal Palmer Adisa’s 4-Headed Woman

Opal Palmer Adisa presents frank exploration in poetic form on subjects like mental and emotional breakdown, menstruation, pre-marital sex, abortion, oral sex, masturbation, adultery, and pressures of family life, to name a few. She gives symbolic and metaphorical signification to what is still considered taboo, immoral, or unspeakable in certain enclaves and communities, relegated to the private spheres and spaces of our lives but needing to be uncovered, addressed, and resolved through open dialogue and debate. An overall message is conveyed in 4-Headed Woman: Poems that women’s issues are best dealt with when women support and encourage, provide solace and advice, share life experiences, and listen to each other. This supportive and communicative process need not always be immediate or face to face and can transcend barriers, as well as occur among intersections—of space, time, age, ideology, sexual preference and orientation, class, and race—as illustrated in the writings on the wall in the ladies’ room. The paper analyses selected depictions from the collection of women’s hidden and outer realities in the privacy of this public place/space—of how women publicly address the private concerns, problems, and situations they face in a society of paradoxical expectations. The ideas of a community of women and the complexity of women’s lives are portrayed in the symbolism of the 4-headed woman, further echoed in the 4-part structure of the collection that culminates in the experimental poetic performance piece which draws together each thematic focus of the entire text.

Pre-marital Sexual Behaviour in Student Dating: A Literature Review

Students are often sexually active, but many of them delay their marriage to reach their education goals. This literature review aims to describe about premarital sexual behavior in students dating. The data was collected by Public media database with keywords:“Sexual Behaviour, Pre-marital, Student”. The inclusion criteria were students, with a romantic partner who had engaged in sexual activity, available free full text, qualitative study and published between 2014-2020. From 8 eligible journals met these criteria in the Public media database. The research indicates 7 themes concerning premarital sexual behaviour: love, disregard for virginity, considering pre-marital sex as normal, or a human right and sign of maturity, peer pressure, supporting a successful marriage, innate instinct. However, pre-marital sexual behavior can increase the risk of HIV and other sexual diseases. Hence, it is important for health workers to actively educate adolescents about reproductive health and pre-marital sex. Keywords: Pre-marital, Sexual Behaviour, Student, Dating

Does Promiscuity Affect Marriage Rates?

Sociologists have proposed numerous theories for declining marriage rates in the United States, generally highlighting demographic, economic, and cultural factors. One controversial theory contends that having multiple non-marital sex partners reduces traditional incentives for men to get married and simultaneously undermines their prospects in the marriage market. For women, multiple partners purportedly reduces their desirability as spouses by evoking a gendered double-standard about promiscuity. Though previous studies have shown that having multiple premarital sex partners is negatively associated with marital quality and stability, to date no research has examined whether having multiple non-marital sex partners affects marriage rates. Data from four waves of the National Survey of Family Growth reveal American women who report more sex partners are less likely to get married (though so too are virgins). Yet this finding is potentially misleading given the retrospective and cross-sectional nature of the data. Seventeen waves of prospective data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth’s 1997 mixed-gender cohort that extend through 2015 show that more non-marital sex partners has a temporary effect on marriage rates: recent sex partners reduce the odds of marriage, but the lifetime number of non-marital sex partners does not. Seemingly unrelated bivariate probit models suggest that the short-term effect is likely causal. Our findings ultimately cast doubt on recent scholarship that has implicated the ready availability of casual sex in the retreat from marriage. Rather, the effect of multiple sex partners on marriage rates is “seasonal” for most Americans.