Augustine's Expression Of Sexuality

The thesis of this paper is to see how free expression of sexuality became to be regarded as a sin, and how it effects the sexual crisis in the modern era (pg. 54). After Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity, it became the central belief of the Roman empire (pg. 50). Augustine was the one who connected sin and sexuality with his interpretation of the bible (pg. 50). The way he interpreted Adam and Eve became had a central part in how Christianity views sexuality (pg. 50). Before this new interpretation, Christians thought that the story of Adam and Eve was about the importance of free choice and free will (pg. 50), therefore making expression of sexuality something that was free and up to the individual. Instead, Augustine completely

51). Because of the original sin, Adam and Eve eating from the tree of knowledge, Augustine pushed the belief that since Sexuality was uncontrollable, men and women should only engage in it under special circumstances (pg. 52). Also, he had the belief that sex should never be for pleasure and should only be about procreation (pg. 52). Despite this, Augustine suffered from his own sexual desires, and was likely projecting his his problems and fears on the rest of society (pg.52). Still, despite opposition from people like Archbishop Julian who thought sexuality was about freedom, Augustine’s rhetoric of human control and sin fit perfectly into the plans of the new alliance between the Roman Empire and the Christian Church (pg. 52). Human beings could not be trusted to govern themselves, which justified emperors, and leaders, to govern and subjugate people (pg. 52). Augustine’s views did not only win because of political reasons, but also because it justified human suffering (pg. 53) and the original sin became the blame for humanity’s

In fact, homosexual relationships were valued so much that relations between its someone of the same gender had no separate word, meaning that it was viewed as normal and natural (pg. 53). There was a resurgence of sexual intolerance in the 13th century where St. Thomas Aquino’s created and emphasized a natural view of sexuality that focused on procreation (pg. 54). Things like masturbation, anal sex, oral sex, homosexual relations, and non-procreative heterosexual sex was seen as unnatural, so much so, that rape was more acceptable than any of the before mentioned activities because it could result in children (pg. 54). These views about human sexuality became integral to the Christian Church and still manages to affect feelings about human sexuality to this day (pg. 54). During the 1960s emphasis on religion started to show signs of weakening (pg. 55). Catholics were one of the few religious groups that still turned to the church for matters involving sexuality (pg. 57). Overall, many people and theologians have begun looking at the Christian Church’s doctrines and beliefs, and started challenging their legitimacy (pg. 57). Overtime, denominations like the televangelists kept their conservative views of sexuality and started creating ties with the Republican Party during the Regan administration (pg. 59). This Union is know as the Religious Right, and they take strong conservative