Sexy Religion

I read a recent article in which psychologists theorized that people’s primary motivation for engaging in religion is sex and reproduction. They have theorized that being involved in Church may help support monogamy as well as help one come into contact with others with the same sex-related views.

Unfortunately, there is some truth to their theory. I think that religious groups can become meat markets. I think it is a good thing that being involved in religion can help support married people to stay faithful to each other. However, I disagree with the theory on several grounds.

One problem is that they used aggregate data from many different faiths. When you put together many different faiths, they may have very few values that are shared by them all. Yet one value that seems to be constant across almost all faith groups is chastity and fidelity. Since that is the one they share, it’s impact probably caused any other possibilities to disappear.

Second, part of their research seems to have been done on college students. I think it is a hard stretch to say that sexual and religious attitudes of hormonal 18-20 year-olds can be generalized to the rest of the population. It really seems like they are trying to serve an agenda.

This could be partly due to the way many people (both religious and non-religious) view religion, as a social institution governed by rules that designate behavior. Yet the real message of the Bible is very different. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 3 that “where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” He also mentions being completely transformed, not just being nice or following the rules.

I am not saying that 2 Corinthians is saying that we should have sexual freedom. I am saying that being a Christian is a lot more than just rules concerning sex and being nice. It is a life transforming relationship with the creator and the created.