Seeing Sexuality at Church

We live in a society that is obsessed with Religion, or the lack of it. Whether it be Christianity, Islam, Agnostic (if you call that a religion), or Wiccan it is obvious that our religious beliefs form our relationships with people in one form or another. Even if you do not recognize yourself with any type of religion or teachings, the lack of that input will shape the way that you view and go about your relationships.

As a Christian, born and raised in the Church, I know first hand the horrors and joys of shaping your love life around Christianity. Probably one of the largest issues the Christians face, especially teenagers, is the issue of having sex before marriage. This subject is so large, that there are several immense organizations whose sole purpose is to keep the genitals of their young and impressionable teenagers away from one another (even away from themselves).

If we look back in History, from the very beginning of the Christian religion, we will find that abstinence from others and from yourself is a subject that has been taught with great conviction. The Church was the organization that introduced chastity belts, The Church was the organization that stated masturbation causes many different types of diseases (Hairy Palms is my personal favorite). The Church has single handedly changed the way that society views sexuality. They are the ones who instated the notion of things being "Taboo".

Of course, if you are Gay in the Christian Religion, along with several others, you are Hell Bound. Their is nothing in your life that you will be able to do to escape the firey pits of the abyss. This, by now, is an out-dated notion to many, but in my experiences, the Gay = Hell equation is still in full swing in religious organizations.

If you were to sit down and try to calculate the number of lives Religion has harmed due to its view on Sexuality and Love, the numbers would be in the BILLIONS. But, not everything dealing with Love and Religion is negative. Their are many positives about have Religion play a role in your love life.

If you are in any type of Religion, you will most likely seek out an individual within the same beliefs that you have. This, in turn, will narrow your "search" for a compatible relationship. Because, two people with the same religious beliefs will already have something in common; a good foundation for the house of love if you will.

But, now that we have overviewed the positives and negatives of having religion play a part in your love life, it's time to ask some questions, as usual. Could it be that even in a place of worships, the bombardment of Sexuality and Relationships be hindering our love lives? Could the constant pressure from religious organizations to stay abstinent, to never get a divorce, to be faithful to your partner even in times of abuse, be hindering us from finding our true loves? The answer, yes.

I believe that this constant pressure of the religious organizations can become overwhelming. This is why more and more people are turning to the Agnostic belief system. Where you acknowledge that their is a God, but you do not practice. At times, I have found myself in the Agnostic mindset. Basically, religion can become an unnecessary headache. There are so many organizations trying to tell you how to think about many different subject matters. And if we as a society want to ever grow beyond the past fifty years, we are going to have to think "outside of the box". To many people just believe that they have been told. They don't search out the truth.

If you ever want to grow as an individual, you must question. You must doubt. You must go out and find the truth yourself. Many times, you will come to the exact same realization that you have been taught. And if this happens, at least you know that this is the truth. Your "faith" in your religion, or whatever it may be, will not waiver. But, in some cases, you will find that what you have been taught, what you have been programmed to believe is not the truth, is not a healthy way to think. In this case, you will then know the truth. You will have accomplished with many people don't.

Basically, if you don't search out the truth for your existence, than you won't know what you really need to complete your love life. You must know you, you must know who you are and what you believe in. It is only then, that you will be able to give yourself to another individual. Be brave, search for the truth!