Adultery
Sexual intercourse between a married person and a person who is not their spouse
Antinatalism
the philosophical position that assigns a negative value judgement of birth and views procreation as immoral. Antinatalists argue that humans should abstain from procreating.
Autonomous
Not being controlled by others or by outside forces. Kant's idea is that individuals should use their own rational ability to arrive in opposition to accepting heteronomous ethics from others or theonomous ethics from God.
Betrothal
Traditionally known as the exchange of promises which marked the point at which sex is permitted.
Celibate
The state of not being married and not having sexual relations
Chastity
Being virtuous in relation to sex and celibacy
Childlessness
The state of not having children. Childlessness may have personal, social or political significance. Childlessness, which may be by choice or circumstance, is distinguished from voluntary childlessness, also called being "childfree", which is voluntarily having no children, and from antinatalism, wherein childlessness is promoted.
Civil partnership
A legal union between two people of the same sex that has the same roles as marriage
Covenant
A sacred agreement between God and his people or between people in the sight of God –
Cohabitation
Living with someone with being married to them (and having sex). Sometimes known as living in sin.
This can take several forms. Casual cohabitation, not a long term commitment, sharing of a common sexual and social life, trial marriage, living together before is almost essential to test compatibility, short term before marriage, and substitute marriage, long term commitment possibly due to inability to divorce or ideological disagreements
Consent
Freely agreeing in engaging in sexual acts.
Contraception
Methods used to prevent or reduce the chance of sexual acts leading to pregnancy
Contractarian
In relation to sex something is allowed if all concerned parties in agreement
Consummation
An act of sexual intercourse that indicates, in some traditions, the finalisation of the marriage.
Disordered Love
Sin, Augustine said, is ultimately a lack of love, either for God or for your neighbor. He famously stated that “The essence of sin is disordered love.” Disordered loves means that we often love less-important things more, and more-important things less than we ought to, and this wrong prioritization leads to unhappiness and disorder in our lives.
Jack Dominian
Purpose of sex as A personal expression of Reconciliation, healing, gratitude to each other, celebration of life etc.
Exclusive
A commitment to be in a sexual relationship with a person to the exclusion of all others.
Extramarital sex
Sex outside of marriage where at least one party is married to someone else –
Fidelity
Faithfulness - do not commit adultery (7th commandment)
Feminist Sexual ethics
Criticises both the traditional Christian approaches to sexuality and the liberal ones- Christian approaches rest on a define role for women. Liberal approaches are criticised assume a level playing field
Harm principle
Holds that the actions of individuals should only be limited to prevent harm to other individuals. The purpose of law should be to stop people from harming others. John Stuart Mill articulated this principle in On Liberty, where he argued that "The only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others."
Homosexuality
Sexual attraction between people of the same sex. Having sexual relationships with people of the same sex.
Heterosexual
Someone who has sexual relations to someone of the opposite sex
Liberty principle
liberty can be defined as: positive liberty: freedom to fulfil potential by engagement with government and
negative liberty: minimal state involvement which restricts behaviour. Generally liberity is thought of as negative. JS Mill’s liberty principle was negative - the only freedom which deserves the name is that of pursuing our own good in out own way, as long as we do not attempt to deprive others of theirs or impede their efforts to obtain it.
Marriage
Minimally the legal partnering of two people. The definition of marriage is contested. The Roman Catholic definition talks of the Sacrament of Marriage- which the Catechism describes as a permanent 'indissoluble union' for life, between a man and a woman ordered towards procreation thus a 'means of grace'. The conservative protestant view is of the Sanctity of Marriage- refers to the idea that marriage is a 'creation ordinance' a covenantal betrothal for life understood not as a means of grace, but as an act of unification of a man and a woman in lifelong commitment made before God and the church. Marriage as 'an expression of the goodness of sexuality' meaning marriage is a 'contractarian' act of establishing legal and moral companionship between two people for as long as they agree such companionship is mutually helpful. On this view Cohabitation is also and even equally good.
Premarital sex
Sex before marriage
Heteronomous
Being controlled by others or by outside forces. Accepting heteronomous ethics from others or theonomous ethics from God Kant's thought was less ideal than heteronomous ethics.
Natural Moral Law and Sex
Any sexual activity that goes against their true and natural use is a sin. E.g. Homosexual relationships, Same-sex marriage, contraception.
Original Sin
Caused all people to be sinful due to the actions of Adam and Eve
Peter Vardy
Libertarian views have ‘undermined commitment, fidelity, any deep understanding of love and instead substitute a transactional understanding of love’
Procreation
To fulfil gods command to Adam and Eve to 'Go forth and multiply'
Sacrament
An outward sign of an inward grace, e.g. Baptism and the Eucharist –
Secular Sexual ethics
Libertarian approach Sex is morally permissible if there’s mutual informed consent between the parties
STI
Sexually transmited disease
Trans-sexual
Someone who was born one sex but has had surgery to become the opposite sex. Individuals may say this is due to feeling that they were born in the body of the wrong gender.
Trad. Protestant Sexual ethics
Biblical emphasis is on man and woman expressing their sexuality within a marriage union, for fornicators and adulterers God will judge’ ‘you shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female’
Union
It binds the couple together; they become 'one flesh'. Sometimes called the unification principle.