Masturbation - why
is it so taboo? Well, the historical reason for the
"masturbation is evil" ideology is simple.
Most of the major religions in the world say lust and
fulfilment of lust is bad. Masturbation is easily construed
as “the fulfilment of lust”, therefore it
is bad.
In the Buddhist tradition one should
neither be attached to nor crave sensual pleasure. For
the layperson, masturbation is therefore neither forbidden
nor encouraged. Fully ordained Buddhist monks may be
bound by hundreds of detailed rules or vows that may
include a ban on sexual relations and masturbation.
The Catholic Church sees masturbation
as one of the "Offences Against Chastity"
and calls it "an intrinsically and gravely disordered
action" because "use of the sexual faculty,
for whatever reason, outside of marriage is essentially
contrary to its purpose” Indulging in the act,
in this case, is considered more immoral than the act
itself.
Masturbation in Islam is totally forbidden
and not allowed under any circumstances in the Shi'ite
sect. The four Sunni schools have differing stances
on the issue. Some consider it forbidden in all cases.
Some see it forbidden in certain cases but obligatory
in others. Another view is that it is disliked but not
expressly forbidden. Scholars of Islam consider masturbation
to be forbidden, except in extenuating circumstances,
although there is no explicit statement in the Quran
that forbids one from masturbation.
In the Bible masturbation is not explicitly
prohibited, but the Jews forbid masturbation, likening
the act to murder and idolatry, as it leads to unnecessary
spilling of semen, or the impure thoughts of another.
The decision makers of Jewish law disagree as to whether
masturbation is an acceptable way of procuring semen
for artificial insemination or in vitro fertilisation.
If you are Mormon, you have the "body
as temple and masturbation as desecration of that temple"
thing to deal with.
Protestants theologians view masturbation
as an act of self-indulgence and a sin of the flesh.
Bottom line, if you are religious, masturbation is bad
at best, sinful at worst. Even if you are not religious,
the modern attitudes toward masturbation are shaped
by these early ideologies and sustained by the proportion
of the world's population who still believe in some
sort of organised religion.
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