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The History of Catholic Sexual Morality University of Calgary PRISM: University of Calgary's Digital Repository Graduate Studies Legacy Theses 1998 The history of Catholic sexual morality Viney, Christine Viney, C. (1998). The history of Catholic sexual morality (Unpublished master's thesis). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. doi:10.11575/PRISM/11921 http://hdl.handle.net/1880/26272 master thesis University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. Downloaded from PRISM: https://prism.ucalgary.ca THE UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY The History of Catholic Sexual Morality by Christine Viney A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FCTLFIL,;MENT OF THE REQCmCE%lENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY CALGNZY. ALBERTA DECEMBER 1998 O Christine Alison Viney 1998 NationaI Library Biblithbque nationale 1*m of Canada du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographic Services services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington OttawaON KtAON4 OttawaON KIAON4 Canada Crtnada The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accorde me licence aon exclusive licence allowing the exclusive pennettant a la National Library of Canada to Blbliotheque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or sell reproduire, prster, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette these sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de microfiche/fdrn, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format electronique . The author retains ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriete du copyright m this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protege cette these. thesis nor substantial extracts &om it Ni la thke ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent &e imprimes reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation, ABSTRACT Examining the history of Catholic sexual morality provides an opportunity to explore both the development of a specific topic in medieval philosophy as well as the impact this theological debate had and continues to have on male-female relationships. 1 begin with the ancient pagan and Christian theological basis for the traditionally negative view the Church has taken of female sexuality. Further examination of the views of St. Ausstine and Thomas Aquinas as well as other philosophers who examined the place women occupy in Christian theology. show how these views developed through the early Christian period and the Middle Ages. The relevance of these seemingly remote personages to modem gender questions is demonstrated. While this historical investigation sheds light on the continuing conflict between the Catholic church and contemporary feminists, the more complex questions which this thesis raises cannot be answered strictly in the context of philosophy, but require additional research in theology, psychology, and sociology. CONTENTS Approval Page Abstract Table of Contents Section 1 Introduction Section 2 Iduence of Historical Ideas of Sexuality on the Christian Church Section 3 Women in Scripture Section 4 Sexuality in Paradise Section 5 Sexual Relations: Mamiage vs. Celibacy Section 6 Augustine Section 7 The Scholastics Section 8 Thomas Aqukas Section 9 The Church's View of Women Section 10 Women and Mysticism Section 11 Conc fusion Bibliography Introduction Currently, the position of women in the Catholic Church is an issue which many, both inside and outside of the institution. are attempting to respen for discussion. Some open the debate from a feminist background, and these writers often take the position that the Church is an oqanizarion which is inherently hostile to women. This perspective sees the Church view of women as incompatible with the role of women in modern society.1 Others see the Church as an empowering tool for women. giving them a well defined role in keeping with both nature and Biblical tradition.? The difficulty with both of these approaches is that they address the issue solely from a modem standpoint, without regard for the complex theological and philosophical history which precedes contemporary religon. However, many attempts to analyse the historical background of the Church's position on women are subject to the same inherent prejudices. The two most common interpretations of the impact that the introduction of Christianity into the Greco-Roman world had upon women are examples of this. The first is that Christianity was deeply appealing to pagan women. for within the Christian sub- culture. women held a much higher status than dd women throughout the Greco- Roman world. Women were recobpized by Christianity as equal to men, children of God with the same supernanrnl destiny; moreover. the Christian prohibition of poly~my,divorce. birth control. abortion and infanticide contributed to the well- 1 Cf. e.g.. Virginia Curran Hoffman, Lhe Codependent Chztrch. Crossroad. Xew York. 199 1. Hoffman argues that the Church has purposely placed itself in a position superior to that of the laity. both male and especially female. but that this can be remedied by something Like a 12 step reclamation pro-m. Whether this would be successful is a moot point in this context. although a reorganization such as she advocates would surely change the Catholic Church beyond recognition- 2 This view can be seen in the staunch position the Church continues to take against the ordination of women. as well as in the increasing popularity of pupssuch as the Promise Keepers, being of women substantially, securing them dignity and rights within both Church and state. One effect of this higher status was to increase the number of Christian women, which in turn led to a superior fertility rate for Christians, another factor in the growth of the faith.3 Another interpretation of this same data points to women's loss of control over reproduction as the cause of the 'superior fertility rate' of Christians. This explanation points to women's loss of economic freedom as Christianity became widespread. and the curtailment of their rights to personal communication as sips that Christianity was detrimental to the position of women.4 Historically these statements are accurate, however as we have just seen, they can be used to support widely varying pneral historical theories. The feminist viewpoint has suggsred that the misogyny of the Church was an almost premeditated scheme, and we are given such characterizations as Augustine as "the man who fused Christianity together wtth hatred of sex and pleasure into a systematic unity.": the Thornistic period as the point at which "Christian theology of marriage reached its nadir, setting the stage for the demonization of sex.": and of Jesus as "the tint and practically the last friend women had in the Church."S The optimistic interpretation places women in an inferior position with respect to both their personal and sexual status. which at first dance does not seem in keepmg wth the Chnsnan ideal ot love tor all. However. the temnist C perspective can leave us with the impression that *"menhave always enjoyed putting women in their 'place'.*'6 which is a strong statement regarding male psychology, but not one which is helpful in understanding historical facts. These generalizations seem to me to be too broad based on the 3 From John .McCIoskey's review of The Rise of Christianitv: A SocioloPist Reconsiders History, by Rodney Stark. Princeton University Press. 1996. which appeared in Crisis, June, 1997. 4 Canon 8 1 of the Synod of Elvira forbade women from writing and receiving letters in their own names, Ranke-Heinemann. 130. 5 The misozgnist conspiracy theory to which I refer is that which Uta Ranke-Heinemann puts forth in E~mrichsfur the Kingdom of Heaven. 75 - 153. 6 Phipps, 1989. 77. 3 evidence given in their support, as does the conclusion that Christianity was overall an advantageous development in women's history. The position that the Church has been a positive influence on women is, naturally, taken mainly by supporters of the Church. Examples of this ostensibly historical approach are the variety of attempts now being made to show that the misogynisrn of the Church. and of the Fathers in particular. is not really a reflection of personal views of women, but nther of the times in which they lived. Regarding Augustine, it has been said that "this was a time when the social subordination of women to men was taken for granted by everybody, by women as well as men. So ... there is not much point in combing his works. either to prove this obvious point. or to make a futile effort to disprove it.? Th~smay be a cogent assessment of the milieu of the early Church, however the force behind feminist critiques of Augustine are not meant to apply to the third century. but nther to our own, in which the relative social positions of men and women are not taken for _mted by everyone. and yet in which the writings of Augustine continue to influence sexual theology. X similar modem apology might be made for Aquinas. one which would find a similar response. While it is important to attempt to understand these two. as well as other thinkers, witlun rt hstoricd context. we also need to examine their enduring ideas. which have impacted both their own times and the modem world These radically different perspectives come from writers who approach the issue with their minds already fixed on their conclusions. An unbiased examination of the facts. showing what the views of the Christian church with regard to women were. and what effect these actually had on the position of women in society, reveals.
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