Have Views of Marital Fidelity Changed Over Time?

[Michie]

Does shifting religious affiliations lead to changing views of adultery?​

The command to stay faithful to one’s marital partner is found in many major religious traditions. The Quran states, “Do not go near adultery. It is truly a shameful deed and an evil way” (17:32). One of the Ten Commandments of the Hebrew Bible is clear on this issue, “You shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14). Hinduism places a great deal of emphasis on the concept of ‘marital fidelity.’ The Third Precept in Buddhism commands followers to avoid “sexual misconduct,” which is almost always understood to mean that, among other things, followers should remain faithful to their marriage partner. Sikhism also condemns adultery, as does Taoism. The point should be clear: It’s hard to find a faith tradition that doesn’t strongly discourage an individual from engaging in sexual relations with someone who isn’t their marital partner.

Yet, a lot has changed around the issue of sex in the United States in the last fifty years. In the 1960s and 1970s, the Free Love movementgathered steam with its emphasis on reinventing sexual ethics with thought leaders arguing that the government had become much too involved in matters of sexuality, birth control, and marriage. Observers of the movement have argued that the Free Love movement may have planted the seeds of secularization that really began to accelerate in the early 1990s.

Approval For Same Sex Marriage Has Stopped Increasing​

https://www.graphsaboutreligion.com/p/approval-for-same-sex-marriage-has
Continued below.

Have Views of Marital Fidelity Changed Over Time?

Does shifting religious affiliations lead to changing views of adultery?

www.graphsaboutreligion.com