Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Celibacy |
CelibacyNoun1. An unmarried status (as because of religious vows). 2. Abstaining from sexual relations. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "celibacy" was first used: 1663. (references) |
Note: Celibacy \Ce*lib"a*cy\, noun. [See Celibate, noun.]. (references) |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Celibacy may refer either to being unmarried or to sexual abstinence. A vow of celibacy is a promise not to enter into marriage but instead to consecrate one's life to service. Some writers prefer this usage of "celibacy", while others use it interchangeably as a synonym for abstinence.The old usage of this term ment "to have sexual intercourse only with one's wife".
See also:
- chastity
- asexuality
- clerical celibacy
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Celibacy."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
A vow of clerical celibacy is a Christian priest's promise to remain unmarried. Because sex outside of marriage is prohibited by the Christian church, this implies a life of sexual abstinence.Neither the Catholic nor the Orthodox church has ever considered celibacy rules to be among the infallible dogmas of the church. Rather, those rules are considered mutable by popes, councilss, patriarchs, or synods. The popes have altered the celibacy rules in the Catholic church a number of times.
The rules provide that:
- In Latin-Rite (i.e., Western) Catholic churches, married men may (since the time of the Second Vatican Council) be ordained deacons, but may not be ordained priests or bishops, and one may not marry after ordination. Since the Second Vatican Council, exceptions may be allowed for married Protestant ministers who convert to Catholicism and wish to be Catholic priests, provided their wives consent. (Catholics consider Protestant ordinations invalid, and recognize Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox ordinations as valid.) In some cases, defrocked (or "laicized") priests are allowed to marry by special dispensation.
- In Eastern Orthodox churches, and in Eastern-rite Catholic churches (i.e., churches under the authority of Catholic patriarchs of the east and in full communion with the Roman Catholic church), married men may be ordained deacons or priests, but may not be ordained bishops, and one may not marry after ordination.
- (All of?) the Oriental Orthodox churches follow the same rules that hold in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
- Anglican and almost all other Protestant denominations have no restrictions on the marriage of deacons, priests, bishops, or other ministers.
More on Celibacy in the Roman Catholic Church
The given reasons for clerical celibacy in the Catholic Church are both theological and practical. Foremost in the theological realm are the desire to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ with regard to chastity and the sacrifice of married life for the "sake of the Kingdom" (Luke 18:28-30, Matthew 19:27-30; Mark 10:20-21), and to follow the example of Jesus Christ in being "married" to the Church, which is seen in Catholic theology as the "Bride of Christ". Also of import are the teachings of Paul of Tarsus that chastity is the superior state of life, and his desire expressed in I Corinthians 7:7-8, "I would that all men were even as myself- but every one has his proper gift from God; one after this manner, and another after that. But I say to the unmarried and the widows. It is good for them if they so continue, even as I."
On a more practical level, the reasons for celibacy are given by the Apostle Paul in I Corinthians 7:7-8, 32-35: "But I would have you to be without solicitude. He that is without a wife is solicitous for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please God. But he that is with a wife, is solicitous for the things of the world, how he may please his wife: and he is divided. And the unmarried woman and the virgin thinketh on the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and spirit. But she that is married thinketh on the things of this world how she may please her husband. And this I speak for your profit, not to cast a snare upon you, but for that which is decent and which may give you power to attend upon the Lord without impediment."
From the Church's beginnings Christian priests were to abstain from sexual contact, even from sexual contact with their wives. Catholics see this as foreshadowed by the periodic abstinence of the Old Testament Levites before they approached their altars. What Catholics see as the perfect priesthood of Jesus Christ, and in the examples of the Apostles, called for a much greater sacrifice. Their belief is that what the Old Testament priests offered at their altars was not salvific, but the bread and wine that is offered by New Testament priests becomes the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ Himself, Who is then "offered to the Father" as the perfect oblation.
Many married priests failed, though, to remain sexually continent from their wives, so celibacy was introduced.
Among the early Church statements on the topic of sexual continence and celibacy are "Decreta" and "Cum in unum" of Pope Siricius ca. A.D. 385, which affirm that clerical sexual abstinence was the apostolic practice that must be followed by ministers of the Church. Two Canons from the following Councils also help us understand continence and celibacy of the early Church's priests:
Council of Elvira (A.D. 300-306) Canon 33: It is decided that marriage be altogether prohibited to bishops, priests, and deacons, or to all clerics placed in the ministry, and that they keep away from their wives and not beget children; whoever does this, shall be deprived of the honor of the clerical office.
Council of Carthage (A.D. 390) Canon 3: It is fitting that the holy bishops and priests of God as well as the Levites, i.e. those who are in the service of the divine sacraments, observe perfect continence, so that they may obtain in all simplicity what they are asking from God; what the Apostles taught and what antiquity itself observed, let us also endeavour to keep... It pleases us all that bishop, priest and deacon, guardians of purity, abstain from conjugal intercourse with their wives, so that those who serve at the altar may keep a perfect chastity.
See also Roman Catholic Church sex abuse allegations.
External Links
- http://www.tfp.org/TFPForum/catholic_perspective/tracing_the_glorious_origins_of_celibacy.htm On Clerical Celibacy in the Catholic Church, Part I]
- On Clerical Celibacy in the Catholic Church, Part I
- The biblical foundation of priestly celibacy
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Clerical celibacy."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Sexual abstinence is the practice of voluntarily refraining from sexual intercourse and (usually) from other sexual activity. A distinction is sometimes made between the terms abstinence and chastity, the latter more frequently implying the application of force or the existence of rules. Sexual abstinence is typically advocated in the categories of religious/moral concerns and health/social concerns, with significant overlap between the two.
Abstinence in history and society
In many past and some present cultures, minors (particularly women) are expected to abstain from sexual intercourse until marriage and to remain faithful to their spouse thereafter. Thus, being "chaste" in these cultures means sexual abstinence for unmarried persons or those separated from their spouses. In western societies, abstinence in relationships has been idealized more consistently for women than for men. Some theorize that this derives from the risk of pregnancy, which poses a threat to patrilineal inheritance. In some cultures, proof of virginity, often in the form of a bloodied sheet from the conjugal bed, is demanded as part of the marriage contract.
Anthropologists and social historians have noted that many cultures such as Victorian Britain or the rural areas in the modern United States, which formally place a high value on abstinence until marriage, actually have a large amount of pre-marital sexual activity in which there is no actual sexual intercourse and which preserve a state known as technical virginity.
The concept has not always been used in the same way for males and females, women often being more deeply conditioned than men (also due to factors of anatomical evidence, sometimes subject to formal -- and even public -- exam in the imminence of the marriage).
In some cultures, the eventual infringement of this prohibition could cause a social emargination; in some cases the "damage" could eventually be saned by a repairing marriage. As very recent cases showed, in some cultures the loss of virginity is considered a sin even in the case of a rape, therefore without consideration to the effective will of the interested victim (usually a woman).
Historically, there has been a swing from the sexually free end of the Industrial Revolution to the often degenerate values of the early Victorian period. This was then followed by a new puritanism from the late Victorian era to the early 1900s. This important transformation often colours discussion of sexual behaviour in the later 20th century period. The First World War began a return to sexual freedom and indulgence, but more often than not the appearance of conforming to the earlier moral values of abstinence before marriage was retained. With the conclusion of the Second World War, the importance of abstinence declined swiftly. The advent of the oral contraceptive pill and widely available antibiotics removed the consequences of wide and free sexual behaviour, while social mores were also changing. By the 1960s, such restrictions were no longer expected in the majority of western societies, perhaps even the reverse; that members of both sexes would have experienced a number of sexual partners before marriage. Some cultural groups continued to place a value on the moral purity of an abstainer but abstinence was caught up in a wider re-evaluation of moral values.
While there have been cultures which achieved total sexual abstinence, such as castration cults, it is unlikely that any of them survived for a substantial period of time due to their lack of reproduction. Regardless, the arrival of technology like in vitro fertilisation allows reproduction without sexual intercourse.
Abstinence and morality
Moral or religious advocates want people to refrain from unmarried sex, because they believe exercising such restraint is a good thing to do. So they urge children, teens, young adults and other unmarried people to abstain from premarital sex and to prepare for marriage and a life of fidelity to one's spouse.
Abstinence is often viewed as an admirable act of self-control over the "natural" desire to have sex. The display of the strength of character allows the abstainer to feel superior to those not able to contain their "base urges". At other times abstinence has been seen as a great social ill practiced by those who refuse to engage with the material and physical world.
The groups that propose it commonly consider that purity has to be part of what the consorts have to bring in their new common life, living the intimate experience of sex as a means to enforce the tie between husband and wife; sometimes this concept is part of a wider concept that allows sexual activity at the sole scope of biological reproduction, therefore limited to fertile age only.
In Christianity, sexual intercourse is described as "becoming one flesh" and is a sign of marriage; abstinence is therefore expected of unmarried people. But for married couples, the apostle Paul wrote that they should not deprive each other except for a time for devotion to prayer.
In some religions, including Christianity (Roman Catholicism, for example), celibacy is required for priests and/or monks.
Critics of abstinence on moral or religious grounds generally say that restrictions on sexual activity are emotionally or spiritually harmful. Some psychological theories hold that sexual oppression leads to various behavioral problems.
Abstinence, sexual diseases and pregnancies
Abstinence advocates recommend it as a way to avoid pregnancy and venereal disease. Without sexual contact, it is virtually impossible to conceive a child other than through artificial insemination. By avoiding exposure of the sexual organs to other people, one will also avoid the sexual transmission of diseases (STDs). It should be noted, however, that many STDs, including AIDS, can also be transmitted non-sexually.
Pregnancy can also be avoided (although with low reliability) through only periodic sexual abstinence. This method is generally known as natural family planning, and involves various methods of determining when a woman is fertile and abstaining during that time only.
Many critics of abstinence say that it is not effective way to avoid disease or pregnancy: While some teens may have weak sexual desire or few sexual opportunities and thus be able to maintain it successfully, others will have stronger desires, more opportunities or act under the influence of drugs, and will in these situations not be prepared to take precautions (e.g. using condoms or other contraceptives). Worse, they may consider the independent acquisition of information about precautionary measures shameful and avoid it altogether.
Critics also contend that abstinence education is short-sighted, and that sexual life does not automatically normalize with adulthood. Even if teens make it into adulthood without having sex or getting pregnant, they may not know how to prevent having babies, or how to become pregnant when they want to, and they may suffer from lifelong sexual immaturity and shame.
In spite of these criticisms, abstinence has become the de facto focus of sex education in the United States, so that opponents frequently adopt the line that abstinence education is acceptable only if it is combined with other methods, such as instruction in the use of condoms and easy availability thereof. Most nations of Western Europe use more comprehensive measures, and in sharp contrast to the heated discussion in the US, abstinence is hardly discussed as an educational measure.
Modern abstinence movements
The advent of AIDS helped restore the momentum of the favourable view of abstinence. But currently there are issues as to what abstinence means: is it an abstinence from sexual intercourse or from sexual behaviour? Movements such as True Love Waits in America which asks teenagers to refrain from sex before marriage are heavily subscribed but surveys of sexual behaviour indicate an increase in the popularity of oral sex. Oral sex is not perceived as being "real sex". Teenage girls are able to indulge in sexual practices while claiming the traditional virtues of the virgin in cultures that admire it.
The effectiveness of abstinence programs and movements remains doubtful. The study "Promising the Future: Virginity Pledges and First Intercourse" by Peter Bearman and Hanna Brückner examined the relationship between virginity pledges and first sexual intercourse. From the abstract [1]:
The effects observed in this study could be explained as mere correlations: Adolescents who feel the desire to take part in the virginity movement are more likely to remain abstinent for a variety of reasons, and less likely to have knowledge about contraception. Some studies have found that school-based abstinence programs actually increase the incidence of pregnancies (see sex education).
- Since 1993, in response to a movement sponsored by the Southern Baptist Church, over 2.5 million adolescents have taken public virginity pledges, in which they promise to abstain from sex until marriage. This paper explores the effect of those pledges on the transition to first intercourse. Adolescents who pledge are much less likely to have intercourse than adolescents who do not pledge. The delay effect is substantial. On the other hand, the pledge does not work for adolescents at all ages. Second, pledging delays intercourse only in contexts where there are some, but not too many, pledgers. The pledge works because it is embedded in an identity movement. Consequently, the pledge identity is meaningful only in contexts where it is at least partially nonnormative. Consequences of pledging are explored for those who break their promise. Promise breakers are less likely than others to use contraception at first intercourse.
See also
- Masturbation
- Platonic love
- Harmful to Minors, a book by Judith Levine which deals with sexual morality in the United States and also discusses the issue of abstinence education
Reference
- Peter S. Bearman and Hannah Brückner: Promising the Future: Virginity Pledges and First Intercourse. American Journal of Sociology, Volume 106, Number 4 (January 2001), pp. 859-912.
External link
- No New Money for Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Programs advocacy website.
- United States poll shows parents favoring abstinence-based education (Focus on the Family press release)
- Sexual Abstinence Behind Uganda's AIDS Success Story
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Sexual abstinence."
Synonyms: CelibacySynonyms: chastity (n), sexual abstention (n). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Celibacy | Noun: celibacy, singleness, single blessedness; bachelorhood, bachelorship; misogamy, misogyny. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Celibacy |
| English words defined with "celibacy": Fratricelli ♦ Hare Krishna ♦ International Society for Krishna Consciousness, ISKCON ♦ shaker. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "celibacy": Benedictines ♦ GREEN SICKNESS ♦ Oracle of the Holy Bottle, Bacbuc ♦ Panurge. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | Celibacy is a hands-on job. (Enter the Matrix; writing credit: Andy Wachowski; Larry Wachowski) Tell me. Is celibacy just as difficult for a woman as it is for a man (Nuns on the Run; writing credit: Jonathan Lynn) | |
Clever | Celibacy is not an inherited characteristic. (references; author: unknown) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
Books |
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Music |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Author | Quotation |
Samuel Johnson | Marriage has many pains, but celibacy has no pleasures. |
Socrates | As to marriage or celibacy, let a man take which course he will, he will be sure to repent. |
Thomas Love Peacock | Marriage may often be a stormy lake, but celibacy is almost always a muddy horse pond. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Author | Date | Quotation |
Communist Manifesto | 1848 | Has not Christianity declaimed against private property, against marriage, against the State? Has it not preached in the place of these, charity and poverty, celibacy and mortification of the flesh, monastic life and Mother Church? Christian Socialism is but the holy, water with which the priest consecrates the heart-burnings of the aristocrat. (reference) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "Celibacy" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 100.00% of the time. "Celibacy" is used about 144 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 100% | 144 | 26,339 |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "celibacy": celibacy-conscious. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day |
celibacy | 120 |
celibacy involuntary | 10 |
celibacy history | 6 |
celibacy vow | 3 |
catholic celibacy church | 3 |
priest celibacy | 3 |
celibacy marital | 2 |
benefit celibacy | 2 |
catholic celibacy | 2 |
celibacy priestly | 2 |
celibacy priesthood | 2 |
celibacy christian | 2 |
celibacy certificate | 2 |
celibacy in marriage | 2 |
celibacy nun sexuality | 2 |
catholic celibacy church in | 2 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Language | Translations for "celibacy"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Albanian | përkore seksuale, beqari (bachelorhood, bachelorship, singleness). (various references) | |
Arabic | تبتل, عزوبة (virginity), إمتناع عن الزواج. (various references) | |
Bulgarian | ергенство (bachelorhood, bachelorship), безбрачие (chastity, singleness). (various references) | |
Chinese | 独身"活. (various references) | |
Czech | celibát. (various references) | |
Farsi | تجرد (Bachelorhood), امتناع ازازدواج , بی زنی , بی شوهری . (various references) | |
French | célibat. (various references) | |
German | zölibat, ehelosigkeit (singleness, spinsterhood, unmarried state). (various references) | |
Greek | αγαμία (singleness). (various references) | |
Hebrew | פרישות (abstention, abstinence, asceticism, continence, parting), חיי רוק (single bliss), רוקות (bachelorhood). (various references) | |
Hungarian | nőtlenség. (various references) | |
Indonesian | pembujangan. (various references) | |
Italian | celibato (bachelorhood). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | elibacycay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | celibato (bachelorhood, bachelorship, singleness). (various references) | |
Romanian | celibat (bachelorhood). (various references) | |
Russian | безбрачие (single blessedness). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | celibat (virginity), neženstvo. (various references) | |
Spanish | celibato (bachelorhood, bachelorship). (various references) | |
Swedish | celibat. (various references) | |
Thai | การเป็นโส", การละเว้นจากการร่วมเพศ. (various references) | |
Turkish | bekârlık (bachelorhood, singleness). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | холостяцьке життя (bachelorhood), целібат (celibate), обітниця безшлюбності, безшлюбність (celibate, singleness). (various references) | |
Vietnamese | sự sống độc thân, sự không lập gia đình. (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | caelibatus, viduitas. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Misspellings | |
"Celibacy" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: celabacy, celebacy, celibacey, celibicy, Clabecq, Kelibia. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "celibacy" (pronounced se"lubusē) |
| 4 | -b u s ē | embassy. |
| 3 | -u s ē | accuracy, adequacy, advocacy, Argosy, aristocracy, autocracy, bureaucracy, candidacy, confederacy, conspiracy, courtesy, degeneracy, delicacy, democracy, diplomacy, jealousy, legacy, ecstasy, fallacy, fantasy, Geodesy, heresy, hypocrisy, idiocy, illegitimacy, illiteracy, immediacy, inaccuracy, inadequacy, intimacy, intricacy, legitimacy, leprosy, literacy, lunacy, meritocracy, obstinacy, Odyssey, papacy, pharmacy, piracy, pleurisy, policy, primacy, privacy, prophecy, secrecy, supremacy, surrogacy, theocracy. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-b-c-c-e-i-l-y" | |
-1 letter: bicycle. | |
-2 letters: bailey, beylic, celiac, cicale, cicely. | |
-3 letters: belay, bialy, cable, cecal, ceiba, cycle, ileac, lacey, lycea. | |
-4 letters: able, ably, abye, acyl, alec, bail, bale, bice, bile, blae, ceca, ceil, clay, ilea, lace, lacy, laic, lice. | |
-5 letters: aby, ace, ail, alb, ale, aye, bal, bay, bel, bey, bye, cab, cay, cel, ice, icy, lab, lac. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-b-c-c-e-i-l-y" | |
+2 letters: accessibly, impeccably. | |
+3 letters: acerbically, conceivably. | |
+4 letters: cherubically, cybernetical, decasyllabic, inaccessibly. | |
+5 letters: acceptability, accessibility, bacteriolytic, biochemically, decasyllabics, impeccability, inconceivably, mycobacterial. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Quotations: Familiar 7. Quotations: Historic 8. Usage Frequency | 9. Expressions 10. Expressions: Internet 11. Translations: Modern 12. Translations: Ancient | 13. Derivations 14. Rhymes 15. Anagrams 16. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
