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Article: Celibacy today: mystery, myth, and miasma.(Report)
- Article from:
- CrossCurrents - The Journal of Addiction and Mental Health
- Article date:
- January 1, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 Association for Religion and Intellectual Life. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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It was from sexual purity that the priesthood was believed to derive its
power.
--Mayke de Jong (1).
Celibacy, popularly understood, is the state of non-marriage and/or the abstinence from sexual activity. (1) The voluntary sacrifice of all sexual pleasure is an extreme form of religious asceticism when it is undertaken for a lifetime or even for very extended periods.
Celibacy is unlike other modes of asceticism--fasting, sleep deprivation, endurance of extreme temperatures, or even poverty--in that sexual pleasure or activity is not necessary for individual survival as are some measure of sustenance, recuperation, and protection from the elements. ...