Do you feel as if religion creates sexual suppression

[GoHalos1993]

Many religions are very against things like pleasuring ones self and Pre Marital sex. I grew up in the Mormon church which is VERY against Masturbation. They even created an Advert of an Anti-Masturbation ad. It was really stupid. The thing is...this is one of the things that made me leave the Mormon faith. I'm still in the process as I'm still living with family off and on and going to University which my tuition is being paid by my parents. So I'm kind of having to go through the motions. But holy shit, I do watch lots of Porn!!! It started when I was 13. I was actually just playing with myself down there while looking at pictures of Pamela Anderson and boom! You know what I was referring too (hehe) But I realized how that felt so good but once I figured out it was wrong I just felt miserable about myself. My Dad even walked in on me one morning when I was jerking off and he made me go to talk to my bishop about it. I went about 2 weeks without doing it then I got back to the habit. Now I'm 22, and I'm a healthy person and I probably do it at least once a night. I've learned a lot more self control though.

I guess I got off point a little bit, but you get the point. Seems like religion creates a lot of sexual frustration and supression. I'm just glad I realized how stupid it was early on.

[robvalue]

Absolutely, yes.

It can create repression. It can lead people to bury their sexuality, especially if they are gay or bisexual. This can lead to depression and even suicide.

It can make people ignorant and badly informed, because things aren't talked about properly.

It also creates situations where people are, statistically speaking, lying all the time. We have people who say masturbation is wrong, while secretly doing it, and pretending to the world they never do it. Sure, some people make achieve that (with potentially dangerous side effects) but mostly people will just be doing it anyway. And this will make them feel unecessary guilt.

Sexuality can be confusing enough as it is. Religion can make it a whole lot worse. The idea that the creator of the whole universe has even noticed us is far fetched; the idea that they care what we do with our floppy bits is just totally absurd.

[dyresand]

Uh Duh yes considering most religions say sex is bad and masturbation is bad.
considering both are good for your health.

[robvalue]

Of course, religion doesn't have to create repression. Religion is just a tool, a set of ideas. Unfortunately the most popular ones are problematic.

I should note that the bible doesn't explicitly say anything bad about masturbation. So it's the current oral myths that make up a religion, whether or not those line up with whatever "evidence" it's supposedly based on. It doesn't say anything about contraception either. These are all interpetations, and require a lot of stretching before they mean what people say they mean.

A religion could have a healthy attitude towards sexuality. And of course people apply the same religion in different ways.

[robvalue]

[Alex K]

@OP

Yes, religions control people by taking something that is a normal part of most people's psyche and define it as sinful, then offer redemption for the transgression they invented. It's an old scam, but very unhealthy for its victims who are denied a harmonious and healthy relationship to their body and their sexuality.

[abaris]

Is this supposed to be a rhetorical question?

[Gawdzilla]

Fuck the "missionary position". Fuck hiding "private parts" because "God doesn't want to see that shit." Fuck saying "having fun will send  you to Hell."

[paulpablo]

This is a huge topic, I'd say it's more important to talk about thoughts than feelings though.

Technically there could be religions out there that promote wild unrestrained sex.

If you're talking about the mainstream religions the way they're practised today then I think the evidence points overwhelmingly to sexual repression being created by religion.

Now this isn't necessarily negative for everyone.

The spectrum of negative to positive outcomes is there. On the one hand it's good to not have sex with whoever you want whenever you want. I think evidence supports the idea that children are better off being raised in a two parent household which is pretty much the idea behind marriage which has been supported by the mainstream religions.
On the other hand evidence supports the idea that homosexuals are born that way biologically and threatening to throw them off roof tops or hang them as they do in Islamic countries is barbaric, stupid, pointless.
The child abuse of girls involving cutting off their clitoris, mainly an Islamic thing again, is probably the most extreme form of sexual repression and again is barbaric and violent, extremely negative for the children being abused and for the society they live in

[Whateverist]

I understand the suppression is so extreme that the lust leaks out most inappropriately in relation to children, at least in one very large and well funded denomination.