In an increasingly secular American society, the traditional value of sexual abstinence until marriage has become obsolete. Movies, music, and media glorify promiscuous behavior, and people are putting off marriage until later in life. As American culture continues to shift towards a romanticized view of premarital sexual intercourse, one ought to ask his or herself if this is truly a morally permissible act. Personally, I find this behavior alarming, and in this essay, I hope to persuade readers as to why premarital sexual intercourse should not be accepted or encouraged. I will begin by criticizing a typical modus tollens argument pro premarital sexual intercourse advocates often present. Next, I will defend my claim that the presented argument is unsound by providing an equivalent example. I will then address a possible objection to my stance, and I will overcome this objection by examining a few of the numerous negative consequences to premarital sexual intercourse. The pro premarital sexual intercourse argument is as follows:
1) If premarital sexual intercourse is morally impermissible for adults, then it is reasonable to prohibit premarital sexual intercourse for adults (given what we know about the growth and development of young men and women).
2) It is not reasonable to prohibit premarital sexual intercourse for adults (given what we know about the growth and development of young men and women).
3) So, it is not the case that premarital sexual intercourse is
The Natural Law approach to pre-marital sex is relatively simple: sex is strictly for married couples only. This is because Natural Law is
Human evolution and biology has guided us throughout all of our short history. One of the most advanced and extraordinary traits that evolution has given us is our way to reproduce. Being able to sexually reproduce is the most useful trait to reproduce offspring and guarantee a chance for them to survive. So why is it that every opportunity is it that we try and prevent people from it? Now do not go out and have sex every second that is possible, but why is it that society, especially towards adolescents and teens, tries to prevent healthy sexual relationships. Instead, people in impoverished areas and teens have to try and teach themselves on what to do.Those who oppose the teaching of sexual education to people are stuck in the old ways of not wanting to have sex due to religious or moral standards.
There was once a time when premarital sex hardly ever existed, but that is not the case today. The age of individuals taking part in premarital sex is declining, and people are partaking in sexual acts at much younger ages. There is a highly unrealistic goal to encourage all Americans to abstain from sex until they marry (Finer 2). This is a highly unrealistic goal; the amount of people having premarital sex may lower, but getting all Americans to abstain is a nearly impossible goal. A 2002 survey showed that seventy-five percent of people aged 20 had premarital sex. The same survey portrayed participants aged 44 and it showed that ninety-five percent had sex before marrying. The survey showed that only around three percent of people abstained until marriage (Finer 3). Premarital sex also differs in the different sexes. Males were more likely to participate in premarital sex than women. This statistic is still common today. Premarital sex seemed to play a major role in relationships all the way back to the 1940s, it just depended on what age they did the act. By age 44, almost all people, if not married, had premarital sex (Finer 4). This is a social norm that seemed to stay relatively constant in American society throughout history. Not being abstinent is something that individuals have been accustomed to. It was socially
Throughout life many of us have our own views on what we believe is right, it is more or less based on the way we were raised and our morals and beliefs. Once we hit puberty and start learning about sex, many of us get curious and begin to experiment in sexual activity. We are influenced by many things in media like movies, shows and songs, almost forcing us to believe that sex is the greatest thing in the entire world. Abstinence is a moral that is almost completely abolished in this modern age. People who do practice abstinence are most likely judged and taken as sexually impotent or prude. This topic brings controversy to many people and religious beliefs because many
There have been various attempts to stall this menace in the USA but the approaches have always looked at the issue of teenage pregnancy as a religious and family value issue hence missing the point at all times. There must be a cultural and social consensus that the issue of sexuality is a normal and healthy segment of an individual's life and that by wide and far, the sexual intercourse is part of the wider teen population life because at the age of 16 years, 40% of Americans have already had sexual intercourse. These are facts that cannot be ignored by any segment of the society.
They see the overwhelming importance given to sexual attractiveness in the media-one study estimated that the average teenager ahs witnessed nearly 14,000 sexual encounters on television- yet they also hear their parents and religious advisers telling them that sex is wrong. As a result, many young people begin having sex without really intending to and without taking precautions against pregnancy.
Now in school instructors would take three options, abstinence-only, comprehensive, or no sex education program at all. There is two other places that talk about some type of sex, church and home. The church says that you should wait to have sex for marriage, that is if you believe in God. When your at home it’s up to your parents, planned parenthood says that it’s best to start talking with their children about sex when they are in their early childhood. I do not think that it is the church’s place to say weather you can have sex or not. [Jesus] said, "It is what comes out of a person that defiles. For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person." (NRSV, Mark
Human sexuality is defined as the capability of individuals to experience their sexuality and be able to express themselves as sexual beings (Hyde & DeLameck, 2006). Our interest in this topic is because with time, there has been a change in rules that control human sexual behaviour. The status quo in our contemporary society is much different as compared to an earlier state of conditions, and the change has, as a result, brought the evolvement in human sexuality. People 's view on virginity has changed greatly with a decrease of importance in regards to its preservation. Sexuality is essential to the economic, cultural, social and political organization of society or country. Our sexuality plays a fundamental role in all our lives regardless of age, sex or race. It forms a basic part of our personality and the decisions we make in what we do. One’s sexuality also consumes much of their time through behaviour or thoughts; at times every aspect of our lives seems to revolve around our sexuality. Studying sexuality is very important since human sexuality majorly contributes to social as well as personal problems. A lingering question concerning this topic is to what extent is virginity determined by the status quo and the rules that control human behaviour?
It has been almost thirty three years since the first federal funding was put to use in “. . . sex education programs that promote abstinence-only-until-marriage to the exclusion of all other approaches . . .” according to the article “Sex education” (2010) published by “Opposing Viewpoints in Context;” a website that specializes in covering social issues. Since then a muddy controversy has arisen over whether that is the best approach. On one hand is the traditional approach of abstinence (not having sex before marriage), and on the other is the idea that what is being done is not enough, and that there needs to be a more comprehensive approach. This entails not only warning against sex, but also teaching teens about how to have
Society has plugged information into young people’s mind for generations. This programmed, presumptive information has made youthful people, especially teenagers, and young adults think and act like robots. Buried deep in many teenagers thoughts ensued by their parents and society are the words, “No sex before marriage!”. Different people, have countless different reasons that they believe one should not have sex before marriage. Society, in lots of different places look poorly on those who engage sexually before being married. I’ve witnessed it happen more then once locally in my area, and its always ends with such a negative outcome. Even in schools kids are taught that sex is bad thing, and told not to engage in any sort of sexual activity. Rather then being taught about the importance of safe sex society is programing kids to just not have sex at all, especially in America. “Americans love to tout the value of waiting until marriage to have sex. We teach abstinence-only education in schools across the country, and even comprehensive sex-ed programs often point out that "abstinence is best."” (Jill Filipovic). People get married, most of the time, because the love each other but marriage is only a document. And when you love someone, you don’t need a contract to prove it. And you shouldn’t need a stamp of approval saying when and when you’re not allowed to be intimate with someone you love. Having sex before marriage should not be looked so poorly upon this day in age.
(Premise 3)Although pregnancy is always a risk when engaging in sexual intercourse, many young adults aren’t properly sexually educated. Sadly, some women get raped and happen to get pregnant not by their choice. Why would a woman want to bring a child into the world if it is unwanted? Believe it or not, (Premise 4) abortions are a lot safer than child birth, if performed by a professional. According to E.G. Raymond and D.A. Grimes, “A woman's risk of dying from having an abortion is 0.6 in 100,000, while the risk of dying from giving birth is around 14 times higher (8.8 in 100,000)”[3]. I reply that abortion should be legal, because there are young adults out in the world having sex without proper the education, and in the instances of rape cases where women unwantedly get pregnant.
Some young adults, who have been through this pressure, think that having sex as teenagers is just too young.
The Catholic Church teaches that premarital sex is wrong, yet it is still widely practiced around the world. The reason marriage was created was to join two people of the opposite sex together in a holy sacrament that would make the couple one. God's reason for marriage is quoted in the bible when he said, "For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh." The Sacrament of marriage is one of the most sacred Sacraments in the Catholic Religion. By performing premarital sex, the couple is breaking a covenant with God and is performing a sin.
Over many years, the views of premarital sex have been becoming increasingly more tolerant. The whole reasoning behind why sex was created is lost in the minds of society and used for pleasure and own physical satisfaction. There are negative consequences for these actions leading to guilt, depression, and numbness to intimate relationships. Having strong parental influence can also strongly affect the outcomes of adolescence and causal sex. Additionally, marriage can be
Controversy is rampant regarding the sexual education of grade school children. Some insist that it is prudent to educate children on this subject beginning as early as kindergarten. Others strongly disagree that earlier education has any effect at all on teen sex and pregnancy and, therefore, abstinence should be the focus. Lastly, we have those who believe advocating abstinence is appropriate, but agree that a more in depth sexual education is also necessary for those who are going to have sex anyway despite our best efforts to teach them otherwise.