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Sex & Religion

Training Women to Have No Eyes

by on ·Sex & Religion, Sexual Intelligence Blog

I’m in New York training psychologists this week, and as I always do here, I visited a neighborhood with a professional guide. On previous trips I’ve toured Harlem, Wall Street, Brooklyn Heights, Midtown, Upper Park Avenue, and several other neighborhoods. This year we went to Williamsburg, home to the most insular and religious community of Hasidic Jews in North America. The group is called the Satmars, who came to this country from Eastern Europe after WWII. They dress meticulously like the nobility of 18th century Lithuania/Poland. Even in summer, the men wear long sleeve white shirts, black vests, long black…

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FAQ For Churches In The Era of Gay Marriage

by on ·Sex & Religion, Sexual Intelligence Blog

In the wake of the DOMA and Proposition 8 Supreme Court decisions opening the door to same-sex marriage across America, churches have expressed anxiety. For years they’ve said that gay marriage would destroy straight marriage and the family. But what about the church? Here are some answers that should clarify and perhaps comfort those concerned. […]

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Religion & Sexuality: Iron Age or Dark Ages?

by on ·Sex & Religion, Sexual Intelligence Blog

Since today is Christmas Day, our subject is sexuality and religion. Specifically, what do the world’s three Abrahamic religions (Christianity, Islam, & Judaism) say about sex? Of course, it depends on whom you ask. Each religion’s adherents form a wide spectrum of observance, from the orthodox/fundamentalist to the “I like the holiday food.” That said, here are some of the common ideas about sex featured in the mainstream traditions of one or more of the three religions: * no sex during menstruation * no birth control * no abortion * no same-gender sex * no anal sex * no oral…

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Can Pam Anderson Make Fur Non-Kosher?

by on ·Sex & Religion, Sexual Intelligence Blog

Former super-babe Pamela Lee Anderson is in Israel to be a judge on their version of Dancing with the Stars. While there, she plans to use her “powers of seduction” on ultra-Orthodox Jewish lawmakers to get them to ban fur. Fur is a big issue for these guys because of the 200-year-old Eastern European tradition of wearing fur-trimmed hats (“streimel”) that many ultra-Orthodox follow. Good luck, little shiksa. Since they’re not married to you, these guys won’t shake your hand; many won’t even look at you. Listen to you? I doubt it. There are Orthodox Jews right here in San…

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Destroying America to Save It

by on ·Sex & Religion, Sexual Intelligence Blog

A group of California attorneys say they are literally on a mission from God to replace four current judges with themselves. They are running for San Diego Superior Court judge on June 8. “We believe our country is under assault and needs Christian values,” said candidate Craig Candelore, who believes “God has called upon us to do this.” The campaign is supported by clergymembers, gun enthusiasts, and opponents of reproductive choice and same-gender marriage. This is simply un-American. It threatens to take us back to the 17th century of the Puritans and the monarchy-centered Europe from which they came. For…

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Can Atheists Have a Code of Sexual Morality?

by on ·Sex & Religion, Sexual Intelligence Blog

Can atheists have a code of sexual morality? With the publication of recent books about atheism, the simultaneous attempts to blur the separation of church and state promised in our Constitution, and Americans’ unending obsession with matters sexual, the question arises: Can atheists have a code of sexual morality? This question is at once hilarious, insulting, pathetic, and revealing. It only makes sense if you believe in two things: 1. Moral thought and behavior are essentially determined by the fear of punishment; 2. The definition of “morality” regarding sex is different than it is for other human endeavors. And indeed,…

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