Premarital Sex

Premarital sex refers to sexual interaction between heterosexual men and women prior to marriage. Many scholars chart changes in both attitudes and behavior related to premarital sex to explore the connection between this issue and social problems, such as divorce and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. Given the interconnectedness of sexual behavior and other important aspects of society, every society has guidelines for single men and women for what is permissible sexual behavior (Rubin, pp. 31).

Considerable cross-cultural variation exists in what is deemed acceptable sexual contact before marriage. Attitudes and behavior related to premarital sex also differ by race, social class, gender, religion, age, and historical time period. In many Western societies, prior to the 20th century, sexual activity before marriage was not socially acceptable. Communities and families both played a role in monitoring the sexual behavior of unmarried persons to ensure that a child was not born out of wedlock. In addition to the practical consideration of avoiding pregnancy, many religions strictly regulated sexual interaction among unmarried men and women. Despite the continued influence of organized religion, premarital sex changed from being forbidden to becoming the norm by the latter part of the 20th century.

The Catholic Church continues to teach that sexual love between a man and a woman is reserved to marriage. We find this teaching in the creation account of Genesis—Book 1, Chapter 1 of Sacred Scripture: First, God creates man in His own image and likeness, making them male and female (Genesis 1:27). In the next verse, the Bible reads, "God blessed them, saying, 'Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it'"(Genesis 1:28). Before the man and woman come together as husband and wife, and before they express their love as husband and wife, they are first blessed by God.

Only in marriage do we find God's blessing upon the act of sexual love, or what is better termed, marital love (Reiss, pp, 12). This physical expression of love in marriage is a sacred sign of a husband and wife's covenant of love and love that they share in union with God. This marital love signifies the vows freely exchanged between each other and thereby reflects the faithful, permanent, exclusive, and self-giving love they have promised to each other and to God. This understanding is evident in Jesus response to the Pharisees' question regarding divorce: "Have you not read that at the beginning ...