Spanning thousands of years, this collection brings together writings and teachings about sex, marriage, and family from the Jewish, Christian, Islamic, Hindu, Confucian, and Buddhist traditions. It reveals the similarities and differences among the teachings of each tradition and the development of their ideas and practices over time. Selections address a range of subjects, including sexuality and sexual pleasure, the meaning and purpose of marriage, the role of betrothal, the status of women, the place of romance, divorce, celibacy, and sexual deviance. Drawn from a variety of genres, including ritual, legal, theological, poetic, and mythological texts, the chapters present and analyze a diverse range of sources, such as the Zohar on conjugal manners, a contemporary Episcopalian liturgy for same-sex unions, Qur'anic passages on the equality of the sexes, the Ka-masu-tra on husbands, wives, and lovers, Buddhist writings on celibacy, and Confucian teachings on filial piety.
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