The Bible and Sexuality: Lecture 1

The Bible and Sexuality

Lecture 1

by Rev. Dr. Debra Haffner

In the second decade of the 21st century, sexuality issues continue to permeate social, political, and religious controversies. The current federal government is actively working to  further restrict abortion and contraceptive access, curtail the rights of transgender and queer people, and promote traditional gender roles, often using strained religious pretenses. Even in the progressive Unitarian Universalist Association, the full inclusion of transgender and nonbinary persons as clergy and in congregations is too often problematic and discussions of non-monogamy and polyamory are fraught in many congregations.

The Bible remains an important source of personal and sexual ethics for the general public. Half of people in the United States in 2021 said they read the Bible regularly, with about one in ten reading it daily. Many people believe that the Bible is anti-sex except for sexual relationships in lifelong heterosexual marriage, but…