The questions and approaches

Key issues include premarital sex, extramarital sex (adultery), homosexuality and contraception.

• Religious approaches often start from scripture, tradition and the purpose of sex.
• Secular approaches often start from consent, autonomy and harm.

Attitudes have changed greatly in recent decades; part of the debate is descriptive (how views have shifted) and part is normative (what is actually right).

Natural Law on sex

Natural Law reasons from the telos of sex. On this traditional view, the natural purpose of sex is reproduction within faithful marriage.

• It draws on the primary precept of reproduction (and ordered society).
• So the tradition has generally opposed contraception, extramarital sex and homosexual acts as falling short of that natural purpose.
• Criticism: critics argue sex also has unitive and relational purposes, and that appeals to 'nature' can be selective.

Natural Law and sex

Situation Ethics on sex

Situation Ethics rejects fixed sexual rules. The only question is: what is the most loving (agape) thing in this situation?

• A committed, loving relationship could justify sex that traditional rules forbid, if love is genuinely served.
• An act that exploits or harms another would fail the test of love.
• Criticism: 'the most loving thing' is subjective and hard to judge, and could be used to rationalise harm.

Situation Ethics and sex

Natural Law or Situation Ethics?

Tap a claim, then the approach it fits.

Kant on sexual ethics

Kantian ethics centres on respect for persons. The key rule: never treat a sexual partner merely as a means to your own pleasure, but always also as an end.

• This demands genuine consent, honesty and mutual respect; it condemns manipulation and exploitation.
• Kant own writings were quite restrictive about sex, but the humanity formula is often applied more broadly today to defend consenting, respectful relationships.

Utilitarianism and changing attitudes

Utilitarianism weighs the pleasure and harm of all those affected.

• Consensual acts that harm no one and increase happiness are generally permissible; acts that cause harm (deception, disease, broken trust) are not.
• This tends to support a liberal, consent-based approach, though rule utilitarians weigh wider social effects.

Overall: the theories range from the rule-based caution of Natural Law to the flexible, autonomy-focused approaches of Situation Ethics and utilitarianism — a genuine spread of serious views.

Kant applied

Theory and approach

Tap a theory, then its approach to sexual ethics.

Descriptive vs normative

The big ideas to take into the exam

This completes Component 02 Religion and ethics. Press Finish.