God-believin' Men: Will you/Did you hold off on Sex due to your regligious beliefs?

snort I wasn’t even thinking of saying that. Do people actually say that? :rolleyes:

I apologize…I really kinda fucked that up. The exchange going on in the Dins thread prompted this question. One person said that guys thatwho hold out “because of their religion” are probably gay. I was trying to get a read from the Dopers regarding the accuracy of this statement.

Does my Mother count :smiley:

1) Does your religion prohibit pre-marital sex?

I believe it does. But I struggle with that question.

2) Will you hold out for marriage because of your religious beliefs?

I am trying, it’s not easy, but so far so good.

3) Do you believe that only gay men will hold out (under the guise of their religious beliefs)?

I would not presume to dictate what others should believe, it’s not my business.

4) What religion are you?

Christian, I go to a Baptist church.

5) Was it worth it?

When I had my first marriage I believe it was, we first made love on our honeymoon. It was beautiful. Just because the marriage ended 4 years ago has not changed my beliefs.

  1. The denomination in which I was raise, and pretty much any denomination with which I’ve ever been involved, do prohibit premarital sex.

  2. I held out for a long-term, trusting relationship… not quite the same thing, but close. We dated for over a year before I took the plunge.

  3. No. (What a weird thing to think. I originally wasn’t going to participate, since by this question I thought you were coming into this with a rather prominent bias, but your explanation of the thread that piqued your curiosity eased my concern about that.)

  4. Lapsed Protestant. Raised in a GARBC Baptist church, attended various independent/unaffiliated Baptist churches.

  5. Yeah. It was quite nice to not get caught up in drama in my teens and early adult years, and (considering years of straitened circumstances) I avoided making potentially foolish choices. I could spend my time working on myself-- establishing a household, learning new things. Once I was in a long-term relationship, I also had nothing questionable in my past that could have derailed things.

Once the relationship did end, I went back to the “waiting” thing. I do miss it sometimes, but like before, by putting myself out of the game of searching for sex, I can spend my time on other pursuits, like exhausting myself with school and multiple jobs. (I still date, and for whatever reason, the women I tend to meet are also “saving themselves” for long-term relationships… which is odd, since I tend to meet them at dance clubs or other dens of iniquity.)

In that case, I’d have to go along with the crowd and say no.

To the other poster, my reply would be “Surely you can’t be serious.”

  1. Does your religion prohibit pre-marital sex?

Yes.

  1. Will you hold out for marriage because of your religious beliefs?

No…no, I should have, but didn’t.

  1. Do you believe that only gay men will hold out (under the guise of their religious beliefs)?

No.

  1. What religion are you?

Christian. No denomination.

  1. Was it worth it?

Well, I’m glad I was able to refrain from sticking it in every wet hole I could find when I was younger.

Thanks for your post; I really like it. I’ve never heard of your religion before, but I’ll have to read up on it. It sounds pretty cool.

No! don’t look at it Marion! Keep your eyes closed!

I’m not going to convert or anything. I just thought I’d try to learn more about it.

** jhinman**, I have a single LDS sister who’s going to be 30 this year. :wink:

I’d like to expand on my previous post, which did not fit the question-and-answer format.

1) Does your religion prohibit pre-marital sex?
No. It does say that “all acts of love and pleasure are worship” (though they are not the only forms of worship, of course). It also says that whatever you do comes back to you. So if you use people, you will be used in turn: not a pretty situation.

2) Will you hold out for marriage because of your religious beliefs?
No need to. I do have to take the usual care not to let my desired lead me into situations I do not want to be in.

3) Do you believe that only gay men will hold out (under the guise of their religious beliefs)?
This question makes no sense in my context.

4) What religion are you?
Neo-pagan. Though I’m pretty secular about it.

5) Was it worth it?
I’m not yet married, so this question is pretty meaningless. By definition, pre-marital sex is my only choice.

  1. Does your religion prohibit pre-marital sex?

No

  1. Will you hold out for marriage because of your religious beliefs?

Too late for that.

  1. Do you believe that only gay men will hold out (under the guise of their religious beliefs)?

I’m willing to actually address this question even though no-one else seems to want to. No, I don’t believe the only men who could possibly keep it in their pants are gay men pressured into a straight life (if that’s what you mean). I can easily believe there are straight men whose religious beliefs are strong enough to make them restrain their natural desires.

  1. What religion are you?

Satanist (before anyone says that means I don’t believe in god you’re wrong, god is me).

  1. Was it worth it?

Losing my cherry at 15? Totally.

I was a fairly devout Methodist when I met my wife. I know virginity was encouraged and pre-marital sex was frowned on, but the Methodists are really more worried about adultery than plain fornication. Nope, we didn’t hold out – the best part about Christianity is the whole forgiveness and repentance thing. I know aboslutely nothing about gay men.

1) Does your religion prohibit pre-marital sex?
Yes
2) Will you hold out for marriage because of your religious beliefs?
No, I didn’t. I had sex with my fiance when we were 20

3) Do you believe that only gay men will hold out (under the guise of their religious beliefs)?
No, but men and women who are fearful of other things aside from a loving God’s displeasure might use religion as an excuse not to seek or invite sexual relationships

4) What religion are you?
raised Catholic
5) Was it worth it?
I didn’t wait, so I can’t say .

  1. Does your religion prohibit pre-marital sex? Yes.

  2. Will you hold out for marriage because of your religious beliefs? I did.

  3. Do you believe that only gay men will hold out (under the guise of their religious beliefs)? Well, I do believe that someone with no sexual interest whatsoever in women is expected by my religion to never have sex, if that’s what you mean. On the other hand, heterosexuals who don’t find a woman they like enough for marriage should remain celibate as well.

  4. What religion are you? Orthodox Jewish

  5. Was it worth it? I certainly think so.

1) Does your religion prohibit pre-marital sex?
My church holds it to be sinful, but takes no action against people who do it.

2) Will you hold out for marriage because of your religious beliefs?
Yes.

3) Do you believe that only gay men will hold out (under the guise of their religious beliefs)?
No, and I have never, to my awareness, met any gay man who uses religion as a cover or excuse for his sexual orientation.

4) What religion are you?
Christian. A member of the United Methodist Church, to be exact.

5) Was it worth it?
I believe that it will be.

Say you will reach the age of 35 and still haven’t found the person you’re going to marry, but you have built an otherwise close relationship with someone. Would there ever be a time where curiosity or another level of “closeness” would trump your religious beliefs or would you be content with the prospect of living your entire life without ever experiencing sex?
If I never meet a woman who I wish to marry and who wishes to marry me, I will take that as an indication that God did not wish for me to marry, and I will be content to remain chaste for my entire life.

To expand a little bit, I am a 25-year-old heterosexual man who has never had sex. I do not view chastity until marriage as something to be endured like a form of penance. Rather it is a logical and intelligent command that increases a person’s happiness and satisfaction from their sex life. I have known many men who slept around, and generally the more they did so the less satisfied they seemed with their sexual experience. In fact, recognizing the truth of this was an important step in my journey from militant atheism to Christianity.

Answers for Dad and
Middlebro:

  1. Does your religion prohibit pre-marital sex?
    Yes.
    Yes, but it also has this funny notion that marriage doesn’t necessarily happen at the wedding. Many people reckon it’s ok so long as you’re “partnered” (long-term couple, personally and socially reckoned as “married except for the paperwork”).

  2. Will you hold out for marriage because of your religious beliefs?
    Yes, I held out until the wedding.
    See above.

  3. Do you believe that only gay men will hold out (under the guise of their religious beliefs)?
    Uh? Are you saying I’m gay? If I’m gay, how come I’m so crazy about this girl? What have you been drinking?
    No, I don’t. I’m quite sure that I’m not gay :smiley: Promise.

  4. What religion are you?
    Catholic, daily Mass.
    Catholic, Mass when possible.

  5. Was it worth it?
    Uh?
    (I haven’t asked, but given SiL’s sex hangups, I imagine yes - unmarried sex with her forget it, sex with others would involve the risk of health problems which would have made her Not Happy)
    I also know that Dad only had sex with Mom. Haven’t asked Middlebro, I know he does use porn (the closest Dad came to porn was watching Cyd Charisse dance).

Age 46

Religion: Evangelical Christian, Assembly of God member

Religion prohibit pre-marital sex? Yes

Planning to hold out till marriage? Yep. Planning. Then again, I ideally thought I’d even hold out on heavy petting… till given the chance. BUT I did politely turn down the offer for a Lewinsky. :smiley:

The gay idea is just stupid, and even insulting to gays.

Is it worth it? Considering that my big opportunity was with someone who later self-destructed but is slowly rebuilding her life- GOD, YES!

I’ll be chuckling about this all day. :stuck_out_tongue:

I’m going to try to work this slang into the conversation the next time the subject comes up. :o