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'Fornication', or simple fornication, is a term which refers to sexual intercourse between consenting unmarried partners. In contrast adultery is consensual sex where one or both of the partners are married to someone else.
The origin of the word derives from Latin. The word ''fornix'' means "an archway" or "vault" (in Rome, prostitutes could be solicited there). More directly, ''fornicationis'' means "of the archway"; thus an euphemism for prostitution.
Fornication is dealt with differently in various religions, societies and cultures.
''For a broad overview, see Religion and sexuality.''
The laws on fornication have historically been tied with religion and the legal and political traditions within the particular jurisdiction. In the common law countries (England, USA, Canada, Australia, etc.), the Courts were never interested in punishing subjects for purely private moral deviations - even incest - although sodomy was an exception. What laws did exist were purely statutory. In many other countries, however, there have been attempts to secularize constitutions, and laws differ greatly from country to country. Most Western countries and some secular Muslim countries like Turkey and Azerbaijan have no laws against fornication if both parties are above the age of consent.
At common law, fornication was viewed as a private moral deviation and, as such, was never a criminal offence[1]. This legal position was inherited by the United States from England. Later, some jurisdictions, a total of 16 in the South and East and also Wisconsin[2], passed statutes criminalising fornication, generally defined as (vaginal) sexual intercourse between two unmarried persons of opposite sex. Most of these laws either were repealed, were not enforced, or were struck down by the courts as unconstitutional. See also ''State v. Saunders'', 381 A.2d 333 (N.J. 1977), ''Martin v. Ziherl'', 607 S.E.2d 367 (Va. 2005).
With respect to fornication between same-sex persons, or sodomy, the U.S. Supreme Court decision in ''Lawrence v. Texas'' rendered the states' remaining laws unconstitutional.
Some states though, continue to enforce laws on fornication and adultery.[3] In Utah, fornication is a class B misdemeanor.[4]
In recent years the morality of premarital sex has become a politically divisive issue in the United States, since discouraging premarital sex is the basis for the types of "abstinence-only" sex education programs supported by President George W. Bush and many conservative members of the United States Congress, they also plan to renact laws against fornication. The policy is opposed by groups such as Planned Parenthood, most liberal members of Congress, and citizens who believe that sexual freedom is a right. The debate over abstinence-only education has brought the issue of premarital sex to the forefront of the Culture Wars.
Fornication is a crime in some Muslim countries, and is often harshly punished. However, there are some exceptions. In Pakistan, for example, occasionally a charge is filed in order to prevent the accused from leaving the jurisdiction (for instance it is often used against drug smugglers, against whom it may not be possible to show a prima facie case for trial, but a charge of fornication, which requires a lower threshold, can be filed in the interim as the investigation unfolds.) In certain countries where parts of Islamic law are enforced, such as Iran and Saudi Arabia, fornication of unmarried persons is punishable by lashings. This is in contrast to adultery, in which one (or both) of the parties is married, where the punishment would be death by stoning.
Historically speaking, corporal punishment is used for sexual crimes in the Abrahamic faiths. Fornication towards someone else's woman (not a wife or a couple) is treated as a violation of property right, the equivalent of rape or stealing.
★ Free love
★ Illegitimacy
★ Social Determinants of Attitudes Towards Women's Premarital Sexuality Among Female Turkish University Students
★ Sexuality, the Modern World, and the Catholic Church
★ Sex, Children, Nature
★ Shtup in the Name of Love, The Indypendent
1. Jim Thompson, The Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology, and Police Science, Vol. 49, No. 4 (Nov. - Dec., 1958), pp. 350-356
2. Jim Thompson
The Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology, and Police Science, Vol. 49, No. 4 (Nov. - Dec., 1958), pp. 350-356, 353
3. For example, North Carolina courts regard Lawrence v. Texas as applying to sodomy laws only and continue to enforce laws on fornication and adultery. (Note: "criminal conversation" is a euphemism for extramarital sex)
[1]
4. http://le.utah.gov/~code/TITLE76/htm/76_09006.htm
The origin of the word derives from Latin. The word ''fornix'' means "an archway" or "vault" (in Rome, prostitutes could be solicited there). More directly, ''fornicationis'' means "of the archway"; thus an euphemism for prostitution.
Fornication is dealt with differently in various religions, societies and cultures.
| Contents |
| Religions |
| Laws |
| Jurisdictions within the United States of America |
| Islamic Countries |
| See also |
| External links |
| References |
Religions
''For a broad overview, see Religion and sexuality.''
Laws
The laws on fornication have historically been tied with religion and the legal and political traditions within the particular jurisdiction. In the common law countries (England, USA, Canada, Australia, etc.), the Courts were never interested in punishing subjects for purely private moral deviations - even incest - although sodomy was an exception. What laws did exist were purely statutory. In many other countries, however, there have been attempts to secularize constitutions, and laws differ greatly from country to country. Most Western countries and some secular Muslim countries like Turkey and Azerbaijan have no laws against fornication if both parties are above the age of consent.
Jurisdictions within the United States of America
At common law, fornication was viewed as a private moral deviation and, as such, was never a criminal offence[1]. This legal position was inherited by the United States from England. Later, some jurisdictions, a total of 16 in the South and East and also Wisconsin[2], passed statutes criminalising fornication, generally defined as (vaginal) sexual intercourse between two unmarried persons of opposite sex. Most of these laws either were repealed, were not enforced, or were struck down by the courts as unconstitutional. See also ''State v. Saunders'', 381 A.2d 333 (N.J. 1977), ''Martin v. Ziherl'', 607 S.E.2d 367 (Va. 2005).
With respect to fornication between same-sex persons, or sodomy, the U.S. Supreme Court decision in ''Lawrence v. Texas'' rendered the states' remaining laws unconstitutional.
Some states though, continue to enforce laws on fornication and adultery.[3] In Utah, fornication is a class B misdemeanor.[4]
In recent years the morality of premarital sex has become a politically divisive issue in the United States, since discouraging premarital sex is the basis for the types of "abstinence-only" sex education programs supported by President George W. Bush and many conservative members of the United States Congress, they also plan to renact laws against fornication. The policy is opposed by groups such as Planned Parenthood, most liberal members of Congress, and citizens who believe that sexual freedom is a right. The debate over abstinence-only education has brought the issue of premarital sex to the forefront of the Culture Wars.
Islamic Countries
Fornication is a crime in some Muslim countries, and is often harshly punished. However, there are some exceptions. In Pakistan, for example, occasionally a charge is filed in order to prevent the accused from leaving the jurisdiction (for instance it is often used against drug smugglers, against whom it may not be possible to show a prima facie case for trial, but a charge of fornication, which requires a lower threshold, can be filed in the interim as the investigation unfolds.) In certain countries where parts of Islamic law are enforced, such as Iran and Saudi Arabia, fornication of unmarried persons is punishable by lashings. This is in contrast to adultery, in which one (or both) of the parties is married, where the punishment would be death by stoning.
Historically speaking, corporal punishment is used for sexual crimes in the Abrahamic faiths. Fornication towards someone else's woman (not a wife or a couple) is treated as a violation of property right, the equivalent of rape or stealing.
See also
★ Free love
★ Illegitimacy
External links
★ Social Determinants of Attitudes Towards Women's Premarital Sexuality Among Female Turkish University Students
★ Sexuality, the Modern World, and the Catholic Church
★ Sex, Children, Nature
★ Shtup in the Name of Love, The Indypendent
References
1. Jim Thompson, The Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology, and Police Science, Vol. 49, No. 4 (Nov. - Dec., 1958), pp. 350-356
2. Jim Thompson
The Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology, and Police Science, Vol. 49, No. 4 (Nov. - Dec., 1958), pp. 350-356, 353
3. For example, North Carolina courts regard Lawrence v. Texas as applying to sodomy laws only and continue to enforce laws on fornication and adultery. (Note: "criminal conversation" is a euphemism for extramarital sex)
[1]
4. http://le.utah.gov/~code/TITLE76/htm/76_09006.htm
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