It was considered one's duty to carry on the family line by marrying and raising children, regardless of sexual orientation. Standards of human behavior were based on fulfillment of social expectations for example, being a good citizen and bringing honor to one's family. to 400 A.D.), the norms by which a person carried out their private and public life were social and behavioral, rather than psychological or spiritual. In Mediterranean city states of the old world (ca. Indeed, he considered it second only to bestiality as an abuse of sexuality. It is in this sense that Aquinas considered homosexuality unnatural, since it involves a kind of partner other than the kind to which the purpose of sexuality points. However, the natural law of many aspects of life is knowable apart from special revelation by examining the forms and purposes of those aspects. Therefore, all sins are also against the natural law. In the 13th century A.D., the theologian Thomas Aquinas was influential in linking condemnations of homosexuality with the idea of natural law, arguing that "special sins are against nature, as, for instance, those that run counter to the intercourse of male and female natural to animals, and so are peculiarly qualified as unnatural vices." This view points from the natural to the Divine, because (following Aristotle) he said all people seek happiness but according to Aquinas, happiness can only finally be attained through the Beatific Vision. In Book II Vision Six, she quotes God as condemning same-sex intercourse, including lesbianism "a woman who takes up devilish ways and plays a male role in coupling with another woman is most vile in My sight, and so is she who subjects herself to such a one in this evil deed". Peter Damian, reported seeing visions and recorded them in Scivias (short for Scito vias Domini, "Know the Ways of the Lord" ). Hildegard of Bingen, born seven years after the death of St. He portrayed homosexuality as a counter-rational force undermining morality, religion, and society itself, and in need of strong suppression lest it spread even and especially among clergy. Peter Damian, wrote the Liber Gomorrhianus, an extended attack on both homosexuality and masturbation. In the 11th century, the Doctor of the Church, St. The Old Testament (Leviticus 18:22, 20:13, Deuteronomy 22:5) condemned females who wore male attire, males who wore female attire, and males that engaged in homosexual intercourse. Main article: History of Christianity and homosexualityĪlthough homosexuality was not considered a major offense during the early Roman Empire, homosexual encounters and homosexual behavior came to be viewed as unacceptable as Christianity developed. These allegations were highly politicized and without any real substance.
Accusations of Sodomy and unnatural acts were levelled against the Order of the Knights Templar in 1307 as part of Philip IV of France's attempt to suppress the order. The emergence of heretical groups, such as the Cathars and Waldensians, witnesses a rise in allegations of unnatural sexual conduct against such heretics as part of the war against heresy in Christendom. Medieval records reflect this growing concern. By the 11th century Sodomy was increasingly viewed as a serious moral crime and punishable by mutilation or death.
In medieval Europe, attitudes toward homosexuality varied from region to region, determined by religious culture the Catholic Church, which dominated the religious landscape, considered, and still considers, sodomy as a mortal sin and a "crime against nature". ( April 2019) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) You may improve this article, discuss the issue on the talk page, or create a new article, as appropriate. The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject.