Cheating on your significant other adultery?

[vbarrios]

Is cheating on your boyfriend or girlfriend considered adultery?

 

[promethius95945]

Is cheating on your boyfriend or girlfriend considered adultery?

It’s fornication on both counts, whether with your significant other, or with another person while having commitments to the first.

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

Is cheating on your boyfriend or girlfriend considered adultery?

No, Adultry is a sexual relationship with someone who is Married to someone else. Unless of course your “boyfriend” or “girlfriend” is Married to someone else.

 

[Gamera]

Is cheating on your boyfriend or girlfriend considered adultery?

No.

 

[Gamera]

It’s fornication on both counts, whether with your significant other, or with another person while having commitments to the first.

Why do you assume that any sexual activity has occured between any of the people involved?

 

[Tom]

Why do you assume that any sexual activity has occured between any of the people involved?

LOL, the term “cheating” implies sexual activity. What other type of “cheating” is there? Perhaps they cheat at cards, you think maybe that was the OPs question?

 

[Gamera]

LOL, the term “cheating” implies sexual activity. What other type of “cheating” is there? Perhaps they cheat at cards, you think maybe that was the OPs question?

So, let me get this straight … you’re saying it’s okay for me to take another woman out on a date, even though I’m married? As long as we don’t actually have sex? Ridiculous. Of course it would be cheating for me to go on a date with another woman, even if no sex occured. Our Lord taught us that a person can commit adultery in the heart without having committed it bodily.

Re-read the OP. The question is whether cheating — not just sex, but any cheating, which would include dating another person — is tantamount to adultery. And the answer is no, cheating among the unmarried is not considered adultery.

 

[TemplarKnight]

So, let me get this straight … you’re saying it’s okay for me to take another woman out on a date, even though I’m married? As long as we don’t actually have sex? Ridiculous. Of course it would be cheating for me to go on a date with another woman, even if no sex occured. Our Lord taught us that a person can commit adultery in the heart without having committed it bodily.

Re-read the OP. The question is whether cheating — not just sex, but any cheating, which would include dating another person — is tantamount to adultery. And the answer is no, cheating among the unmarried is not considered adultery.

It’s completely obvious that the OP implied a sexual encounter. When you have the words “cheating” and “adultery” in the same sentence, sex is implied to just about everyone over the age of 16.

 

[Gamera]

It’s completely obvious that the OP implied a sexual encounter. When you have the words “cheating” and “adultery” in the same sentence, sex is implied to just about everyone over the age of 16.

I’m 42 and I highly doubt that my wife would let me date other women under the premise that it isn’t really cheating unless there’s sex.

 

[GJx86]

Regardless of what was meant by “cheating” in the original post, dating more than one person while in what’s otherwise understood to be an exclusive dating relationship is, if nothing else, dishonest, and therefore sinful. As long as no one is being misled, no sex is involved, and all parties are still able to continue to focus on God first, I don’t see a problem with going on dates with different people and avoiding an exclusive dating relationship.

Having sex outside of marriage, as Br. Rich says, is fornication, which is also a sin. Having sex with someone who is not your spouse while in marriage is adultery.

Dating someone other than your spouse while married denies the purpose of the sacrament of marriage. Marriage is meant to unify husband and wife. If you go on a “date” with someone else while married, it seems to me that you would be denying that function of your marriage, because to go on such a date you’d almost certainly have to prioritize some lesser commitment over your relationship with your spouse.

 

[TemplarKnight]

The OP has to be more clear on what they mean by “cheating”, and what they meant by “boyfriend or girlfriend”.

Because trying to stretch this into “dating” is off the mark. If I have a friend that is of the opposite sex, that doesn’t mean we can’t have dinner together. Sharing a meal is not cheating.

 

[Gamera]

The OP has to be more clear on what they mean by “cheating”, and what they meant by “boyfriend or girlfriend”.

Because trying to stretch this into “dating” is off the mark. If I have a friend that is of the opposite sex, that doesn’t mean we can’t have dinner together. Sharing a meal is not cheating.

Right. But suppose you bring the other woman flowers, take her to a romantic restaurant, hold hands during dinner, make out with her in the parking lot, then go your separate ways. That’s cheating, even though no sex happened.

I just don’t understand why anyone would think that a sex act is required for it to be cheating. That’s basically saying that you haven’t gone on a date with someone unless you had sex with them.

 

[Harmony1988]

If they didn’t know you were doing so, then yes. I know sometimes in some relationships where it’s not that serious, couples mutually agree to go out with other friends and stuff of the opposite sex, but purely as friends.

But the keyword here is ‘mutual’ - mutual agreement.

Without letting your significant other, it’s cheating, it’s a lie, it’s not adultery, it’s still a lie and a sin. Something that can develop into something worse over the years if it’s not addressed right now.

Cheers

 

[coda]

Is cheating on your boyfriend or girlfriend considered adultery?

It first depends on what " cheating on" means. Then, if neither party is married{ to anyone}, it is not adultery. It would be considered fornication if sexual activity takes place… same church, different pew}

 

[TemplarKnight]

Right. But suppose you bring the other woman flowers, take her to a romantic restaurant, hold hands during dinner, make out with her in the parking lot, then go your separate ways. That’s cheating, even though no sex happened.

I just don’t understand why anyone would think that a sex act is required for it to be cheating. That’s basically saying that you haven’t gone on a date with someone unless you had sex with them.

As you said and we all agree, the Lord says if you commit the act in your heart, it’s the same as physically committing the act. Therefore if you are thinking about sex, then you are “committing” the act. So you you’re combining physical activity, i.e. holding hands, making out, with mental desires (sex) then yes, that’s cheating. If you’re holding hands and making out, you’re both thinking about sex.

I don’t agree with the flowers thing and either would my wife, but of course, that act depends on the context.

 

[Maynoothman]

the person who posted that only posted once and hasnt been online in a while. I do however feel compeled to say though that it depends on the level of relationship that you have with either, and to what extent of activity is involved.

 

[puzzleannie]

Is cheating on your boyfriend or girlfriend considered adultery?

if by cheating on my s/o you mean that I am having sex exclusively with my s/o (to whom I am not married) now, and I then have sex with another person, am I committing adultery
the answer is no, unless either of us is married to someone else. I am committing the equally grave mortal sin of fornication, as I do everytime I have sex with my s/o, to whom I am not married.

If you mean, am I dating one person exclusively (no sex involved) and go on a date with another person (no sex involved), is it cheating or adultery, no there is no exclusive relationship outside of marriage or engagement. I might be guilty of betraying a friendship depending on the circumstances–lying, covering up, sharing confidential info with a third party etc., but not adultery.

 

[Tom]

The OP asked specifically about adultery:

Is cheating on your boyfriend or girlfriend considered adultery?

To presume she meant anything other than sexual relations is to imply he or she does not know the meaning of adultery. But I agree it all depends on your definition.
I will just quote an infamous individual speaking to the grand jury:
footnote 1:

“It depends on what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is. If the–if he–if ‘is’ means is and never has been, that is not–that is one thing. If it means there is none, that was a completely true statement…Now, if someone had asked me on that day, are you having any kind of sexual relations with Ms. (deleted), that is, asked me a question in the present tense, I would have said no. And it would have been completely true.”

They don’t call him slick Willy for nothing!

 

[Gamera]

The OP asked specifically about adultery:

To presume she meant anything other than sexual relations is to imply he or she does not know the meaning of adultery.

No, it just means that they paid attention to the Sermon on the Mount, when Jesus plainly said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Matt 5:27.

Understand yet? A person can commit adultery by merely dating a third person, regardless of whether sex occurs. That is why I pointed out that sex isn’t necessarily involved in the OP’s situation — “cheating” can encompass situations beyond the sex act itself, such as dating. It doesn’t mean that I think she means cheating at cards, as you strangely claimed, but only that I follow Jesus’ definition af adultery, whereby a person can cheat with their pants on.

 

[hasikelee]

I understand cheating to mean carrying on a relationship at any level without the other person’s knowledge.