Why isn't adultery against the law?

[WildCatholic]

Tonight, I was reading a post that talked about how the Catholic Church wants abortion to be outlawed, and how things like murder are outlawed. But why not adultery? I know it has to do with privacy and such, but why not outlaw it if it is as wrong. A sin is a sin no matter what, and if I remember what I was taught in Catholic School, Adultery is a grave sin, just like abortion. I also wonder about Homosexuality. Why didn’t we keep it criminalized, and why didn’t the church campaign to keep it that way?

 

[Julia_Mae]

Tonight, I was reading a post that talked about how the Catholic Church wants abortion to be outlawed, and how things like murder are outlawed. But why not adultery?..

Because we don’t want to live in the 17th century? Terrible bathrooms and lousy TV reception.

BTW, it used to be. It’s still on the books in some states, but it’s not enforceable because the penalties have been removed.

When I was young and a police officer, I actually got a call to a house where a young man, in eager self-righteous anticipation, told me to go to a motel and arrest his wife who was there with another man. He actually didn’t believe me when I told him I couldn’t. Insisted I call a supervisor. It was pretty funny.

 

[Elizium23]

The difference with abortion is that nobody can defend the helpless unborn child being murdered. Homosexuality and adultery are sins committed by consenting adults as an act of free will. The harm to souls and relationships from these sins pales in comparison to the harm done to human life by abortion. Willing adult sinners can take care of themselves, and the Church is unequivocal in her condemnation of all these sins, but she must speak up for the defenseless against the crime of abortion.

In a similar situation, but not the same, is the fight against the redefinition of marriage. It is not primarily about preventing homosexuals from loving each other and sinning. Rather, we are focused on the corrosive effect on society when it tries to view something ontologically impossible (a union not of one man and one woman) as marriage, which is the building block of the family and therefore society. Homosexual marriage has collateral damage worse than adultery; its inherently sterile nature makes it destructive rather than the building block, its members often seek to produce children by immoral means such as IVF or surrogacy, and children introduced into such arrangements are morally damaged by the lack of both true mother and father that every child needs and deserves.

So you can see that the degree to which society and the defenseless are hurt by adultery is markedly less than these other things. The recriminalization of adultery or homosexuality, while it might be desirable, is not a non-negotiable in today’s political climate.

 

[enickman]

Unlike abortion, adultery doesn’t directly end a life. Yes, it is still terrible, but we don’t live in a society that enforces law out of the Bible. The same goes for homosexuality. And remember, being gay is not a sin. Acting on those temptations is a sin, because it defies natural law, among other reasons.

 

[Shin]

Tonight, I was reading a post that talked about how the Catholic Church wants abortion to be outlawed, and how things like murder are outlawed. But why not adultery? I know it has to do with privacy and such, but why not outlaw it if it is as wrong. A sin is a sin no matter what, and if I remember what I was taught in Catholic School, Adultery is a grave sin, just like abortion. I also wonder about Homosexuality. Why didn’t we keep it criminalized, and why didn’t the church campaign to keep it that way?

It normally is supposed to be, yes. As for why we are in such terrible times, one would suppose have to study real history to understand…

 

[CaptFun]

His Kingdom is not of this world.

In some places it is still civilly against the law possibly.

And there are penalties assessed in Divorce cases (custody, etc.)

As for God’s law it was once a capital offense. It certainly can disrupt a society.

While the capital offense for adultery is recorded in the Bible - an actual execution for it is not*.

• David’s son Absalom killed his brother Ammon for raping their sister Tamar.
• Jacob’s sons killed Shechem for raping their sister Dinah … even after he
  asked for her hand in marriage afterward.
• These were not public executions but private ones, vendetta, but justified in the eyes of the executioners because a capital crime (rape … illicit sex) had been committed. The commandment broken would have been the one that referenced “adultery” even if neither party in the incident was married before.

---

On the other hand David committed adultery with Bathsheeba (and arranged for her husband to be abandoned and killed on the battlefield to cover the fact that she was pregnant by David) … and civilly, would have gotten away with it because he was King.

God punished him by way of having his child die … even after David repented.

This question pertains to man’s law as I read it. But it is instructive to know how important such a law was viewed in the past – and how it’s legality (mostly) has affected
society.

 

[InJesusItrust]

Jesus did not stone an adulterer. There can be forgiveness if there is repentance.

A dead human is dead. Abortion cannot be compared.

 

[Usige]

As Julie Mae says it actually is a crime in some states, but I know in mine its a crime with no penalty. I would be all for throwing people in prison for adultery, but I suspect I am in an extremely miniscule minority there. At the least I would say levy a fine. Promises and keeping ones word seems to be worth less than the air people use to utter those commitments. It a natural outcome of dismissing sexual fidelity and its place in marriage.

 

[Georgia]

I think it’s on the books in several states. No matter the law, no prosecutor is going to take a case into a courtroom with absolutely no chance of getting a conviction. It would be impossible these days to find twelve people who would convict on a criminal charge like that. Right or wrong, the practical angle is going to control.

 

[Sillara]

I wish it were.

 

[mdgspencer]

I live now in the Philippines where adultery is against the law. People have been put in prison for this reason. Though I have thought this a notable fact, I haven’t looked into the reasons for this though.

 

[kelvinf]

Ok, even if it is/were illegal, the Church does not “punish” people for sinning. So how then would you justify the State punishing folks for their sins? Like sending someone to jail for committing adultery. Jesus didn’t do that. So how can you justify the State doing that?

 

[Sillara]

Ok, even if it is/were illegal, the Church does not “punish” people for sinning. So how then would you justify the State punishing folks for their sins? Like sending someone to jail for committing adultery. Jesus didn’t do that. So how can you justify the State doing that?

The Church does not punish for sins. Neither does the State. The State punishes people for crimes.

If adultery were against the law–and there could be arguments made that adultery ought, for the sake of the State, be criminalized–then the State would punish those who broke its laws, as it does for other crimes, such as theft and murder.

 

[1ke]

Tonight, I was reading a post that talked about how the Catholic Church wants abortion to be outlawed, and how things like murder are outlawed. But why not adultery? I know it has to do with privacy and such, but why not outlaw it if it is as wrong. A sin is a sin no matter what, and if I remember what I was taught in Catholic School, Adultery is a grave sin, just like abortion. I also wonder about Homosexuality. Why didn’t we keep it criminalized, and why didn’t the church campaign to keep it that way?

Adultery is against the law in the US military and in some states it is still against the law in some form (in some cases civil law such as alienation of affectin). Most states have repealed such laws, and we cannot stop them due to poor jurisprudence on the part of the US Supreme Court who inventd an imaginary right to privacy not found in the US Constitution.

So, if your premise is that the Church is not consistent in its ethic, you are off base. It is the Judeo-Christian moral code that was the genesis of such laws to begin with when they were the law of our land. The Church fought against repeal of adultery, divorce, abortion, and other laws that encourage immorality. Unfortunately, the tide of secularism has risen quit high.

 

[Usige]

Ok, even if it is/were illegal, the Church does not “punish” people for sinning. So how then would you justify the State punishing folks for their sins? Like sending someone to jail for committing adultery. Jesus didn’t do that. So how can you justify the State doing that?

So we should not punish people for murder either?

 

[kelvinf]

So we should not punish people for murder either?

Do you want to punish people for lying, not keeping the sabbath holy etc?

So the question is: as a sin or as a crime?

I am okay with the explanation from Sillara – post #13

 

[Usige]

Do you want to punish people for lying, not keeping the sabbath holy etc?

So the question is: as a sin or as a crime?

I am okay with the explanation from Sillara – post #13

For me the issue is if the sin/crime directly harms another or society. We do punish people for lying if it causes harm (purgery, libel, slander). In the same way adultery harms both spouses and the person they cheated with. It also damages society because it takes the basic structure of society, the family, and rips it asunder for personal pleasure.

I am less concerned with punishment as I am finding a way to reinforce that its not okay. Its like contrition. While perfect contrition is preferable, imperfect contrition might be the best you get. There needs to be repercussions for trampling on a most sacred commitment.

 

[jimmy]

Tonight, I was reading a post that talked about how the Catholic Church wants abortion to be outlawed, and how things like murder are outlawed. But why not adultery? I know it has to do with privacy and such, but why not outlaw it if it is as wrong. A sin is a sin no matter what, and if I remember what I was taught in Catholic School, Adultery is a grave sin, just like abortion. I also wonder about Homosexuality. Why didn’t we keep it criminalized, and why didn’t the church campaign to keep it that way?

Why isn’t skipping mass against the law? Why isn’t getting drunk against the law? Why isn’t lying against the law? Why isn’t heresy against the law?

One reason; because we aren’t a theocracy. It isn’t the job of the govt to punish people because they may have sinned. The purpose of law is to keep some semblance of order in society; it isn’t to punish a person for vices.

 

[Brendan]

Do you want to punish people for lying, not keeping the sabbath holy etc?

So the question is: as a sin or as a crime?

I am okay with the explanation from Sillara – post #13

Both actually, or should be.

The sin is obvious. As far as a crime, it is a violation of the civil marital contract.

As such, at the very least it should be treated as any contractual violation. The aggrieved party should have the right to seek civil penalties, and given the prevalence of sexually transmitted disease, a misdemeanor charge of negligence.

 

[Brendan]

Why isn’t skipping mass against the law? Why isn’t getting drunk against the law? Why isn’t lying against the law? Why isn’t heresy against the law?

One reason; because we aren’t a theocracy. It isn’t the job of the govt to punish people because they may have sinned. The purpose of law is to keep some semblance of order in society; it isn’t to punish a person for vices.

Really, the fundamental reason, according to Catholic moral teaching, is that the Civil Law should mirror the Natural Law.

The Natural Law describes the fundamental rights of humans. Marriage is an element of the Natural Law. Adultery is, at it’s core, a violation of a human right, the right to marital integrity.

A Just civil society, according to Aquinas, is one where the civil laws mirror the Natural Law.

The errors that you describe are elements of Revealed Law, (attendance at Mass, fundamental nature of Truth, heresy etc…) which is the domain of the Church.