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Celibacy (from Latin, cælibatus) is the state of being unmarried and/or sexually abstinent by choice for usually religious reasons.[1][2][3][4] Historically, it has simply been defined as the state of being unmarried.[5] A 1990 book that focuses on celibacy in Catholicism states that "the most commonly assumed definition of celibate is simply an unmarried or single person, and celibacy is perceived as synonymous with sexual abstinence or restraint."[6] The book adds that even in the relatively uniform milieu of Catholic priests in the United States "there is simply no clear operational definition of celibacy".[7]

According to Garner's Modern American Usage (2009), the Oxford English Dictionary gives the traditional definition of not being married, whereas, in contemporary usage, celibacy is almost universally understood to mean abstinence from all sexual activity.[8] Most authors and all dictionaries define celibacy as necessarily voluntary,[9] while, according to Canadian historian Elizabeth Abbott and Denise Donnelly, the notion is to encompass involuntary contexts, such as duress.[10]

Societal and religious views of celibacy have been varied. Ancient Judaism was strongly opposed to celibacy. Similarly, the Romans viewed it as an aberration and legislated fiscal penalties against it, with the sole exception granted to the Vestal Virgins. The apparent celibacy of Jesus during his lifetime has influenced Christian, particularly Catholic thought so that by the Middle Ages celibacy was a prerequisite for religious office (clerical celibacy) and even developed the less well-known institution of chaste marriage. Protestantism saw a reversal of this trend in the West and the Eastern Orthodox Church never adopted it in the first place. The Islamic attitudes toward celibacy have been complex as well; Muhammad denounced it, however some Sufi orders embrace it. Classical Hindu culture encouraged asceticism and celibacy in the later stages of life, after one has met his societal obligations. Jainism and Buddhism have been influenced by Hinduism in this respect. There were however significant cultural differences in the various areas where Buddhism spread, which affected the local attitudes toward celibacy. It was not well received in China for example, where other religions movements like Daoism were opposed to it. A somewhat similar situation existed in Japan, where the Shinto tradition also opposed celibacy. In most native African and American Indian religious traditions, celibacy has been viewed negatively as well, although there were exceptions like periodic celibacy practiced by some Mesoamerican warriors.[11]



Abstinence and celibacy[edit]

The words abstinence and celibacy are often used interchangeably, but are different. Sexual abstinence, also known as continence,[13] refers to abstaining from all sexual activity, often for some limited period of time.[14] Asexuality is considered distinct from abstention from sexual activity and from celibacy, which are behavioral and generally motivated by factors such as an individual's personal or religious beliefs.[15]

In her book The New Celibacy, Gabrielle Brown states that "abstinence is a response on the outside to what's going on, and celibacy is a response from the inside."[16] According to this definition, celibacy (even short-term celibacy that is pursued for non-religious reasons) is much more than not having sex. It is more intentional than abstinence, and its goal is personal growth and empowerment. This perspective on celibacy is echoed by several authors, including Elizabeth Abbott, Wendy Keller, and Wendy Shalit.[17]

Ancient Greece and Rome[edit]





Brahma Kumaris[edit]





When Jesus discusses marriage, he points out that a certain talent is needed to live together with another human being. Not having assets of their own, women needed to be protected from the risk of their husbands' putting them on the street at whim. In these times marriage was an economic matter[22] rather than one of love. A woman and her children could easily be displaced. Restriction of divorce was based on the necessity of protecting the woman and her position in society, not necessarily in a religious context, but an economic context.[23] He also points out that there are those "which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake", but in the original text this was expressed in a different way, namely, "castrated". It was the custom at the time Jesus lived for priests of some ancient gods and goddesses to be castrated.[24] In the pre-Christian period Vestals, who served the virgin goddess of the hearth, were obliged to forgo marriage, and so were some priests and servants of some ancient deities such as Isis.[24] Jewish priests are allowed to marry. However, they were not allowed to marry a prostitute or a widow (Leviticus 21:7, 8, 14 and 15).

There is no direct commandment in the New Testament that Jesus' disciples have to live in celibacy.[22] The general view on sexuality among the early Jewish Christians was quite positive.[25] Jesus himself does not speak in negative terms of the body in the New Testament. The general practice of the Jewish community by that time prescribed marriage for everybody, and at an early age.[22] Saint Peter, also known as Simon Peter, the Apostle was married; Jesus healed his mother-in-law (Matt. 8:14), and other apostles and church members among the early Jewish Christians were also married: Paul's personal friends, Priscilla and Aquila (Romans 16:3), who were Paul's coworkers, Andronicus of Pannonia (Romans 16:7), and Junia (Romans 16:7), who were highly regarded among the apostles, Ananias and Sapphira (Ap 5:1), Apphia and Philemon (Phil 1: 1). According to Eusebius Church History (Historia Ecclesiastica), Paul the Apostle, also known as Saul of Tarsus, was also married. Since it was the custom in the Jewish community to marry early[25] it was very likely that all the apostles were married (or widowed).

In his early writings, Paul the Apostle described marriage as a social obligation that has the potential of distracting from Christ. Sex, in turn, is not sinful but natural, and sex within marriage is both proper and necessary.[26] In his later writings, Paul made parallels between the relations between spouses and God's relationship with the church. "Husbands love your wives even as Christ loved the church. Husbands should love their wives as their own bodies" (Ephesians 5:25-28). The early Christians lived in the belief that the End of the World would soon come upon them, and saw no point in planning new families and having children.[22] This was why Paul encouraged both celibate and marital lifestyles[22] among the members of the Corinthian congregation, regarding celibacy as the preferable of the two:




Desert Fathers[edit]


The Desert Fathers were Christian hermits, and ascetics [28] who had a major influence on the development of Christianity and celibacy. Paul of Thebes is often credited with being the first hermit monk to go to the desert, but it was Anthony the Great who launched the movement that became the Desert Fathers.[29] Sometime around 270 AD, Anthony heard a Sunday sermon stating that perfection could be achieved by selling all of one's possessions, giving the proceeds to the poor, and following Christ.(Matt. 19.21) He followed the advice and made the further step of moving deep into the desert to seek complete solitude.[28]


According to the later St. Jerome (347 – 420) celibacy is a moral virtue, consisting of not living in the flesh but outside the flesh (vivere in carne praeter carnem). Celibacy excludes not only libidinous acts, but also sinful thoughts or desires of the flesh.[32] Jerome referred to marriage prohibition for priests when he argued in Against Jovinianus that Peter and the other apostles had been married before they were called, but subsequently gave up their marital relations.[33] Celibacy as a vocation may be independent from religious vows (as is the case with consecrated virgins, ascetics and hermits). In the Catholic, Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox traditions, bishops are required to be celibate. In the Eastern Christian traditions, priests and deacons are allowed to be married, yet have to remain celibate if they are unmarried at the time of ordination.

Augustinian view[edit]

In the early Church higher clerics lived in marriages. Augustine of Hippo was one of the first to develop a theory around the sexual feelings as sinful and negative. Augustine taught that Original sin of Adam and Eve was either an act of foolishness (insipientia) followed by pride and disobedience to God or the opposite: pride came first.[34] The first couple disobeyed God, who had told them not to eat of the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen 2:17).[35] The tree was a symbol of the order of creation.[36] Self-centeredness made Adam and Eve eat of it, thus failing to acknowledge and respect the world as it was created by God, with its hierarchy of beings and values.[37] They would not have fallen into pride and lack of wisdom, if Satan hadn't sown into their senses "the root of evil" (radix Mali).[38] Their nature was wounded by concupiscence or libido, which affected human intelligence and will, as well as affections and desires, including sexual desire.[39] The sin of Adam is inherited by all human beings. Already in his pre-Pelagian writings, Augustine taught that Original Sin was transmitted by concupiscence,[40] which he regarded as the passion of both, soul and body,[41] making humanity a massa damnata (mass of perdition, condemned crowd) and much enfeebling, though not destroying, the freedom of the will.

In the early 3rd century the Canons of the Apostolic Constitutions decreed that only lower clerics might still marry after their ordination, but marriage of bishops, priests, and deacons were not allowed.[42][43][44] Augustine's view of sexual feelings as sinful affected his view of women. For example he considered a man’s erection to be sinful, though involuntary,[45] because it did not take place under his conscious control. His solution was to place controls on women to limit their ability to influence men.[46] He equated flesh with woman and spirit with man.[47]

He believed that the serpent approached Eve because she was less rational and lacked self-control, while Adam's choice to eat was viewed as an act of kindness so that Eve would not be left alone.[46] Augustine believed sin entered the world because man (the spirit) did not exercise control over woman (the flesh).[48] Augustine's views on women were not all negative, however. In his Tractates on the Gospel of John, Augustine, commenting on the Samaritan woman from John 4:1–42, uses the woman as a figure of the church.


After Augustine[edit]





Catholic Church[edit]


Statutes forbidding clergy from having wives were written beginning with the Council of Elvira (306) but these early statutes were not universal and were often defied by clerics and then retracted by hierarchy.[56] The Synod of Gangra (345) condemned a false asceticism whereby worshipers boycotted celebrations presided over by married clergy.” [57] The Apostolic Constitutions (c 400) excommunicated a priest or bishop who left his wife ‘under the pretense of piety”’ (Mansi, 1:51).[58]


“The Second Lateran Council (1139) seems to have enacted the first written law making sacred orders a diriment impediment to marriage for the universal Church.”.[56] Celibacy was first required of some clerics in 1123 at the First Lateran Council. Because clerics resisted it, the celibacy mandate was restated at the Second Lateran Council (1139) and the Council of Trent (1545–64).[60] In places, coercion and enslavement of clerical wives and children was apparently involved in the enforcement of the law.[61] “The earliest decree in which the children [of clerics] were declared to be slaves and never to be enfranchised [freed] seems to have been a canon of the Synod of Pavia in 1018. Similar penalties were promulgated against wives and concubines (see the Synod of Melfi, 1189 can. Xii), who by the very fact of their unlawful connexion with a subdeacon or clerk of higher rank became liable to be seized by the over-lord”.[61] Mandatory celibacy for priests continues to be a contested issue even today.



Usually, only celibate men are ordained as priests in the Latin Rite.[63][64] More recently, married clergy who have converted from other Christian denominations have been ordained Roman Catholic priests without becoming celibate.[65] Mandatory priestly celibacy is not doctrine of the Church (such as the belief in the Assumption of Mary) but a matter of discipline, like the use of the vernacular (local) language in Mass or Lenten fasting and abstinence.[66] As such, it can theoretically change at any time though it still must be obeyed by Catholics until the change were to take place. The Eastern Catholic Churches ordain both celibate and married men. However, in both the East and the West, bishops are chosen from among those who are celibate.[67][68] In Ireland, several priests have fathered children, the two most prominent being Bishop Eamonn Casey and Father Michael Cleary.








The Vedic literature, Srimad-Bhagavatam, reject from its very beginning kaitava-dharma or false philosophy, thus it frankly speaks about the principle of material life, and it does have a meaningful relation to celibacy. Srimad Bhagavatam does not establish broad terms destined to fulfil the demographic expansion of mundane religiousity.

Lord Rishabadeva instructed his 100 sons in this way:

pumsah striya mithuni-bhavam etam
tayor mitho hrdaya-granthim ahuh
ato grha-ksetra-sutapta-vittair
janasya moho 'yam aham mameti


According with the Yajnavalkya-smrti, as quoted in Srimad-Bhagavatam (6.13-14) (A.C. Bhaktivedanta's authorized commentary), bramacarya means celibacy:

karmana manasa vaca
sarvavasthasu sarvada
sarvatra maithuna-tyago
brahmacaryam pracaksate

"The vow of brahmacarya is meant to help one completely abstain from sex indulgence in work, words, and mind – at all times, under all circumstances and in all places."

There are eight aspects of brahmacarya, as described in Sridhara Swami's commentary on Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.1.12:

smaranam kirtanam kelih
preksanam guhyabhasanam
sankalpo ‘dhyavasayas ca
kriya-nirvrttir eva ca

One should not:[citation needed]

  1. Think about women.
  2. Speak about sex life.
  3. Dally with women.
  4. Look lustfully at women.
  5. Talk intimately with women.
  6. Decide to engage in sexual intercourse.
  7. Endeavor for sex life.
  8. Engage in sex life. (SB 6.1.13 Purport)
  9. Encourage other's lust.

One who practices brahmacarya is called a brahmacari. In the varnasrama system, the brahmacari-asrama is the first of four, namely, brahmacari, grhastha, vanaprastha, and sannyasa.

"According to Vedic principles, the first part of life should be utilized in brahmacarya for the development of character and spiritual qualities." (SB 3.22.19)

Brahmacarya is thus student life. It was traditionally rigorous, disciplined, and austere. It is a life of cultivation, of preparing for the future. In all asramas devotees are cultivating Krsna consciousness, preparing for the examination of death. But the brahmacari period is specifically meant for training: training in how to control the senses and subdue the mind; training to be a grhastha, vanaprastha, and sannyasi. This training is by submission to, service to, and friendship to the guru. (SB 7.12.1)

In terms of varnasrama principles, the highest standard of brahmacarya means the vow not to marry but to observe strict celibacy throughout life. (SB 7.12.7) This is called the brhad-vrata ("great vow"), or naisthika-brahmacarya. "Naisthika-brahmacari refers to one who never wastes his semen at any time." (SB 3.24.20) "The word maha-vrata-dharah indicates a brahmacari who has never fallen down." (SB 6.17.8)

Prahlad Maharaj, the Vaisnava devotee of Lord Nrisimhadev had prayed:

om namo bhagavate narasimhaya
namas tejas-tejase avir-avirbhava vajra-nakha
vajra-damstra karmasayan randhaya randhaya
tamo grasa grasa om svaha; abhayam
abhayam atmani bhuyistha om ksraum.


Unless one is completely freed of all material desires, which are caused by the dense darkness of ignorance, one cannot fully engage in the devotional service of the Lord. Therefore we should always offer our prayers to Lord Nrsimhadeva, who killed Hiranyakasipu, the personification of material desire. Hiranya means "gold," and kasipu means "a soft cushion or bed." Materialistic persons always desire to make the body comfortable, and for this they require huge amounts of gold. Thus Hiranyakasipu was the perfect representative of materialistic life. He was therefore the cause of great disturbance to the topmost devotee, Prahlada Maharaja, until Lord Nrsimhadeva killed him. Any devotee aspiring to be free of material desires should offer his respectful prayers to Nrsimhadeva as Prahlada Maharaja did in this verse. (SB 5.18.8 Text and Purport. See also 5.18.10 and 14):

yadi dasyasi me kaman
varams tvam varadarsabha
kamanam hrdy asamroham
bhavatas tu vrne varam


Celibacy is also the natural state of a pure and advanced devotee of the Lord. This principle of having a superior taste depicted in Bhagavad-Gita as param dristva nivartate is clearly expressed by the great Saint Sri Yamunacharya:

yad-avadhi mama cetah krsna-padaravinde
nava-nava-rasa-dhamany udyatam rantum asit
tad-avadhi bata nari-sangame smaryamane
bhavati mukha-vikarah susthu nisthivanam ca


It is also advised by the avatar of Lord Visnu, Devahuti-suta-Kapiladev that the attraction to the opposite sex is the cause of material captivity:

yopayati sanair maya
yosid deva-vinirmita
tam iksetatmano mrtyum
trnaih kupam ivavrtam

The woman, created by the Lord, is the representation of maya (and also shakti which is the prime force of the material existence, and while its true that the female body is considered to opposed to liberation of men from worldly ties, the converse is also true for female saints; and its also clear that at the atman level, the woman and man are the same and therefore it will only be half truth to state that women are only the maya, as everything that is not brahman is maya. The maya is the false sense that women are only the female body, while in reality the woman and man and everything is necessarily manifestations of brahman(or krishna for Vaishnavs). All humans are actually atman, which have no gender), and one who associates with such maya (Maya is not only the female body), by accepting services must certainly know that this is the way of death, just like a blind well covered with grass.

Sripad Sankaracarya showed how one must one consider illogical that so called beauty of a woman's body as an argument to stay celibate:

drstva ma ga moha-vesam
etan mamsa-vasadi-vikaram
manasi vicintaya varam varam

Having seen the supposed beauty of a woman's heavy breasts and her thin waist, do not become agitated and influenced with illusion, for these attractive features are simply transformations of fat, flesh & toxins. One should chant this in his mind again and again.

Islamic perspective[edit]


The following sayings about the Prophet also address celibacy:


Meher Baba[edit]



Some of the earliest confirmed instances of celibacy were secular. In the 6th century BC, "Pythagoras himself established a small community that set a premium on study, vegetarianism, and sexual restraint or abstinence. Later philosophers believed that celibacy would be conducive to the detachment and equilibrium required by the philosopher's calling. Similarly, the increasing number of cults—e.g.s, Manichaeans and Gnostics—had an inner circle requiring continence"[74]

The radical feminist group Cell 16 were strongly championing celibacy as a challenge to male dominance, following in a tradition of celibacy dating back to the early feminists. They advocated women separate from "men who are not consciously working for female liberation",[citation needed] but advised periods of celibacy. There have been activists who have been celibate to devote energy to their cause.[citation needed]


Involuntary celibacy is defined by Canadian historian Elizabeth Abbott and Denise Donnelly, as chronic near-total or total absence of any sexual activity for reasons other than voluntary ones. The term "involuntary celibacy" was used by Denise Donnelly, an associate professor of sociology from Georgia State University, in a study initiated in 1998 and published in 2001 entitled "Involuntary celibacy: A life course analysis".[75][76] Donnelly's work described individuals who are as sexually driven as other individuals but who have, despite effort on their part or other circumstances, failed to attain sexual partnerships or remain in a partnership that has become sexless, and therefore lack intimate physical connection for long periods of their adult lives. Donnelly published a study on involuntary celibacy within marriage in 2008.[77] Donnelly says most individuals identifying as involuntarily celibate exhibit the same social behaviors as their peers who have sex lives.[75] There is extremely little sexological study regarding involuntary celibacy.[75]

See also[edit]


  1. ^ O'Brien, Jodi (2009). Encyclopedia of Gender and Society, Volume 1. SAGE. p. 118. ISBN 1412909163. Retrieved January 11, 2014. 
  10. ^ Elizabeth Abbott (2001). A History of Celibacy. James Clarke & Co. p. 17. ISBN 978-0-7188-3006-9. 
  12. ^ Online Etymology Dictionary, Celibacy. Retrieved 11 August 2009.
  14. ^ art. Abstinence and Continence, in Dictionary of Moral Theology. Compiled under the Direction of H. E. Cardinal Roberti. Ed. Mgr. Pietro Palazzini. London: Burns & Oates Publishers of the Holy See 1962;
  16. ^ Brown, Gabrielle. The New Celibacy: A Journey to Love, Intimacy, and Good Health in a New Age. Rev. ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1989.
  17. ^ Abbott, Elizabeth. A History of Celibacy. Cambridge, MA: DaCapo, 1999.; Keller, Wendy. The Cult of the Born-Again Virgin: How Single Women Can Reclaim Their Sexual Power. Deerfield Beach, FL: Health Communications, 1999.; Shalit, Wendy. A Return to Modesty: Discovering the Lost Virtue. New York: Touchstone, 2000.
  18. ^ Numa Denis Fustel de Coulanges, The Ancient City, 38-39
  26. ^ Will Deming, Paul on marriage and celibacy: the hellenistic background of 1 Corinthians 7. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co 2003; 2nd edition.
  27. ^ 1Corinthians 7:1-16
  28. ^ a b c Chryssavgis 2008, p. 15.
  29. ^ Waddell 1957, p. 30.
  30. ^ Riddle 2008, p. 43.
  40. ^ Augustine of Hippo, Imperfectum Opus contra Iulianum, II, 218
  45. ^ Augustine of Hippo, City of God, 14.17
  51. ^ Schreck, p. 255.
  53. ^ Celibacy. Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2009. Archived 31 October 2009.
  55. ^ [Henry Chadwick, The Early Church, ISBN 978-0140231991]
  60. ^ New Advent, "Celibacy of the Clergy"
  62. ^ Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church, 1579
  66. ^ "Celibacy and the Priesthood". 
  75. ^ a b c Donnelly D, Burgess E, Anderson S, et al (2001). "Involuntary celibacy: A life course analysis". Journal of Sex Research 38(2), 159–69. doi:10.1080/00224490109552083 reprinted in Stombler, Mindy (2004). Sex Matters: The Sexuality and Society Reader. Allyn and Bacon. ISBN 0205359744. 
  76. ^ "For many, sexless lifestyle is not a choice" (Press release). Georgia State University. July 24, 2001. Retrieved January 12, 2014. 
  77. ^ Donnelly D, Burgess E (2008). "The decision to remain in an involuntarily celibate relationship". Journal of Marriage and Family 70(2):519–35.


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