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- human sexual activity
adultery
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What is adultery?
Adultery refers to sexual relations between a married person and someone other than their spouse. Virtually every society has written or customary prohibitions against it, making it almost as universal as marriage itself.
Cultural attitudes toward adultery vary widely. Some societies tacitly condone honor killings of adulterous women, while others permit extramarital sex under certain circumstances. Major religions like Judaism, Islam, and Christianity condemn adultery, though interpretations and punishments differ. In Western Europe and North America, adultery has traditionally been grounds for divorce, but the rise of no-fault divorce has reduced its importance in legal proceedings. Synonyms for adultery include cheating, misconduct, and infidelity.
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How is adultery different from other forms of relationships?
Adultery is defined as sexual relations between a married person and someone other than their spouse. Virtually every society has written or customary prohibitions against it, making it a universal, and in some instances, common phenomenon.
Attitudes toward adultery vary widely across cultures, with some societies sternly condemning it while others are more tolerant. Unlike other relationships, adultery violates the marriage code and commitment to fidelity and faithfulness.
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Why do some people consider adultery to be wrong?
Adultery, defined as sexual relations between a married person and someone other than their spouse, is considered wrong in many societies due to written or customary prohibitions or taboos that are part of the marriage code.
Judeo-Christian and Islamic traditions unequivocally condemn adultery. Strict interpretations of Islamic law (Shariah) prescribe harsh punishments, including death by stoning, for both men and women. In Western cultures, adultery has traditionally been grounds for divorce and is associated with infidelity, unfaithfulness, and cheating.
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How has the idea of adultery changed over time in different societies?
Attitudes towards adultery have varied across cultures and throughout history. Virtually every society has marriage codes that prohibit adultery.
In Babylonia, the Code of Hammurabi prescribed death by drowning, while ancient Greece and Rome allowed for the killing of offending women but not men. Jewish, Islamic, and Christian traditions condemn adultery, with some interpretations of Islamic law prescribing harsh punishments, such as death by stoning.
Many contemporary anthropologists are cautious about using the term adultery in comparative contexts because marriage is viewed as less permanent in some societies, and extramarital sex is less condemned. Some cultures tacitly condone honor killings of adulterous women, while others permit men to have relations with their relatives' wives.
In Western Europe and North America, adultery was traditionally grounds for divorce. The diffusion of egalitarianism has resulted in pressure for equal marital rights for women. Many areas have adopted "no-fault" divorces, reducing the importance of adultery in proceedings.
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What are some common consequences of adultery in relationships?
Adultery, defined as sexual relations between a married person and someone other than their spouse, can lead to several consequences in relationships. It is a cause of many divorces. Adultery is also referred to as infidelity, cheating, misconduct, unfaithfulness, or two-timing.
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How do various cultures and laws deal with adultery today?
Cultural and legal responses to adultery vary significantly worldwide. Historically, many societies, including those governed by the Code of Hammurabi, ancient Greece, and Roman law, harshly punished adultery, sometimes with death, particularly for women.
Today, strict interpretations of Islamic law (Shariah) in countries like Iran and Afghanistan still prescribe severe penalties, including stoning, for both men and women. In contrast, some cultures tacitly condone honor killings of adulterous women, while others, like certain South Sea island cultures and some Pueblo Indian societies, tolerate extramarital relations if kept secret.
In Western Europe and North America, adultery is traditionally grounds for divorce, though the rise of no-fault divorce has diminished its importance in legal proceedings. Many eastern European countries require both partners to acknowledge that the offense caused a breakdown of marital unity before granting a divorce.
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adultery, sexual relations between a married person and someone other than the spouse. Written or customary prohibitions or taboos against adultery constitute part of the marriage code of virtually every society. Indeed, adultery seems to be as universal and, in some instances, as common as marriage.
The Code of Hammurabi (18th century bc) in Babylonia provided a punishment of death by drowning for adultery. In ancient Greece and in Roman law, an offending female spouse could be killed, but men were not severely punished. The Jewish, Islamic, and Christian traditions are all unequivocal in their condemnation of adultery. The culpability of both men and women is more explicitly expressed in the New Testament and the Talmud than in the Old Testament or the Qurʾān. In strict interpretations of Islamic law, or Sharīʿah, men and women are equally liable to harsh punishments for adultery (Arabic: zināʾ; properly, any extramarital sexual intercourse), including death by stoning—a punishment still applied in the early 21st century in some countries, including Iran and Afghanistan.
Because the term adultery implies distinctively Judeo-Christian and Islamic attitudes toward marriage, many contemporary anthropologists are cautious about using it in comparative contexts. There are many societies in which marriage is considered a less-permanent arrangement and in which extramarital sex is less sternly condemned. In other words, attitudes toward adultery vary widely between cultures. Whereas the traditional Senufo and Bambara of West Africa, for example, tacitly condone the honour crime of killing the adulterous female spouse and her companion, among the Kaka in Cameroon a man may have sexual relations with the wives of certain relatives with impunity. Wife lending was long a part of Inuit hospitality. Nonincestuous extramarital relations are permitted by many South Sea island cultures, and among certain Pueblo Indian societies adultery is so common that it is tolerated if kept secret.
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Under ancient Hindu law, marriage was an indissoluble sacrament, and not even a wife’s adultery could sever the legal tie and dissolve the marriage act. In the modern Hindu code, divorce can be granted to either offended party if one spouse is living in adultery but not if there are only occasional violations.
In western Europe and North America, adultery was traditionally a ground for divorce. The diffusion of this principle, along with Western notions of egalitarianism and modern expectations of mutual emotional support in marriage, has resulted in unprecedented pressure for equal marital rights for women in traditional African and Southeast Asian societies. In many eastern European countries, adultery does not in itself constitute a ground for divorce; both partners must testify, under the principle of “general breakdown,” that the offense resulted in the decline of those feelings of which marital unity is composed. The concept of marital breakdown was gradually adopted in the United States during the 1970s, when many states began to permit “no-fault” divorces, which do not require an injured party to prove specific misdeeds. Most American states allow couples to divorce on either a fault or a no-fault basis, and many use no-fault divorce exclusively. The shift to no-fault divorce significantly reduced the importance of adultery as an element in divorce proceedings.