Domination & submission _ the BDSM relationship handbook ( PDFDrive )
Chapter 13: D/s, BDSM, & ReligionIt is often said that the three topics you should never discuss in polite companyare sex, religion, and politics. We’ve already spent much of this tome discussingthe sexual aspects of the D/s and BDSM lifestyles, and in the next chapter, we’llbe touching upon some of the legal and socio-political considerations that shouldbe taken into account by anyone contemplating a D/s relationship. In thischapter, we’ll be exploring the connection between D/s and religion, anddiscussing any significance that the link might have for you.According to the American Religious Identification Survey (2008), 76% ofAmericans identify themselves as Christians, 4% as belonging to other religions,and 15% are atheist, agnostic or have no religious affiliation at all. In otherwords, religion is important to 80% of Americans, and yet practically nothinghas ever been written about how religion affects the lives of those who areconsidering or currently in D/s relationships, or living a BDSM lifestyle.Our objective, in the following pages, will be to attempt to fill that void. Beforewe go any further, however, I would like to make a suggestion: If you happen tobe the sort of person for whom any discussion of religion causes blood toactually gush from your eye-sockets, this might be a good time to skip ahead tothe next chapter. Please. This chapter is for the 80% of Americans who arereligious, and may have concerns about this lifestyle from within a religiouscontext. The other 20% should simply move along; nothing to see here, folks.Questions concerning the compatibility of a D/s or BDSM lifestyle with one’sreligious beliefs are far more common than you might think. All you have to dois browse any random selection of online religious forums or web sites, you’llinvariably encounter a lot of inquiries similar to this one:“My husband wants to start doing some BDSM stuff in the bedroom, and Ihave to admit, I am curious and a little excited at the idea. We are bothdevout church-goers and don’t want to do anything that runs counter tothe teachings of our religion. The problem is, neither of us is willing toask our spiritual advisor if it’s okay to do the whips and chains thing in thebedroom. We’re stuck, and don’t know where to go for advice. Help!”
For every person who gives voice to a question like the one above, there arescores who don’t for fear of condemnation or embarrassment. There’s acommon misconception, both among those with a religious outlook and the nonreligiousalike, that there must be a fundamental conflict between being devoutlyreligious and living a D/s or BDSM lifestyle. The reality is that, for mostpeople, nothing could be further from the truth. People are often surprised tolearn that we can, indeed, build a very compelling case for both D/s relationshipsand BDSM activities from within a devoutly religious world-view. In thefollowing pages, we’re going to take a look at how BDSM and D/s relationshipsmight be viewed through the prism of religion, specifically Judaism, Islam,Buddhism, Hinduism, Paganism, and yes, even Christianity.
- Page 324 and 325: their own towel to sit on if they
- Page 326 and 327: to separate the wheat from the chaf
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- Page 330 and 331: fact, exactly what he did.In a path
- Page 332 and 333: Chapter 11: Sex, Love, D/s, & BDSMP
- Page 334 and 335: see naked, anyway.”“Apparently,
- Page 336 and 337: Mistaking Love for BDSMPeople confu
- Page 338 and 339: porn, and Natalie promised to keep
- Page 340 and 341: well.It is unfortunate that Ian and
- Page 342 and 343: “This is crazy; seriously crazy!
- Page 344 and 345: Mark pondered her words and her emo
- Page 346 and 347: I think D/s is sexy.My Two Cents on
- Page 348 and 349: “The more you love, the more you
- Page 350 and 351: for their mother, or for that matte
- Page 352 and 353: should be able to marry whomever th
- Page 354 and 355: Francisco area from 1971 until 1991
- Page 356 and 357: Attention.It’s often easy to assu
- Page 358 and 359: Potential Pitfalls of a Poly Relati
- Page 360 and 361: · Don’t introduce new partners i
- Page 362 and 363: members of the household before you
- Page 364 and 365: Even positive changes can result in
- Page 366 and 367: We don’t feel the need to drop on
- Page 368 and 369: of the group are considered to be m
- Page 370 and 371: Polyfuckery. A derisive term used t
- Page 372 and 373: It seriously just kills me that I s
- Page 376 and 377: D/s and Judaism: Could Lead to Mixe
- Page 378 and 379: D/s and Islam: Keep Your Clothes On
- Page 380 and 381: haram under Islamic law. For exampl
- Page 382 and 383: Tantric Buddhism involves harnessin
- Page 384 and 385: that would today be considered typi
- Page 386 and 387: own personal spirituality. Even so,
- Page 388 and 389: United States, one can find a wide
- Page 390 and 391: without sex, it’s relatively comm
- Page 392 and 393: is subject unto Christ, so let the
- Page 394 and 395: Another of Jesus’ unconventional
- Page 396 and 397: Filling a VoidI wrote this chapter
- Page 398 and 399: I think religion in general has unf
- Page 400 and 401: Chapter 14: What Could Possibly Go
- Page 402 and 403: Possible insights ahead. Use ‘em,
- Page 404 and 405: dysfunctional D/s relationships tha
- Page 406 and 407: understand what she’s done wrong
- Page 408 and 409: lifestyle, I could easily adopt a t
- Page 410 and 411: and submissives, and even went into
- Page 412 and 413: such cases certainly favors a train
- Page 414 and 415: betrayed by the little dots at the
- Page 416 and 417: A folk tale that is often used to i
- Page 418 and 419: Role reversal is characterized by a
- Page 420 and 421: church, the community at large, or
- Page 422 and 423: from now? Some states have recently
Chapter 13: D/s, BDSM, & Religion
It is often said that the three topics you should never discuss in polite company
are sex, religion, and politics. We’ve already spent much of this tome discussing
the sexual aspects of the D/s and BDSM lifestyles, and in the next chapter, we’ll
be touching upon some of the legal and socio-political considerations that should
be taken into account by anyone contemplating a D/s relationship. In this
chapter, we’ll be exploring the connection between D/s and religion, and
discussing any significance that the link might have for you.
According to the American Religious Identification Survey (2008), 76% of
Americans identify themselves as Christians, 4% as belonging to other religions,
and 15% are atheist, agnostic or have no religious affiliation at all. In other
words, religion is important to 80% of Americans, and yet practically nothing
has ever been written about how religion affects the lives of those who are
considering or currently in D/s relationships, or living a BDSM lifestyle.
Our objective, in the following pages, will be to attempt to fill that void. Before
we go any further, however, I would like to make a suggestion: If you happen to
be the sort of person for whom any discussion of religion causes blood to
actually gush from your eye-sockets, this might be a good time to skip ahead to
the next chapter. Please. This chapter is for the 80% of Americans who are
religious, and may have concerns about this lifestyle from within a religious
context. The other 20% should simply move along; nothing to see here, folks.
Questions concerning the compatibility of a D/s or BDSM lifestyle with one’s
religious beliefs are far more common than you might think. All you have to do
is browse any random selection of online religious forums or web sites, you’ll
invariably encounter a lot of inquiries similar to this one:
“My husband wants to start doing some BDSM stuff in the bedroom, and I
have to admit, I am curious and a little excited at the idea. We are both
devout church-goers and don’t want to do anything that runs counter to
the teachings of our religion. The problem is, neither of us is willing to
ask our spiritual advisor if it’s okay to do the whips and chains thing in the
bedroom. We’re stuck, and don’t know where to go for advice. Help!”
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