cover image SEX AND HEAVEN: Catholics in Bed and at Prayer

SEX AND HEAVEN: Catholics in Bed and at Prayer

John Portmann, . . Palgrave, $24.95 (240pp) ISBN 978-0-312-29488-5

The Catholic Church's public image as a spoiler of fun in the bedroom is the subject of this pointed critique of the church's teachings on human sexuality. Portmann, an author (In Defense of Sin) and religion teacher at the University of Virginia, believes the church has made correct sexual behavior a kind of ticket to heaven. He disagrees with the price of admission, particularly when it comes to homosexuality, and likens the church's teachings on sexual purity to various strictures that have fallen by the wayside, such as those against lending money at interest and eating meat on Fridays. He also suggests—in a rather obtuse comparison—that since the church has changed its view of Jews and their salvation in recent years, now allowing for the possibility that they will be admitted to heaven, it should also consider lifting its ban on homosexual sex. Finally, he warns that the church has made its views on sex so pre-eminent as to risk losing its "salvific reach and transcendental purpose." Portmann supports his stance with numerous citations, but his case is weakened by the fact that he fails to deal directly with the church's many documents on human sexuality, which present sex in both an earthly and heavenly context. This trenchant study will appeal to those demanding changes in church teachings on human sexuality, but not to readers who see the Catholic view of sex as rooted in Christian orthodoxy. (Mar. 26)