Customer Reviews

A History Of Celibacy

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A fabulously well-written book that offers one a great deal of food for thought. Yes, at times agonizingly explicit, but real and humanly written. More than expose or a simple history, but a personal journey, which the author herself took and took something from. Its breadth is commanding and admirable, its style is at once extremely academic and in the same instant entirely readable and smooth flowing.

In this day and age of non-interest in sex yielding implications of psychological imbalance or worse, it is nice to have something to refer to, something that clarifies the history and purpose of celibacy in all its negative and positive implications. An excellently researched and presented treastise.

It's a highly informative and non-judgemental history of not only celibacy, but also sexuality in general throughout many different times and cultures. I loved the way Abbott managed to relate each form of celibacy to the social, religious, moral and economical circumstances in which it appeared - it gives the reader a broader understanding of societies and individuals who embraced or rejected celibacy.

In addition to this, History of Celibacy is beautifully written, maybe more difficult but extremely pleasurable to read. (It's also good for learning new words, especially if you're a non-native english speaker. I wish I'd read this book before I took my GRE, it would've added at least 50 points to my verbal score)

The author states in the introduction that she began her research with a strong opinion about celibacy: that it was unnatural. The six years she spent writing the book changed her mind on that (her current view is much more complicated). This initial judgment of celibacy obviously colors the narrative in some parts of the book, especially the early chapters.

I found a handful of instances where historical information contradicted other histories I have read. I tend to trust the other sources more: Abbott was researching the practice of and attitudes toward celibacy, and likely did not spend as much time evaluating her information on other issues.

But overall, this was a wonderfully complete narrative of celibacy's history all over the world, in cultures ancient and modern. The narrative draws one in, the analysis draws together disparate cultural ideas into compelling conclusions, and the book is packed full of fascinating information.

In reading Elizabeth Abbott's A History of Celibacy, one gets the inescapable impression that the author is a believer in the power of sexual abstinence. Whether practiced by Christian ascetics who believe holiness can only be attained by disdaining the appetites of the flesh, by shamans seeking spiritual power or enlightenment, or by women trying to achieve independent existence in a world run by men, celibacy is portrayed in this book as a laudable, even noble way to achieve one's goals. While Ms. Abbott is certainly entitled to her opinion on this or any topic, it's a bit jarring to find such editorializing in what purports to be a history book.

Christianity is the subject of nearly a third of A History of Celibacy. Abbott acknowledges that this is unsurprising, given that it is "sex-negative [and] celibacy-obsessed...". Consequently, I found much about Christianity's obsession with sex that was new to me. For instance, she suggests that St. Augustine's well-known loathing for sex may have been rooted in his early experience with Manichaeanism, a dualistic religion which taught that the body was a prison that could only be escaped by celibacy and other forms of self-denial.

We move now from religion-inspired celibacy to the belief that semen conservation is essential to health. This goes back at least as far as Greek doctors Hippocrates and Galen, both of whom believed that too much sexual activity was debilitating to men. In the 18th century Swiss doctor Samuel Tissot expanded on this, claiming that "one ounce of [semen] would weaken more than [the loss of] forty ounces of blood". Some 19th-century organizations sought to influence young men to be celibate until marriage, and after that use their semen only to father children, sublimating the rest into more noble pursuits. A modern-day holdover of this school of thought is the belief, widespread among athletes, that sexual activity will harm their physical performance. Abbott notes that this is quite prevalent in soccer, and goes on to relate that "to this day, soccer fans in Peru blame their country's 1982 World Cup loss... on those Peruvian players who broke the ban on sex the night before the game".

Abbott covers coerced celibacy in considerable detail, whether the cause is incarceration, skewed gender ratios (due either to casualties of war or a cultural preference for boy children), cultural norms that forbid widows to remarry, even castration. Abbott discusses the first three causes briefly but covers castration in detail, from Byzantine harem guards to bureaucrats of the Ottoman Empire to castrati opera singers. Indian hijra are also included in this chapter, which seems odd because I could find nothing to suggest that they are castrated against their will. Indeed, Abbott notes that "researchers have determined that most hijras are voluntarily castrated".

I think the book would have been improved by a somewhat more restrictive definition of celibacy. Celibacy as a voluntary behavior is an interesting psychological phenomenon that would have benefited from deeper analysis. The author's inclusion of the various forms of coerced celibacy, not to mention premarital virginity, took up space that could have been used for such an analysis. The question I had in mind before beginning this book was "why do so many cultures consider voluntary celibacy to be holy or spiritual?" That question remains unanswered.

Overall, I enjoyed A History of Celibacy and found it very informative. I must take issue, however, with the author's apparent failure to remain objective on the subject. It doesn't help that she acknowledges in the introduction that she has adopted celibacy herself during her work on this book, and considers herself the richer for it. Most notably when talking about women, she repeatedly portrays celibacy as an effective way to achieve equality and independence. While this may be so, it strikes me as a little bit like cutting off your toes to make your shoes fit. Human beings are sexual creatures. To my way of thinking, it is better to fight for an equality that allows full expression of sexuality than to deny one's sexual nature, thereby removing sex as an issue altogether. I do acknowledge that such a fight was not always possible for women, but that is certainly not the case today.

Although an interesting skip through ancient to modern history, the author's historical analysis comes across a bit 2-dimensional and lacks the depth of a more serious historical study. For example, the early church teaching on sexuality is little more than the widely held assumption that the early church teachers were essentially dualist in their theology with a low view of sex. There are, of course, examples from their writings that seem at first to support such notions but a more careful study will reveal there is far more depth than is supposed in popular opinion. For an understanding of early church teaching on sexuality, the reader would do well to consult more scholarly works such as David Ford's Women and Men in the Early Church: The Full Views of St. John Chrysostom or Scott Hahn's Living the Mysteries: A Guide for Unfinished Christians.

In addition, the author seems so focused on the empowerment celibacy can provide to women in a male-dominated culture that she seems to miss other important factors that might widen our understanding of the topic. Empowerment through celibacy is an interesting and important topic in itself worth further study. Unfortunately, with the approach taken by the author, it remains only hinted at without the solid historical evidence that might be brought to bear on the topic.

Overall, an interesting quick study in an oft misunderstood and maligned ideal. Perhaps the most commendable thought in the work is the author's admission early on that at first she assumed celibacy to be unnatural but she eventually saw the beauty and peace it could bring to her own life. Refreshing sentiment counter to our culture so obsessed by sex. Well worth the time for the critical and discerning reader to explore.

A History Of Celibacy

This book, a near-best seller, is a comprehensive description of practices from voluntary sexual abstinence (for whatever reasons) to castration and female genital mutilation. The author says that she originally had in mind a survey of celibacy, but settled on a more feasible goal "to identify, interpret, and describe as many experiments in celibacy as I could." So, although these "experiments" are presented more or less in chronological order, this is not a history in the common sense of the word. Upfront, the author enters a disclaimer that she is providing only footnotes that include all the main sources for each section, and that she eliminated a general bibliography and included the bibliographical references in the footnotes. An examination of the footnotes shows use of many original sources as well as secondary material. But throughout the text, one finds places where Abbott misread the source, or put a spin on it not warranted by the historical context. For example, in making the case that celibate women of late antiquity did not want isolation, but an active, independent life, she uses as an exemplar, Thecla of Icononium.

"Take, for instance, the Apostle Paul's disciple Thecla, who is probably fictional and modeled on St. Macrina, the sister of the two saints Gregory and Basil." (p.93)

There are two problems here. Abbott mentions Thecla in the introduction (p.18) implying that she was one of the "feisty and courageous Desert Mothers" who were contemporaries of St. Paul. This misleads the reader early on. First, Thecla is a fictional character, even though she is in the calendar of the saints. The Acts of Paul and Thecla, one of the apocryphal acts of the apostles, was a very popular devotional work although it was written in the style of Hellenistic romantic novels. It was written early enough so that Tertullian (late 2nd century) was aware of it. So it's most unlikely that Thecla was modeled on Macrina, who was born about 320. A second chronological muddle is introduced by the designation "Desert Mothers". The term "Desert Fathers" generally refers to emeritic and cenobitic monks who flourished in the Egyptian desert in the 4th century, long after Paul.
About half of the book addresses celibacy in the context of religion--pagan, early and later Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and shamanistic groups. Judaism and Islam she correctly views as sex-positive religions in which celibacy represent anomalous behavior.
The second half covers a wide range of "experiments". A fairly long chapter is devoted to celibacy as a means of conserving semen, examining this belief from several viewpoints over time. Moral purity, bodily health, athletic prowess, are some of these viewpoints, which are rooted in the assumption that semen represents the life force of a man which must be conserved for physical, mental, and spiritual well-being.
Coerced celibacy is another topic taken up in some detail, but the topic centers around enforcing chastity upon women rather than the more insidious means of holding clerics to perpetual abstinence.
Another long chapter focuses on "The New Celibacy" Here the author does take up the issue of clerical celibacy in the present times, pointing out that celibacy is more honored in the breach than in the observance throughout the Catholic world. Ironically, papal policy allows Episcopal married priests to convert and keep their wives and conjugal rights. Abbott points out that most of these priests are leaving the Episcopal Church because of their dogged opposition to the ordination of women. So, she concludes, married priests are OK with the Pope as long as they are misogynists.
Finally the New Celibacy includes "experiments" such as organizations such as "True Love Waits" "Born Again Virgins of America" and the growing number of female celebrities ("Power Virgins") who are choosing celibacy. The reasons for each of these "experiments" are multiple and complex.
Abbott is neither for nor against celibacy per se. She opposes coerced celibacy, but asserts that voluntary celibacy can be empowering, especially for women. Not in the least "celibacy has major tangible benefits, namely respite from the time-consuming burden of housewifery" By paying the price of sexual abstinence, the author believes that celibacy gives her the privilege of living without picking up after some slob who leaves the toilet seat up. In short, celibacy is the way for the committed feminist.

I read the hardcover edition of the book, before all the wonderful press it received, but I am enamoured by this paperback cover. It brings the title alive with its lush colors and wonderful cover art. Abbott writes well and brings together a variety of aspects that have long been a part of celibacy. From the various saints who shunned sexual intimacy to the modern-day virgins who've never "had" sex (but have had intimate relations) - Abbott provides a insider's view on this lifestyle.

I found this book to be a bit biased. I felt the author's ideas and standpoints colored her facts. I would have preferred more objectivity.