Sexual Behavior During Crises
Crises are situations when societies face significant problems that require collective action to solve them. They can be natural disasters like floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, droughts, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, or manmade disasters such as war, famine, epidemics, economic downturns, riots, protests, civil unrest, revolutions, or coups. Such crises tend to create fear among communities because they threaten lives and property. As a result, religious institutions play an essential role in providing moral guidance during crises. Religious teachings help people make sense of their reality, cope with tragedy, and provide meaning for life.
Christianity provides hope through belief in divine intervention, Hinduism emphasizes karma, Buddhism recommends meditation, Islam focuses on prayer, Judaism highlights rituals, and African Traditional Religion advocates respect for elders.
Concern over sexual behavior amplifies religious moral panic during crises. This happens due to the following reasons. First, people's minds tend to dwell on sex more during crises since many individuals lose their loved ones or homes. Hence, some may turn to sex out of desperation while others seek comfort from their partners. Second, religious leaders use fear to manipulate believers into adopting their doctrines and practices. By stoking anxiety about sinfulness, they influence society by scapegoating sexual minorities like homosexual persons, transgender people, and prostitutes. Third, people who have lost everything in crises become vulnerable and susceptible to exploitation. Therefore, pedophiles take advantage of this situation to abuse children and youths, human traffickers lure young girls and boys, and pornographers prey on desperate women, men, and teenagers.
Crises exacerbate economic disparities between rich and poor, which leads to increased crime rates as impoverished communities struggle to survive. Consequently, sex work becomes a lucrative business opportunity for unscrupulous dealers who target those who cannot afford basic needs such as food, clothing, shelter, and healthcare.
How Concern Over Sexual Behavior Creates Religious Moral Panic
Religions teach that sexual expression is a private matter between two consenting adults in private spaces.
Fear about sinful acts in public causes religious leaders to condemn same-sex relationships, extramarital affairs, polygamy, and interfaith marriages. They argue that these behaviors are immoral because they violate divine laws and threaten the moral order of society.
Christianity considers same-sex marriage illegal since it goes against God's creation of man and woman, while Islam bans adultery or zina, which includes nonmarital intimacy with a married person. Similarly, Hinduism prohibits extra-religious marriages because they lead to religious discord, and Buddhism frowns upon lustful behavior because it distracts from meditation practice. African Traditional Religion requires fidelity among spouses but tolerates polygamists who can afford multiple wives. Hence, concern over sexual behavior creates panic during crises when people engage in taboo practices out of desperation or temptation.
Increased Crime Rates Amplify Religious Fear During Crises
Crises disrupt social institutions that help maintain law and order. When economic systems collapse, criminal gangs take advantage by selling drugs, weapons, and other illicit goods. They also recruit vulnerable youth into their ranks to participate in robbery, rape, prostitution, and murder. Consequently, sex workers become targets for exploitation because they have no alternative source of income. Religious leaders amplify this problem by blaming them for spreading diseases like AIDS, promoting immorality, and degrading women. Thus, they create panic about sexual minorities whose activities are seen as dangerous and deviant. This fear leads to increased police brutality, state crackdowns on brothels, and social stigma against transgender persons. As a result, many suffer from poverty, violence, and discrimination that push them further away from society's mainstream.
Concern over sexual behavior exacerbates religious moral panic during crises due to loss of life, property, and livelihood. It forces people to seek comfort through intimacy with partners or turn to exploitative dealers for survival. Religions condemn these acts as sinful and ungodly, which leads to increased crime rates and social discord. Therefore, addressing the root causes of crises is essential to preventing religious panic and promoting tolerance towards sexual expression.