Singleness, sex, and spirituality: how religion affects the experience of being single in Indonesia
In Indonesia, marital status and religion are important social attributes, with sex being culturally and legally restricted to marriage. This begs the question of how Indonesian never-married individuals manage their needs relating to sexuality and belonging. The study particularly outlines the role...
| Published in: | Mental health, religion & culture |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Taylor & Francis
2020
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| In: |
Mental health, religion & culture
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| Further subjects: | B
Spirituality
B Chastity B Sex B Religion B never-married B singleness |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | In Indonesia, marital status and religion are important social attributes, with sex being culturally and legally restricted to marriage. This begs the question of how Indonesian never-married individuals manage their needs relating to sexuality and belonging. The study particularly outlines the role of religion in assisting unmarried individuals fulfil their need for partnership. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 40 never-married Indonesian adults aged 26-50 who belong to the acknowledged religions of Indonesia. The results revealed that religiosity and spirituality informed the participants’ perceptions of their singleness in terms of emotion, socialising and sexual experience. Those with orthodox religious values believed that marriage is a religious mandate in order to avoid sinful sexual promiscuity. In contrast, participants who describe their religious life in terms of having a close spiritual connection with God (or a Higher Being), while also experiencing pressure, tended to perceive such pressure as positive and necessary for the sake of their future. |
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| ISSN: | 1469-9737 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Mental health, religion & culture
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/13674676.2020.1767555 |