Adultery

===Abrahamic religions===
{{See also|Extramarital sex#Religions|Fornication#Religions}}

====Biblical sources====
{{Main|Thou shalt not commit adultery}}
Both Judaism and Christianity base their injunction against adultery on passages in the [[Hebrew Bible]] ([[Old Testament]] in Christianity), which firstly prohibits adultery in the [[Thou shalt not commit adultery|Seventh Commandment]]: "Thou shalt not commit adultery."
({{bibleverse||Exodus|20:12|HE}}). However, Judaism and Christianity differ on what actually constitutes adultery.

{{bibleverse|Leviticus|20:10|HE}} defines what constitutes adultery in the Hebrew Bible, and it also prescribes the punishment as [[capital punishment]]. In this verse, and in the Jewish tradition, adultery consists of sexual intercourse between a man and a ''married'' woman who is not his lawful wife:

<blockquote>And the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.</blockquote>

Thus, according to the Hebrew Bible, adultery is not committed if the female participant is unmarried (unless she is [[betrothed]] to be married<ref>{{Bibleverse|Deuteronomy|22:23-27|HE}}</ref>), while the marital status of the male participant is irrelevant (he himself could be married or unmarried to another woman).

If a married woman was raped by a man who is not her husband, only the rapist is punished for adultery. The victim is not punished: as the Bible declares, "this matter is similar to when a man rises up against his fellow and murders him"; just as a murder victim is not guilty of murder, a rape victim is not guilty of adultery.<ref>{{Bibleverse|Deuteronomy|22:26|HE}}</ref>

[[Michael Coogan]] writes that according to the text wives are the property of their husband, marriage meaning transfer of property (from father to husband),<ref name=coogan102>{{cite book|last1=Coogan|first1=Michael|title=God and Sex. What the Bible Really Says|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2_gPKQEACAAJ&q=god+and+sex|access-date=5 May 2011|edition=1st|date=October 2010|publisher=Twelve. Hachette Book Group|location=New York, Boston|isbn=978-0-446-54525-9|page=[https://archive.org/details/godsexwhatbi00coog/page/102 102]-[https://archive.org/details/godsexwhatbi00coog/page/103 103]|chapter=4. Thou Shalt Not: Forbidden Seuxal Relationships in the Bible|url=https://archive.org/details/godsexwhatbi00coog|url-access=registration}}</ref> and adultery is violating the property right of the husband.<ref name=coogan102/> However, in contrast to other ancient Near Eastern law collections which treat adultery as an offense against the husband alone, and allow the husband to waive or mitigate the punishment, Biblical law allows no such mitigation, on the grounds that God as well as the husband is offended by adultery, and an offense against God cannot be forgiven by man.<ref>ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, "Adultery", [[Jeffrey H. Tigay]]</ref> In addition, Coogan's book was criticized by [[Phyllis Trible]], who argues that that [[patriarchy]] was not decreed, but only described by God.<ref name=trible>Phyllis Trible [http://www.bib-arch.org/reviews/review-god-and-sex.asp God and Sex: What the Bible Really Says] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120806031403/http://www.bib-arch.org/reviews/review-god-and-sex.asp |date=6 August 2012 }} Biblical Archaeology Review</ref> She claims that [[Paul the Apostle]] made the same mistake as Coogan.<ref name=trible/>

[[David]]'s sexual intercourse with [[Bathsheba]], the wife of [[Uriah the Hittite|Uriah]], is described by the Bible as a "sin"<ref>{{Bibleverse|2 Samuel|12:13|HE}}</ref> whose punishment included the ravishment of David's own wives.<ref>{{Bibleverse|2 Samuel|12:11-12|HE}}</ref> According to Jennifer Wright Knust, David's act was adultery only according to the spirit and not the letter of the law, because Uriah was non-Jewish, and (according to Knust) the Biblical codes only technically applied to Israelites.<ref name="Knust2011">{{cite book|first=Jennifer|last=Wright Knust|title=Unprotected Texts: The Bible's Surprising Contradictions About Sex and Desire|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=trMblwEACAAJ|date=25 January 2011|publisher=HarperCollins|isbn=978-0-06-172558-6|chapter=Chapter 2|url=https://archive.org/details/unprotectedtexts00jenn}}</ref> However, according to [[Jacob Milgrom]], Jews and resident foreigners received equal protection under Biblical law.<ref>Jacob Milgrom, ''The JPS Torah Commentary - Numbers'', [[Jewish Publication Society]] (2003), p. 399</ref>  In any case, according to the Babylonian Talmud, Uriah was indeed Jewish<ref>Babylonian Talmud, [https://www.sefaria.org/Kiddushin.76b.15 Kiddushin 76b]</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/43681/was-uriah-jewish|title=Was Uriah Jewish?|website=Mi Yodeya|access-date=20 October 2016|archive-date=21 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161021001639/http://judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/43681/was-uriah-jewish|url-status=live}}</ref> and wrote a provisional [[Get (divorce document)|bill of divorce]] prior to going out to war, specifying that if he fell in battle, the divorce would take effect from the time the writ was issued.<ref name=Thompson>{{cite book |first=John L. |last=Thompson |title=Reading the Bible with the Dead |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hWciPOChU9QC |page=200 |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |access-date=21 October 2016 |isbn=9780802807533 |date=29 May 2007 |archive-date=27 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191227015630/https://books.google.com/books?id=hWciPOChU9QC |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | title=Babylonian Talmud | chapter-url=https://www.sefaria.org/Shabbat.56a | chapter=Shabbath 56 | access-date=17 May 2019 | archive-date=17 May 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190517140618/https://www.sefaria.org/Shabbat.56a | url-status=live }}</ref>

====Judaism====
Though Leviticus 20:10 prescribes the death penalty for adultery, the legal procedural requirements were very exacting and required the testimony of two eyewitnesses of good character for conviction. The defendant also must have been warned immediately before performing the act.<ref>Maimonidies, Book of the Commandments, Prohibition 392 and the note at the end of Prohibition 347, Hebrew translation and notes by Rabbi Joseph Kapach, Mossad Harav Kook, Jerusalem 1971</ref> A death sentence could be issued only during the period when the [[Holy Temple]] stood, and only so long as the [[Sanhedrin]] court convened in its chamber within the Temple complex.<ref>Maimonides, [[Mishneh Torah]]: Laws of Sanhedrin 14:11</ref> Technically, therefore, no death penalty can now be applied.<ref>Talmud Bavli: Ketuvoth 30a,b</ref>

The death penalty for adultery was generally strangulation,<ref>Talmud Bavli: Sanhedrin 52b, towards the bottom</ref> except in the case of a woman who was the [[Bat kohen|daughter of a Kohen]], which was specifically mentioned in Scripture as the penalty of burning (pouring molten lead down the throat),<ref>{{bibleverse|Leviticus|21:9|HE}}</ref> or a woman who was betrothed but not married, in which case the punishment for both man and woman was stoning.<ref>{{bibleverse|Deuteronomy|22:24|HE}}.</ref>

At the civil level, [[Halakha|Jewish law]] (halakha) forbids a man to continue living with an adulterous wife, and he is obliged to divorce her. Also, an adulteress is not permitted to marry the adulterer, but (to avoid any doubt as to her status as being free to marry another or that of her children) many authorities say he must give her a divorce as if they were married.<ref>The Jewish Way in Love & Marriage, Rabbi Maurice Lamm, Harper & Row, San Francisco,1980</ref>

According to Judaism, the [[Seven laws of Noah]] apply to all of humankind; these laws prohibit adultery to non-Jews as well as Jews.<ref>[[Maimonides]], [[Mishneh Torah]], Judges, Laws of Kings and Wars, Chapter 7 (Shabse Frankel edition, Jerusalem - B'nai B'rak, 5762 (c.2008, copyright 1998))</ref>

The extramarital intercourse of a married man is not in itself considered a crime in biblical or later Jewish law;<ref>Source=ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume 15 |section=Adultery |Author=Jeffrey Howard Tigay]</ref><ref name=collins/> it was considered akin to [[polygyny]], which was permitted. Similarly, sexual intercourse between an unmarried man and a woman who was neither married nor [[Engagement|betrothed]] was not considered adultery.<ref name=collins>Collins, R. F. (1992). "Ten Commandments." In D. N. Freedman (Ed.), ''The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary'' (Vol. 6, p. 386). New York: Doubleday</ref> This concept of adultery stems from the economic aspect of Israelite marriage whereby the husband has an exclusive right to his wife, whereas the wife, as the husband's possession, did not have an exclusive right to her husband.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/adultery.html |title=Adultery |website=www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org |access-date=20 September 2016 |archive-date=2 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160602070025/http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/adultery.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Christianity====
[[File:Nathan and David.jpg|thumb|'Thou shalt not commit adultery' (Nathan confronts David); bronze bas-relief on the door of the [[La Madeleine, Paris]], [[Paris]].]]

Adultery is considered immoral by Christians  and a [[sin]], based primarily on passages like {{bibleverse|Exodus|20:14|NIV}} and {{bibleverse|1|Corinthians|6:9–10|NIV}}. Although {{bibleverse|1|Corinthians|6:11|NIV}} does say that "and that is what some of you were. But you were washed", it still acknowledges adultery to be immoral and a sin.

[[Catholicism]] ties [[fornication]] with breaking the [[Ten Commandments|sixth commandment]] in its [[Catechism of the Catholic Church|Catechism]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s2c2a6.htm |title=Catechism of the Catholic Church - The sixth commandment |publisher=Vatican.va |date=29 October 1951 |access-date=2 August 2013 |archive-date=10 September 2002 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020910104753/https://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s2c2a6.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

Until a few decades ago,{{when|date=December 2018}} adultery was a criminal offense in many countries where the dominant religion is Christianity, especially in [[Roman Catholic]] countries (for example, in [[Austria]] it was a criminal offense until 1997<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/debatte-ueber-untreue-gesetz-noch-1997-drohte-oesterreichs-ehebrechern-gefaengnis-a-317486.html|title = Debatte über Untreue-Gesetz: Noch 1997 drohte Österreichs Ehebrechern Gefängnis|newspaper = Der Spiegel|date = 10 September 2004|last1 = Reimann|first1 = Anna|last2 = Freudenreich|first2 = Daniel}}</ref>). Adultery was decriminalized in [[Chile]] in 1994,<ref>''Women and Democracy: Latin America and Central and Eastern Europe'', edited by Jane S. Jaquette, Sharon L. Wolchik, p. 62.</ref> [[Argentina]] in 1995,<ref name="impowr.org">{{cite web |url=http://www.impowr.org/content/current-legal-framework-adultery-argentina |title=Current Legal Framework: Adultery in Argentina |publisher=impowr.org |access-date=26 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150307232411/http://www.impowr.org/content/current-legal-framework-adultery-argentina |archive-date=7 March 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Brazil]] in 2005<ref name="iwraw-ap.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.iwraw-ap.org/resources/pdf/BRAZIL_SHADOWREPORT_CEDAW_June,18%5B1%5D.pdf |title=BRAZIL AND COMPLIANCE WITH CEDAW |date=1 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201225023/http://www.iwraw-ap.org/resources/pdf/BRAZIL_SHADOWREPORT_CEDAW_June%2C18%5B1%5D.pdf |archive-date=1 February 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and [[Mexico]] in 2011,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/754179.html|title=El Universal - - Adulterio ya no ser delito|date=18 June 2013|work=eluniversal.com.mx|access-date=21 October 2014|archive-date=21 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021095654/http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/754179.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://info4.juridicas.unam.mx/ijure/fed/8/344.htm?s%3D |title=Artículo 276 bis - CODIGO PENAL FEDERAL |access-date=21 October 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203221933/http://info4.juridicas.unam.mx/ijure/fed/8/344.htm?s= |archive-date=3 December 2013 }}</ref> but in some predominantly Catholic countries, such as the Philippines, it remains illegal.

The [[Book of Mormon]] also prohibits adultery. For instance, Abinadi cites the [[Ten Commandments]] when he accuses [[King Noah]]'s priests of sexual immorality.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/mosiah/13.22?lang=eng|title=Mosiah 13:22|work=churchofjesuschrist.org|access-date=15 July 2019|archive-date=21 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221152916/https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/mosiah/13.22?lang=eng|url-status=live}}</ref> When [[Jesus Christ]] visits the Americas he reinforces the law and teaches them the higher law (also found in the [[New Testament]]):

:''Behold, it is written by them of old time, that thou shalt not commit adultery; but I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman, to lust after her, hath committed adultery already in his heart.''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/3-ne/12.27?lang=eng|title=3 Nephi 12:27|work=churchofjesuschrist.org|access-date=15 July 2019|archive-date=24 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191224124113/https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/3-ne/12.27?lang=eng|url-status=live}}</ref>

Some churches such as [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] have interpreted "adultery" to include [[Law of chastity#Includes broader transgressions|all sexual relationships outside of marriage]], regardless of the marital status of the participants.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/gs/adultery |title=Guide to the Scriptures: Adultery |publisher=churchofjesuschrist.org |access-date=2 May 2014 |archive-date=20 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920201909/https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/gs/adultery?lang=eng |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Book of Mormon]] [[List of Book of Mormon prophets|prophets]] and civil leaders often list adultery as an illegal activity along with murder, robbing, and stealing.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/alma/30.10?lang=eng|title=Alma 30:10|work=churchofjesuschrist.org|access-date=15 July 2019|archive-date=21 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221120011/https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/alma/30.10?lang=eng|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Islam====
{{See also|Extramarital sex#Islam}}
''[[Zina (Arabic)|Zina']]'' is an Arabic term for illegal intercourse, premarital or extramarital. Various conditions and punishments have been attributed to adultery. Under [[Sharia|Islamic law]], adultery in general is sexual intercourse by a person (whether man or woman) with someone to whom they are not married. Adultery is a violation of the marital contract and one of the major sins condemned by God in the [[Qur'an]]:<ref>{{Cite web |title=Surah An-Nur 24:1-2 - Towards Understanding the Quran - Quran Translation Commentary - Tafheem ul Quran |url=https://www.islamicstudies.info/tafheem.php?sura=24&verse=1&to=2 |access-date=2022-08-12 |website=www.islamicstudies.info}}</ref>

Qur'anic verses prohibiting adultery include:

{{Blockquote|Do not go near adultery. It is truly a shameful deed and an evil way.|{{qref|17|32|c=y}}}}

{{Blockquote|Say, “My Lord has only forbidden open and secret indecencies, sinfulness, unjust aggression, associating ˹others˺ with Allah ˹in worship˺—a practice He has never authorized—and attributing to Allah what you do not know.”|{{qref|7|33|c=y}}}}

Punishments are reserved to the legal authorities and false accusations are to be punished severely.<ref>[http://al-quran.info/#&&sura=24&trans=no-einar_berg&show=both,quran-uthmani&format=rows&ver=1.00 Online Qur'an Project Chapter 24] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090129090725/http://al-quran.info/#&&sura=24&trans=no-einar_berg&show=both,quran-uthmani&format=rows&ver=1.00 |date=29 January 2009 }}.</ref> It has been said that these legal procedural requirements were instituted to protect women from [[slander]] and false accusations: i.e. four witnesses of good character are required for conviction, who were present at that time and saw the deed taking place; and if they saw it they were not of good moral character, as they were looking at naked adults; thus no one can be convicted of adultery unless both of the accused also agree and give their confession under oath four times.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.asmasociety.org/perspectives/article_8.html |title=American Muslims need to speak out against violations of Islamic Shariah law |publisher=Asmasociety.org |access-date=12 July 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100705191356/http://www.asmasociety.org///perspectives/article_8.html |archive-date=5 July 2010 }}</ref>

According to ''a [[hadith]]'' attributed to Muhammad, an unmarried person who commits adultery or fornication is punished by flogging 100 times; a married person will then be [[stoning|stoned]] to death.<ref>Hadith Muslim 17:4192. Also, see the following: Bukhari 6:60:79, Bukhari 83:37, Muslim 17:4196, Muslim 17:4206, Muslim 17:4209, Ibn Ishaq 970.</ref> A survey conducted by the [[Pew Research Center]] found support for stoning as a punishment for adultery mostly in [[Arab countries]]; it was supported in [[Egypt]] (82% of respondents in favor of the punishment) and [[Jordan]] (70% in favor), as well as [[Pakistan]] (82% favor), whereas in [[Nigeria]] (56% in favor) and in [[Indonesia]] (42% in favor) opinion is more divided, perhaps due to diverging traditions and differing interpretations of Sharia.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://pewglobal.org/2010/12/02/muslims-around-the-world-divided-on-hamas-and-hezbollah |title=Muslim Publics Divided on Hamas and Hezbollah Retrieved 2011-06-02 |publisher=Pewglobal.org |date=2 December 2010 |access-date=28 September 2013 |archive-date=29 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130929010643/http://www.pewglobal.org/2010/12/02/muslims-around-the-world-divided-on-hamas-and-hezbollah/ |url-status=live }}</ref>