Everything about Adultery totally explained
Adultery is loosely considered to be the voluntary
sexual intercourse between a
married person and another person who isn't his or her
spouse, though in most cultures adultery takes place only when a married woman has sexual relations with someone who isn't her husband. In most cases, in western countries, only the married party is said to have committed adultery, and if both parties are married (but not to each other) then they both commit separate acts of adultery. In other countries, both parties to the adultery are considered guilty, while in others again only the woman is able to commit adultery and to be considered guilty.
The interaction between laws on adultery with those on
rape has and does pose particular problems in societies which are especially sensitive to sexual relations by a married woman, such as some
Muslim countries. The difference between the offences is that adultery is voluntary, while rape is not. If a woman claims that she's been raped, and the offence can't be proved, then the logical consequence is that the sexual relations were voluntary, and the consequences of adultery may result. The woman victim would tend not to report a rape.
The term adultery has a Judeo-Christian origin, though the concept of marital fidelity is found in many other societies. Though the definition and consequences vary between religions, cultures and legal
jurisdictions, the concept is similar in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and Hinduism has a similar concept. But the word should be used cautiously when discussing various cultures, some of which permit less permanent forms of marriage, or even sexual "lending".
In the United States, adultery was at one time a
crime in some legal
jurisdictions, but not in others (see below). Although still unclear territory, it's widely thought that the few remaining laws against adultery are no longer enforceable since
Lawrence v. Texas. However, even in jurisdictions where adultery isn't itself a criminal offense, it may have legal consequences, particularly in
divorce cases. For example it may constitute grounds for divorce, it may be a factor to consider in a
property settlement, it may affect the
status of children, the
custody of children, etc.
It had once been claimed that the desire to commit adultery, like the compulsive desire to consume alcohol, results from a mental disorder.
However, if so, it's an extremely common one, as three recent studies in the United States, using nationally representative samples, have found that about 10-15% of women and 20-25% of men engage in extramarital sex.
Etymology
The word
adultery originates not from "adult", as is commonly thought, but from the
Late Latin word for "to alter, corrupt":
adulterare.
Adulterare in turn is formed by the combination of
ad ("towards"), and
alter ("other"), together with the
infinitive form
are (making it a verb). Thus the meaning is literally "to make other". In contrast, the word
"adult" (meaning a person of mature years) comes from another Latin root,
adolescere, meaning to grow up or mature: a combination of
ad ("towards"),
alere ("to nourish", "to grow"), and the
inchoative infix sc (meaning "to enter into a state of").
Definitions
Although the definition of "adultery" differs in nearly every legal system, the common theme is
sexual relations outside of marriage, in one form or another.
For example,
New York defines an adulterer as a person who "engages in sexual intercourse with another person at a time when he's a living spouse, or the other person has a living spouse."
North Carolina defines adultery as when any man and woman "lewdly and lasciviously associate, bed and cohabit together."
Minnesota defines adultery as: "when a married woman has sexual intercourse with a man other than her husband, whether married or not, both are guilty of adultery". Adultery is against the
governing law of the U.S. military).
Adultery was known in earlier times by the legal term "criminal conversation" (another term,
alienation of affection, is used when one spouse deserts the other for a third person).
A marriage in which both spouses agree to accept sexual relations by either partner with another person is a form of
nonmonogamy, and the spouses wouldn't treat the sexual relations as adultery, although it could still be considered to be adultery in some legal jurisdictions.
Some cultures distinguish adultery from
infidelity: for example,
Germany defines adultery as a "crime against marriage", while
infidelity is not.
Cultural and religious traditions
Biblical sources
The
Hebrew Bible (the
Tanakh or Christian
Old Testament) prohibits adultery in the seventh of the
Ten Commandments . The Hebrew word is
na^'aph or naw-af', meaning "a woman who breaks wedlock"
The book of
Deuteronomy defines adultery as sexual relations between a married woman and a man other than her husband. Both are guilty, and the penalty is death:
» If a man commits adultery with another man's wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death.
A consequence is that, under biblical law, there isn't adultery if an
unmarried woman has sexual relations with a man, whether the man is married or not.
These provisions are consistent with the provisions covering the practice of
polygyny. It is also the bases for the prohibition of
polyandry, as a woman can't be married to more than one man without committing adultery. The reasoning of these rules is to ensure that a child's
paternity is always known, and not in doubt.
Greco-Roman world
A similar rule applied in the old
Roman Law. That is, in the Greco-Roman world there were stringent laws against adultery, but these applied to sexual intercourse with a married woman. In the early Roman Law the
jus tori belonged to the husband. It was therefore not a crime against the wife for a husband to have sex with a slave or an unmarried woman.
It is well known that the Roman husband often took advantage of his legal immunity. Thus we're told by the historian
Spartianus that
Verus, the imperial colleague of
Marcus Aurelius, didn't hesitate to declare to his reproaching wife: "Uxor enim dignitatis nomen est, non voluptatis." (
'Wife' connotes rank, not sexual pleasure) (Verus, V).
Later in Roman history, as William E.H. Lecky has shown, the idea that the husband owed a fidelity similar to that demanded of the wife must have gained ground, at least in theory. Lecky gathers from the
legal maxim of
Ulpian: "It seems most unfair for a man to require from a wife the chastity he doesn't himself practice".
The lending of wives practiced among some peoples was, as
Plutarch tells us, encouraged also by
Lycurgus, though from a motive other than that which actuated the practice (Plutarch, Lycurgus, XXIX). The recognized license of the Greek husband may be seen in the following passage of the Oration against Neaera, the author of which is uncertain, though it has been attributed to
Demosthenes:
» We keep mistresses for our pleasures, concubines for constant attendance, and wives to bear us legitimate children and to be our faithful housekeepers. Yet, because of the wrong done to the husband only, the Athenian lawgiver Solon allowed any man to kill an adulterer whom he'd taken in the act. (Plutarch, Solon)
Christianity
Christian views on adultery diverged from the teachings of ancient Jewish law, though they evolved from the same foundation. Christian views on adultery are founded on the teachings of
Jesus as recorded in several pronouncements, notably :
» Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.
and
» Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
However, Jesus makes an exception to this last commandment, for cases of
fornication on the part of the wife (see and ).
But, paradoxically, in another pronouncement, Jesus seems to take the definition much further, making no distinction as to whether the woman was married or not, or even whether sexual contact was even involved:
» But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
This is clearly a different standard from the laws of ancient Judaism. In the first place under ancient Jewish law, adultery referred only to a sexual act. Secondly, this involved intercourse between a man and a married woman, but not intercourse with an unmarried woman, or divorce and subsequent re-marriage.
However, as the Christian church evolved, the definition of adultery relaxed considerably from Jesus' own standard. For example the modern
Catechism of the Catholic Church defines adultery as follows: "When two partners, of whom at least one is married to another party, have sexual relations—even transient ones—they commit adultery."
Rabbinic Judaism
Halakha forbids a man to continue living with an adulterous wife, and he's obliged to divorce her. Also, an adulteress isn't 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, he must give her a divorce as if they were married.
Rabbinic Jewish law (
halakha) recognizes the "law of the land" in these matters, so that if the law of the land has greater restrictions, then that'll also apply.
Islam
In Islam, definition of adultery extends to premarital sex, however mention of adultery will refer to extramarital sex from here on. Under
Muslim law, adultery is a violation of a marital contract and one of the major sins. In Islam, adultery includes sexual intercourse by a married person, man or woman. Islamic belief is that adultery is wrong and that it's condemned by God in the
Qur'an.
Qur'anic verses prohibiting adultery include:
» "Do not go near to adultery. Surely it's a shameful deed and evil, opening roads (to other evils)" (Quran 17:32).
» "Say, 'Verily, my Lord has prohibited the shameful deeds, be it open or secret, sins and trespasses against the truth and reason"' (Quran 7:33).
» "Women impure are for men impure, and men impure are for women impure and women of purity are for men of purity, and men of purity are for women of purity." (Quran 24:26)
Some interpretations of the
hadith call for adultery to be punished by
stoning to death for the married person. This is the position under Iran's
Islamic law. Nowadays, Iranian officials are banning stoning because of social objections. Proving adultery under Muslim law can be a very difficult task as it requires the accuser to produce four eye witnesses to the act of sexual intercourse, each of whom should have a good reputation for truthfulness and honesty.
In
Pakistan, adultery is a crime under the
Hudood Ordinance. The Ordinance sets a maximum penalty of
death, although only
imprisonment and
corporal punishment have ever actually been imposed. The Ordinance has been particularly controversial because it requires a woman making an accusation of
rape to provide extremely strong evidence to avoid being charged with adultery herself. A conviction of a man for rape is only possible with evidence from no less than four witnesses. In recent years high-profile rape cases in Pakistan have given the Ordinance more exposure than similar laws in other countries. Similar laws exist in some other Muslim countries, such as
Saudi Arabia.
Other historical practices
Historically, adultery was rigorously condemned and punished, usually only as a violation of the husband's rights. Among such peoples the wife was commonly reckoned as the property of her spouse, and adultery was therefore identified with theft. But it was theft of an aggravated kind, as the property which it would spoliate was more highly appraised than other chattels. It isn't the seducer alone who suffers. Dire penalties are visited upon the offending wife by her wronged spouse, and in many instances she's made to endure a bodily mutilation which will, in the mind of the aggrieved husband, prevent her from ever being a temptation to other men again (Schoolcraft,
Historical and Statistical Information Respecting the History, Condition and Prospects of the Indian Tribes of the United States, I, 236; V, 683, 684, 686; also H.H. Bancroft,
The Native Races of the Pacific States of North America, I, 514). If, however, the wronged husband could visit swift and terrible retribution upon the adulterous wife, the latter was allowed no cause against the unfaithful husband; and this discrimination found in the practices of ancient peoples is moreover set forth in nearly all ancient codes of law. The Laws of Manu are striking on this point: in ancient India, "though destitute of virtue or seeking pleasure elsewhere, or devoid of good qualities, yet a husband must be constantly worshipped as a god by a faithful wife"; on the other, hand, "if a wife, proud of the greatness of her relatives or [herown] excellence, violates the duty which she owes to her lord, the king shall cause her to be devoured by dogs in a place frequented by many" (Laws of Manu, V, 154; VIII, 371).
Penalties for adultery
Adultery has at one time attracted severe
sanctions, including the
death penalty. In some places, the method of punishment for adultery is
stoning to death.
(External Link
) In addition, adultery has been grounds for
divorce under fault-based divorce
laws.
In the original
Napoleonic Code, a man could ask to be divorced from his wife if she committed adultery, but the
philandery of the husband wasn't a sufficient grounds for divorce unless he'd kept his
concubine in the family home.
In some
countries, including
Korea,
Taiwan and
Mexico, adultery is a crime.
In the
United States, laws vary from state to state. For example, in
Pennsylvania, adultery is technically punishable by 2 years imprisonment or 18 months treatment for insanity (for history, see
Hamowy, the criminal statute was repealed in 1972), while in
Michigan the Court of Appeals, the state's second-highest court, ruled that a little-known provision of state criminal law means that adultery carries a potential
life sentence.
(External Link) In
Maryland, adultery is punishable by a fine of $10. That being said, such statutes are typically considered
blue laws and are rarely, if ever, enforced. In the
U.S. Military, adultery is a potential
court-martial offense only if the actions of the accused were "to the prejudice of good order and discipline" or "of a nature to bring discredit upon the armed forces".
(External Link) This law has been applied to cases where both partners were members of the military, particularly where one was in command of the other, or one partner and the other's spouse. The enforceability of criminal sanctions for adultery is questionable in light of
Supreme Court decisions since 1965 relating to privacy and sexual intimacy, and particularly in light of
Lawrence v. Texas, which protected the right of privacy for consenting adults. Because of this, adultery is generally considered to no longer be illegal in the United States.
In
Canadian law, adultery is defined under the
Divorce Act. Though the written definition sets it as extramarital relations with someone of the opposite sex, the
Civil Marriage Act gave grounds for a
British Columbia judge to strike that definition down. In a 2005 case of a woman filing for divorce, her husband had cheated on her with another man, which the judge felt was equal reasoning to dissolve the union.
In
Indian law, adultery is defined as sex between a man and a woman without the consent of the woman's husband. The man is prosecutable and can be sentenced for up to 5 years (even if he himself was unmarried) whereas the married woman can not be jailed
(External Link). Men have accused of gender discrimination in that women can never be prosecuted for adultery
(External Link). The National Commission of Women has criticized this British era law of being anti-feminist as it treats women as the property of their husbands and has consequentially recommended deletion of the law or reducing it to a civil offense, but the Government of India is yet to act
(External Link). Extra marital sex without the consent of one's partner can be a valid grounds for monetary penalty on government employees, as ruled by the Central Administrative Tribunal
(External Link).
Most countries of the
European Union, such as
Austria,
the Netherlands,
Belgium,
Finland or
Sweden don't treat adultery as a crime.
Apart from criminal consequences, historically adulterers have suffered from society's disapproving attitudes toward them. The nature of these attitudes vary widely depending on local culture, religion and values, and how seriously the adulterer regards the opinions of others.
Further Information
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