1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910503010303321

Autore

Pozzi Lucia

Titolo

The Catholic Church and Modern Sexual Knowledge, 1850-1950 / / by Lucia Pozzi

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Cham : , : Springer International Publishing : , : Imprint : Palgrave Macmillan, , 2021

ISBN

3-030-79786-4

Edizione

[1st ed. 2021.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (286 pages)

Collana

Genders and Sexualities in History, , 2730-9487

Disciplina

241.66

Soggetti

Europe - History - 1492-

Civilization - History

Social history

Religion - History

Sex

History of Modern Europe

Cultural History

Social History

History of Religion

Gender Studies

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Nota di contenuto

1. Introduction -- 2. Onanism -- 3. The Holy Office Dealing with Abortion and Contraception -- 4. Youth and Sexual Purity -- 5. Jesuits Writing on Population Theories and on Eugenics -- 6. Nudism -- 7. Scientific Eroticism -- 8. The First Modern Vatican Public Talk about Sexuality -- 9. Conclusion.

Sommario/riassunto

“This book offers an engaging and well-researched study of the relationship between Catholicism and sexual science; it will make a useful contribution to the histories of sexuality and religion, helping these two, often disparate, fields speak to each other in new ways.” - David Geiringer, Associate Lecturer and Post-doctoral Research Fellow, Queen Mary, University of London, UK "Too often historians of sexuality, especially in the English-speaking world, work with stylised views of the Catholic Church’s regulation of women’s sexuality. By



reading Lucia Pozzi’s book, they can gain a more nuanced view based on fine-grained archival research." - Peter Cryle, Emeritus Professor, University of Queensland This book is the first to present a comprehensive historical picture of the modern Catholic concern with the body and sexuality. The Catholic church is commonly believed to have always opposed birth control and abortion throughout the centuries. Yet the Catholic encounter with modern sexuality has a more complex and interesting history. What was the meaning of sexual purity? Why did eugenics matter to Catholicism? How did the Society of Jesus interpret the idea of overpopulation? Why did Pius XI decide to issue the notorious encyclical Casti connubii on Christian marriage – the first modern papal pronouncement on birth control, abortion, and eugenics? In answering these questions, Lucia Pozzi uncovers new archival and unpublished records to dig into Catholic responses to modern sexual knowledge, showing the Catholic church at times resisting, but also often welcoming, scientific modernity. Lucia Pozzi is an intellectual historian in the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities at the University of Queensland, Australia. She is the author of journal articles and book chapters on the history of modern Catholic discourses on sexuality and eugenics.