Chastity (Christianity)

In Christian terms, chastity is said to be primarily an aspect of love in expressing respect for other human beings and of one's own nature, both physical and psychic, as creations of God and redeemed in Christ. It implies sexual purity - virginity for the unmarried, loyalty to one's partner for the married and continence in the widowed. The state of remaining physically chaste is mirrored spiritually in devoting the powers of body and soul to God; Christ's teaching against adultery includes the desire as well as the physical act. Other traditions similarly value chastity, in particular the virginity of a woman when she marries and restraint from intercourse at times of religious or ritual ceremonies.