Editing Celibacy (section)

==Abstinence and celibacy==
The words ''abstinence'' and ''celibacy'' are often used interchangeably, but are not necessarily the same thing. [[Sexual abstinence]], also known as ''continence'',<ref>{{CathEncy |id= 04330b |title= Continence |first= John |last= Melody |access-date= 23 July 2011 }}</ref> is abstaining from some or all aspects of sexual activity, often for some limited period of time,<ref>{{cite book|chapter=Abstinence and Continence|title=Dictionary of Moral Theology|editor1-last=Palazzini|editor1-first=Pietro|location=London|publisher=Burns & Oates|year=1962}}</ref> while celibacy may be defined as a voluntary religious vow not to marry or engage in sexual activity.<ref name="Schadé2006">{{cite book|author=Johannes P. Schadé|title=Encyclopedia of World Religions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XRkfKdho-5cC&pg=PT180|year=2006|publisher=Foreign Media Group|isbn=978-1-60136-000-7|page=180}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ea-bAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA359|title=Britannica Concise Encyclopedia|page=359|quote=The deliberate abstinence from sexual activity, usually in connection with a religious role or practice. |access-date=2016-10-12|isbn=9781593394929|date=May 2008|publisher=Encyclopaedia Britannica }}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://kids.britannica.com/comptons/article-9319093/celibacy |title=celibacy |encyclopedia=Britannica Kids|access-date=2016-10-12|quote=A voluntary refusal to marry or engage in sexual intercourse, celibacy is often associated with taking religious vows. The three types of religious celibacy are sacerdotal, monastic, and institutional.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thefreedictionary.com/celibacy |title=The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition, 2011|publisher=thefreedictionary.com|access-date=2016-10-12}}</ref> [[Asexuality]] is commonly conflated with celibacy and sexual abstinence, but it is considered distinct from the two,<ref name="Halter">{{cite book |author=Margaret Jordan Halter |author2=Elizabeth M. Varcarolis|title=Varcarolis' Foundations of Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing|isbn=978-1455753581|publisher=[[Elsevier Health Sciences]]|year=2013|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mZ15AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA382}}</ref><ref name="DePaulo">{{cite magazine|first=Bella|last=DePaulo|title=ASEXUALS: Who Are They and Why Are They Important?:<!--not sure if colon (rather than spaced ndash (snd-template) " – ") is better for subtitle or here, use (because ending in "?") quote= -->We have so much more to learn about asexuality. |magazine=[[Psychology Today]]|date=<!--where did that date come from? "Posted": -->23 December 2009 |access-date=2016-10-12 |url=http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/living-single/200912/asexuals-who-are-they-and-why-are-they-important}}</ref> as celibacy and sexual abstinence are behavioral and those who use those terms for themselves are generally motivated by factors such as an individual's personal or religious beliefs.<ref>''The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language'' (3d ed. 1992), entries for ''celibacy'' and thence ''abstinence''</ref>

A. W. Richard Sipe, while focusing on the topic of celibacy in Catholicism, states that "the most commonly assumed definition of ''celibate'' is simply an unmarried or single person, and celibacy is perceived as synonymous with sexual abstinence or restraint."<ref name="Sipe1990">{{cite book|author=A.W. Richard Sipe|title=A Secret World: Sexuality and the Search For Celibacy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DxqLZI2Lpp4C&pg=PA3|year=1990|publisher=Routledge|isbn=1-134-85134-0|page=3}}</ref> Sipe adds that even in the relatively uniform milieu of Catholic priests in the United States there seems to be "simply no clear [[operational definition]] of celibacy".<ref name="Sipe1990b">{{cite book|author=A.W. Richard Sipe|title=A Secret World: Sexuality and the Search For Celibacy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DxqLZI2Lpp4C&pg=PA52|year=1990|publisher=Routledge|isbn=1-134-85134-0|page=52}}</ref> [[Elizabeth Abbott]] commented on the terminology in her ''A History of Celibacy'' (2001) writing that she "drafted a definition of celibacy that discarded the rigidly pedantic and unhelpful distinctions between celibacy, chastity, and [[virginity]]..."<ref>{{cite book|last=Abbott|first=Elizabeth|title=A History of Celibacy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D1_SNxYovocC&pg=PA17|year=2001|publisher=Da Capo Press|isbn=9780306810411|pages=16–17}}</ref>

The concept of "new" celibacy was introduced by Gabrielle Brown in her 1980 book ''The New Celibacy''.<ref name="frayser">{{cite book|last1=Frayser|first1=Suzanne G.|last2=Whitby|first2=Thomas J.|title=Studies in Human Sexuality: A Selected Guide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZArPH0nFGo0C&pg=PA341|year=1995|publisher=Libraries Unlimited|isbn=9781563081316|page=341}}</ref> In a revised version (1989) of her book, she claims abstinence to be "a response on the outside to what's going on, and celibacy is a response from the inside".<ref>{{cite book|last=Brown|first=Gabrielle|title=The New Celibacy: A Journey to Love, Intimacy, and Good Health in a New Age|url=https://archive.org/details/newcelibacyjourn0000brow|url-access=registration|edition=Rev|location=New York|publisher=McGraw-Hill|year=1989|isbn=9780070084391}}</ref> According to her definition, celibacy (even short-term celibacy that is pursued for non-religious reasons) is much more than not having sex. It is more intentional than abstinence, and its goal is personal growth and empowerment. Although Brown repeatedly states that celibacy is a matter of choice, she clearly suggests that those who do not choose this route are somehow missing out.<ref name="Midwifery">{{cite journal |last1=Fischman |first1=Susan H. |title=(Review) The new celibacy |journal=[[Journal of Nurse-Midwifery]] |date=1981 |volume=26 |issue=3 |pages=71–72 |doi=10.1016/0091-2182(81)90079-3 |url=https://ur.booksc.me/book/2583179/84d52b |access-date=2 October 2022}}</ref> This new perspective on celibacy is echoed by several authors including Elizabeth Abbott, Wendy Keller, and [[Wendy Shalit]].<ref>Abbott, Elizabeth. ''A History of Celibacy''. Cambridge, Massachusetts: DaCapo, 1999; Keller, Wendy. ''The Cult of the Born-Again Virgin: How Single Women Can Reclaim Their Sexual Power''. Deerfield Beach, Florida: Health Communications, 1999; Shalit, Wendy. ''A Return to Modesty: Discovering the Lost Virtue''. New York: Touchstone, 2000.</ref>