(Department of Sociology, Nasarawa State University,Keffi., 2011-02-01) Ayuba, J.M.
Celibacy is a commitment to remain unmarried and to renounce
sexual relations, for a limited period or for a lifetime. Such a
commitment places an individual outside human society in its usual
form, and thus raises certain questions: What significance does such
an individual, and such a choice, have for the human family and
community as a whole? Is celibacy possible? Is there a socially
constructive role for celibacy? These questions will serve as a guide
in understanding the history of celibacy in the ancient cultures and
early Christian era, which this paper seeks to examine.
Keywords: Celibacy, Vestal Virgins, Religion, Sufism, Christianity