Religious Dogmas as the Primary Source of Pornography Prohibition

The current political and religious situation makes us think about the crisis of faith, which has been closely associated with legal regulation for a long historical period. From this point of view, the problem of the relation between religion and law is becoming relevant in our time, suggesting a discussion of the connection of some legal terms, in particular criminal law, with their religious «ancestors». The study discusses the issues of the formation and consolidation of pornography prohibitions in various world religious doctrines by studying sacred texts and religious concepts related to issues of sexual morals. The purpose of the study is to identify and reflect the influence of religion on the prohibition of pornography as sin and crime. The subject of the study is acts, including primary texts and derivative documents of religious leaders and organizations, which for a long time have played the role of a source of formation and a reference point for secular criminal-legal regulations, including the basis for criminalization of the phenomenon of pornography. It has been established that despite the absence of a clear term, which was formalized only in the 19th century, the phenomenon of pornography has been known for centuries and was subject to prohibitions through the use of other terms, such as «whoredom», «fornication», «adultery», which subsequently predetermined the content of the concept under study. A conclusion has been made about the key role of religion in shaping the attitude to this phenomenon, including the fundamental differences in attitudes to pornography given the difference in religious and cultural views in legal systems that predetermine the vector of development of criminal legislation. It has been determined that phenomena terminologically related to the concept of «pornography» are prohibited in Christianity, Islam and Judaism, but from the standpoint of Hinduism and Buddhism they are undesirable manifestations of the sensual nature of man.