Puritans and Sex: not the oxymoron you might expect

The puritans were strict disciplinarians in almost every aspect of their lives. They existed in a truly ascetic society dwelling on sin and Satan as the root to all worldly pleasures. However these same people, who practice abstinence in every other way, were very in tune with the needs of man to have sex. Sex was not something to be endured in order to procreate, but was actually something to be enjoyed as part of a healthy marriage. The puritans encouraged sex amongst married people. In fact only unmarried people and slave masters had something to fear about sex. Fornication was one of the biggest and most harshly punishable sins that could be committed in the puritan society.