I agree that vague terms like "spiritual growth" can be unhelpful. Maybe "existential" has a similar flavour? - but I think clients would understand "spiritual" more easily than "existential". On the point of religious attitudes to sexual behaviour, here are some points derived from several recent human sexuality texts: Early Christians appear to have promoted a view that non reproductive sex was sinful, even within marriage. This may have arisen partly to distinguish this new religion from other competing religions at the time. Positive attitudes to sexual expression within marriage have been expressed in writings of several religious groups, including Judaism, Protestant reformers such as Calvin and Martin Luther, and Islam. For example, it would be seen as acceptable to have sex with one's spouse for "comfort", even if procreation was not possible. Taoism and Hinduism have promoted sexual activity not only for procreation but also to achieve spiritual (there's that word again!) fulfilment and harmony. I think it's helpful to understand variations in attitudes of religions towards sexual expression - such as differences between religions, and differences for the same religion in different historical periods. It may be misguided to think that all religions oppose sexual expression for pleasure.
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