Domestication, sacralisation, instrumentalisation de la sexualité: le cas des Témoins de Jehovah et des Hassidim

Abstract

This study presents an analysis of sexual regulations among Jehovah's Witnesses and the Lubavitcher Hassidim by focusing upon the processes of sacralization, instrumentalization and domestication. In both cases, sexuality (especially that of women) symbolizes impurity in nature and the external world. Sexuality is domesticated and sanctified for the benefit of the organizational and charismatic power. The Jehovah's Witness restricts sexuality according to the Malthusian model, within a small family; the Lubavitcher Hassid, on the contrary, values a large family. However, both groups are modifying the sacralization and legitimation of their ethical codes in order to maintain their credibility and organizational strength in answer to the challenges of the modern world and to the dominant western religions, particularly Roman Catholicism.