Progressives often champion the loosening of sexual norms as a sign of societal advancement, claiming that breaking free from traditional moral constraints represents true progress. But what they label as “progress” might more accurately be described as a dangerous regression.
Chastity and abstinence, once virtues cherished even outside of religious contexts, have increasingly become subjects of ridicule. Virginity, once honoured as a mark of purity, is now treated with embarrassment as if it’s something to be ashamed of.
This shift isn’t new—it mirrors a long historical cycle. Societies that abandon moral boundaries around sexuality often regress into practices that were once deemed barbaric. In ancient pagan cultures, unchecked sexual behaviour was commonplace, and women were often treated as property to be exploited. Strangely, many of these same practices are now hailed as symbols of “sexual liberation.”
Ironically, progressives often dismiss the Christian sexual ethic as “archaic” and “outdated,” while advocating a return to a pre-Christian sexual worldview. In the fourth century, St. Augustine observed this very phenomenon. He famously wrote, “Man’s wickedness is now such that men are more ashamed of chastity than of lust.”
Augustine went on to explain how societal values had become warped: “Murderers, thieves, perjurers, false witnesses, plunderers, and fraudsters are detested and hated by people generally, but whoever sleeps with his servant girl in brazen lechery is liked and admired for it, and people make light of the damage to his soul.”
He continued with a sobering reflection on how society viewed virtue: “If any man has the nerve to say that he is chaste and faithful to his wife, and this gets known, he is ashamed to mix with other men whose behaviour is not like his, for they will mock him and despise him and say he’s not a real man… For man’s wickedness is now of such proportions that no one is considered a man unless he is overcome by lechery, while one who overcomes lechery and stays chaste is considered unmanly.”
These words from Augustine, written over a millennium ago, still ring true today. In modern culture, those who hold to traditional virtues like chastity or fidelity are often mocked, while promiscuity is celebrated as a sign of freedom. What is now called “sexual liberation” is often little more than the revival of ancient, unchecked desires—those that ultimately led to the exploitation and degradation of women.
Rather than a path forward, the current trend represents a retreat to the morally chaotic landscape of the ancient world—a time when sexual conduct was largely unrestrained, and virtue was seen as a weakness. As Augustine keenly observed, what was once considered immoral or shameful has been turned on its head.
In reality, there is nothing new under the sun. What many progressives call radical change is often merely a return to the ancient practices that history has already shown to be harmful. True progress may lie not in the abandonment of moral norms, but in the recovery of virtues that protect the dignity of individuals and uphold the sanctity of human relationships.
