- Question
Is adultery wrong?
Is adultery always morally wrong? This entry sets out the two positions on the question — that adultery is wrong, and that it is not — weighing betrayal and broken commitment against more permissive views of fidelity.
Position 1 of 2
Read this position →Yes, adultery is wrong
This position holds that adultery is morally wrong because it breaks a promise freely made and conceals the breach from the person it was made to. On this view the wrong lies in the betrayal and the deception rather than in the sexual act alone.
Position 2 of 2
Read this position →No, adultery is not wrong
This position holds that adultery is not wrong in itself. On this view the moral weight belongs to honesty, consent and the harm actually done, so whether a breach has occurred depends on what the partners had genuinely agreed between them.