V6Chuk wrote:...maybe its something inherent in the organised metaphysical psyche?
My father used to say that women had to be particularly careful at – or immediately after – evangelistic 'crusade' meetings; that there were men who would attend such meetings because, in the aftermath, when emotions were so heightened, there might be some 'easy prey'.
If you also consider that scientists have found that one of the possible reasons that prayer and meditation make someone feel better is because they cause the release of endorphins – the hormones deeply connected to both pain and pleasure, including sexual pleasure.
It is perhaps worth considering the question of a sexual component in religion – you can certainly find eroticism in a great deal of very old religious art, particularly that showing assorted saints being tortured/killed. Indeed, some of the representations of Christ are close to homoerotic. It's as though there is something sexual being linked to a perversely idealised idea of suffering.
This painting of the martyrdom of St Sebastian by Guido Reni, c1616, is not even one of the best-known visualisations.
There are sexual elements to art from other religious cultures too, but I don't know anywhere near as much about it.
But then add into all this ideas of chastity and restraint and self-denial/celibacy – not unique to Christianity – and you probably have a pretty combustible mix.
Add in power/authority too, plus the emotion of religion.
And, in the case of the Catholic church, there's the question of whether celibacy – or more specifically, forcing celibacy on young boys/men by choosing the priesthood for them and sending them to a seminary as a child – creates real problems in terms of psycho-sexual development (this has been suggested and was mentioned in some detail by a documentary, Sex and the Holy City, a few years ago).
There are a lot of interesting questions here.