Editing Zoophilia (section)

===Religious perspectives===
Passages in [[Leviticus 18]] (Lev 18:23: "And you shall not lie with any beast and defile yourself with it, neither shall any woman give herself to a beast to lie with it: it is a perversion." RSV) and 20:15–16 ("If a man lies with a beast, he shall be put to death; and you shall kill the beast. If a woman approaches any beast and lies with it, you shall kill the woman and the beast; they shall be put to death, their blood is upon them." RSV) are cited by Jewish, Christian, and Muslim theologians as categorical denunciation of bestiality. However, the teachings of the [[New Testament]] have been interpreted by some as not expressly forbidding bestiality.<ref name="Plummer">{{cite conference |last=Plummer |first=Keith |title=To beast or not to beast: does the law of Christ forbid zoophilia? |year=2001 |url=http://place.asburyseminary.edu/trenpapers/892 |conference=53rd National Conference of the Evangelical Theological Society |location=Colorado Springs, CO}}</ref>

In Part II of his ''[[Summa Theologica]]'', medieval philosopher [[Thomas Aquinas]] ranked various "unnatural vices" (sex acts resulting in "venereal pleasure" rather than procreation) by degrees of sinfulness, concluding that "the most grievous is the sin of bestiality".<ref>[http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/aquinas-homo.html Fordham.edu] Aquinas on Unnatural Sex</ref> Some Christian theologians extend [[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]]'s view that [[Antithesis of the Law#Adultery|even having thoughts of adultery is sinful]] to imply that thoughts of committing bestial acts are likewise sinful.

[[File:Khajuraho-Lakshmana Temple erotic detal3.JPG|thumb|right|Man having intercourse with a horse, pictured on the exterior of a temple in [[Khajuraho]].]]

There are a few references in [[Hinduism|Hindu]] scriptures to religious figures engaging in symbolic sexual activity with animals such as explicit depictions of people having sex with animals included amongst the thousands of sculptures of "Life events" on the exterior of the [[Hindu temple|temple complex]] at [[Khajuraho]]. The depictions are largely symbolic depictions of the sexualization of some animals and are not meant to be taken literally.<ref>Swami Satya Prakash Saraswati, ''The Critical and Cultural Study of the Shatapatha Brahmana'', p. 415.</ref> According to the Hindu tradition of erotic painting and sculpture, having sex with an animal is believed to be actually a human having sex with a god incarnated in the form of an animal.<ref name="PodberscekBeetz2005">{{cite book|first1=Anthony L. |last1=Podberscek |first2=Andrea M. |last2=Beetz |title=Bestiality and Zoophilia: Sexual Relations with Animals |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z-GbOvrbniQC&pg=PT12 |accessdate=4 January 2013 |date=1 September 2005 |publisher=Berg |isbn=978-0-85785-222-9 |page=12}}</ref> However, in some Hindu scriptures, such as the ''[[Bhagavata Purana]]'' and the ''[[Devi Bhagavata Purana]]'', having sex with animals, especially the cow, leads one to [[Naraka (Hinduism)|hell]], where one is tormented by having one's body rubbed on trees with razor-sharp thorns.<ref name = "mani">{{cite book|author = Mani, Vettam|title = Puranic Encyclopaedia: A Comprehensive Dictionary With Special Reference to the Epic and Puranic Literature|url = https://archive.org/details/puranicencyclopa00maniuoft|publisher = Motilal Banarsidass|year = 1975|location = Delhi|isbn = 978-0-8426-0822-0|oclc=2198347|pages = [https://archive.org/details/puranicencyclopa00maniuoft/page/368 368–70]}}</ref>