Scott here with another episode of the History and Plug podcast.

For much of Christian history, the church had little involvement in marriage, which was primarily

a contract between families. It wasn't until the 4th century that church weddings emerged,

and even then, they were mostly reserved for the elite. Fast forward to the high Middle Ages, and marriage became a sacrament of the Roman Catholic Church.

Since then, the church has been seen as inseparable with matrimony.

What changed over the centuries?

To explore this dynamic is today's guest, historian Dermot McCullough, author of Lower Than

the Angels, a history of sex and Christianity.

We explore how Christianity's views on sex, marriage,

and gender evolved over time, that early Christian marriage wasn't a universal sacrament,

but a social institution governed by male authority figures, and how for much of history,

the church was more concerned with celibacy than marital physical relations, and how the Reformation

reshaped these ideas, introducing new rules for women of religious life, from pastors' wives to Quaker preachers.

There's a lot to uncover in this episode, and I hope you enjoyed this discussion with Dermit McCollah.

And one more thing before we get started with this episode, a quick break for a word from our sponsors.

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