Playboy Philosophy, Installment 14

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The Playboy Philosophy

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Editorial by Hugh M. Hefner

The fourteenth part of a statement in which playboy's editor-publisher spells out—for friends and critics alike—our guiding principles and editorial credo

Contemporary society is undergoing a profound Sexual Revolution—it is apparent in our books, magazines, movies, television and everyday conversation—in every area of communication.

To some it represents a decline in moral standards—a turning away from the divinely revealed Word of God, as expressed in the Bible, the Ten Commandments and the Judaeo-Christian heritage that a majority of Americans share; to others it represents a facing up to the "facts of life," an enlightened search for a new morality more in keeping with modern man's greater understanding of both himself and the world in which he lives—a quest for a new code of conduct consistent with our conduct itself and based upon reason rather than superstition.

But whatever viewpoint one espouses, there is common agreement that a Sexual Revolution is taking place and that the old religious restrictions have little or no influence on the sexual behavior of a sizable segment of our society. For these citizens, at least, a new, more acceptable moral code must be found.

We will offer, in a subsequent issue, our own concept of a sexual ethic for modern society. But first we wish to consider the extent to which the old tradition and taboos surrounding sex have become inoperative and largely ineffectual; we want to discuss, also, the dangers inherent in any such societal schizophrenia—where a significant gap exists between professed beliefs and actual behavior—and the effect that such inconsistency can have upon the very fiber of society itself, especially when the moral code that a major part of society refuses to accept is reinforced by legal restraints in all 50 of these United States.

Religion in a Free Society

We have previously discussed the importance of the separation of church and state in a free society and concluded that any fusion of religion and government is irreconcilable with the ideals of our democracy. The founding fathers took seriously the lessons of religious persecution and tyranny offered by history and gave us a Constitution and a Bill of Rights that guarantee full freedom to and from religion.

The dominant religion in America is Christianity and all who accept its teachings should be free to live accordingly. But it is obvious to even the casual observer that there is a wide divergence in the social, moral and religious precepts of the various Christian denominations. And what of the non-Christians in our democracy? Obviously the Jews, Buddhists, Mohammedans, existentialists, agnostics and atheists should be equally free to follow their own religious convictions. Each man's freedom should be limited only to the extent that it infringes upon the freedom of others.

It was the search for such religious freedom that brought many of the original settlers to the New World in the first place. It was the awareness of the importance of such freedom that prompted George Washington to say, "The Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion."

And James Madison, another of our founding fathers, said, "Who does not see that the same authority which can establish Christianity, in exclusion of all other religions, may establish with the same ease any particular sect of Christians, in exclusion of all other sects?"

Clearly, then, each member of society should be free to practice, and to preach, his own particular religion, but no religious doctrine can be justifiably forced upon society by the state.

Religion and Morality

All religions include some moral precepts as a part of their theology and there are broad similarities among the moral codes of the major religions of the Western World—Protestant, Catholic and Jewish. But there is not nearly the unanimity of opinion on sex within organized religion in the U.S. that is often assumed, and among laymen there is virtually no agreement whatsoever.