Early Civilizational Laws
Adultery was often seen through a property lens in ancient societies. Under Anglo-Saxon law, mens’ claims focused on damage to male property rights, with fines proportional to social rank. In extreme cases, female adulterers were punished by mutilation and forfeiture of property (Cnut’s codes) Amazon.
During England’s Interregnum (1650), the Commonwealth Adultery Act made adultery—a married woman having sex outside marriage—a capital offense, punishable by death under secular law (later repealed in 1660) Wikipedia.
19th-Century Reform and Divorce Law
The Matrimonial Causes Act 1857 transformed English divorce law, shifting it from ecclesiastical courts to civil authority. It legalized divorce for adultery, cruelty, or abandonment and allowed remarriage as though the former spouse had died Wikipedia+1Amazon+1.
In colonial America, especially in Massachusetts, adultery became common grounds for divorce after 1629. Divorce—and remarriage afterward—remained rare and expensive, often reserved for the wealthy Lexham Press+1The New Yorker+1.
Modern Criminalization and Decriminalization
Globally, adultery has been criminalized (sometimes with penalties like caning or death), particularly in Islamic-majority countries and formerly in parts of Asia like Japan and Taiwan. However, Western countries have largely repealed or struck down such laws by the late 20th century (e.g., Taiwan in 2021) Wikipedia.
In the U.S., adultery remains technically illegal in several states (e.g. Oklahoma, Michigan, Wisconsin), though prosecutions are rare. New York repealed its 1907 adultery statute in late 2024 WikipediaAP News.
Recommended Books for Understanding Adultery Law & Doctrine
Historic English trials & legal records
Trials for Adultery: The History of Divorces (Vol. IV)
$42.50
Tertulia
Modern legal-social analysis of adultery
Adultery: Infidelity and the Law – Deborah L. Rhode
$42.00
Tertulia + 1 others
Biblical-theological study on divorce/remarriage
Jesus, Divorce, and Remarriage – G. Wenham
$13.00
Re-vived
- Trials for Adultery: The History of Divorces (Vol. IV)
A fascinating series chronicling historic divorce trials in England, offering primary legal and social context for how adultery was prosecuted and understood. - Adultery: Infidelity and the Law – Deborah L. Rhode
A modern, authoritative legal and cultural analysis of adultery, its societal consequences, and evolving legal status in Western societies. - Jesus, Divorce, and Remarriage – G. Wenham
A leading biblical and historical study arguing for a strict interpretation of Jesus’ teachings on divorce and remarriage, widely recommended in theological circles AmazonAmazonAbeBooks+5The Gospel Coalition+5BibleThinker+5.
Further Suggested Reading
- Gordon Wenham’s Jesus, Divorce, and Remarriage is considered indispensable for understanding the early Church’s view of biblical marriage doctrine BibleThinker+2Lexham Press+2Amazon+2.
- Reviews in The Gospel Coalition and other forums highlight Wenham’s work as crucial for serious biblical scholarship on remarriage fivebooks.com+9The Gospel Coalition+9Lexham Press+9.
- For broader cultural context, Culture and Adultery: The Novel, the Newspaper, and the Law by Barbara Leckie examines how literature and media shaped legal discourse in the late 19th–early 20th centuries pennpress.org.
References
- Rhode, D. L. (1995). Adultery: Infidelity and the Law. Harvard University Press.
- Wenham, G. J. (2023). Jesus, Divorce, and Remarriage: In Their Historical Setting. Lexham Press.
- Leckie, B. (1999). Culture and Adultery: The Novel, the Newspaper, and the Law, 1857–1914. University of Pennsylvania Press.
- Weinstein, J. D. (1986). Adultery, Law, and the State: A History. Hastings Law Journal, 38(1), 195–238.
- Legal codes and acts referenced: Matrimonial Causes Acts of 1857 & 1937; Commonwealth (Adultery) Act 1650.
