Short answer: The Bible never mentions anal sex between a husband and wife, so there is no verse that plainly calls it a sin within marriage. Outside marriage, it is sinful like all sex outside marriage, and the sin of Sodom was violence and rape, not marital intimacy. My own conviction is to counsel against it, because I read God's design for marriage as pointing elsewhere and because of the physical risks. That is a pastoral judgment, not a direct commandment, and nobody should be pressured into it.
In This Article
This is a question many believers are too embarrassed to ask out loud, so they type it into a search bar late at night. I want to answer it frankly and without anything graphic, because honest questions deserve honest answers from Scripture.
People in the pews kept asking the same questions: is this a sin, what does the Bible actually say, and how do we live it out? On this subject the Bible says less than people assume, and the places people usually quote do not speak to it directly. Here is what we can say with confidence, and where I stop and say I am giving judgment, not a verse.
Is Anal Sex Allowed In The Bible?
There is no passage that mentions the act. That is the simplest and truest thing I can say. People often leap from silence to either permission ("it is not forbidden, so it is fine") or condemnation ("it is not in the Bible, so it must be wrong"), and neither jump is honest. When the text is silent, we reason from the principles it does give us.
Those principles begin with marriage. The Bible reserves sexual intimacy for the covenant of a husband and wife, and calls it good there.
Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.
Hebrews 13:4 (NIV)
So everything outside marriage is settled: it is sin, whatever the act. See Is Premarital Sex A Sin? and What Sexual Activities Does The Bible Forbid? for that side. The question here is narrower: what about a married couple?
Is It Sodomy, And What Was The Sin Of Sodom?
The word "sodomy" comes from the city of Sodom, and many people assume the Bible condemns anal sex because of that story. Look at what actually happened. A mob of men surrounded Lot's house and demanded his guests be handed over.
Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.
Genesis 19:5 (NIV)
This was a threat of gang rape against visitors. It is a story of violence, cruelty and sexual assault, and the act is not named. We should not read it as a ruling on what a husband and wife do in private. Elsewhere, the prophet Ezekiel describes Sodom's guilt in broader terms:
Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.
Ezekiel 16:49 (NIV)
The Bible condemns rape in every form (see Is Rape A Sin?) and condemns sexual relations between two men, as Leviticus 18:22 states. I have written about that carefully in What Does The Bible Say About Homosexuality? But a story about rape and a law about men with men do not directly settle what happens inside a marriage between a man and a woman. For a related passage people raise, read What Does Sodomising A Woman Mean In The Bible?
What Does Scripture Say About Sex Within Marriage?
The Bible speaks of marital intimacy warmly and without embarrassment. Paul writes that husbands and wives owe each other this part of their life together, and that neither belongs only to themselves.
The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband.
1 Corinthians 7:3 (NIV)
Paul also describes the relationship as one of mutual agreement, saying couples should not deprive one another except by mutual consent. The idea of mutual consent runs through the New Testament's picture of marriage: neither spouse is a possession to be used, and love is not self-seeking. That is the real test of anything a couple does.
Many Christian teachers conclude from this that, since Scripture does not name a specific act, a married couple has freedom within the bounds of love, consent and faithfulness. I agree that no verse flatly forbids it. Where I part from some is on whether freedom means I would encourage it.
Where Do I Land, And What About Conscience?
Here is my own view, offered openly as a view. When the Bible describes the union of husband and wife, it consistently describes a design: two becoming one flesh, and the joining of man and woman in a way that is fruitful and complete. Some read Romans 1:26 as pointing to a "natural" use of the body, and I take that as supporting this design, though that passage is mainly speaking about same-sex relations, and I do not want to stretch it beyond what Paul wrote. On that reading, I would counsel couples against anal sex, and I would not call it a clear sin that the text names.
There are practical reasons too. It carries a higher risk of physical injury and infection than other forms of intimacy, and medical sources are consistent on that point. A loving husband does not ask his wife to bear pain or risk for his pleasure, and a loving wife should feel no pressure either.
Conscience settles the rest. Paul is clear about what happens when a person acts against their own sense of right:
But whoever has doubts is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.
Romans 14:23 (NIV)
The passage is about food, but the principle holds: to go against your conscience is to sin, even over a matter that is not wrong in itself. If either spouse is uneasy, that settles it for that couple. Never coerce, and never be coerced. If you are facing pressure from a partner, or if the act was forced on you, that is not marital intimacy; it is abuse, and you should reach out to a pastor, a counsellor or the authorities.
Is Forgiveness Available If I Have Gone Too Far?
Several of the questions people bring alongside this one come from guilt. Have I committed the worst sin? Is there something God will not forgive? The answer is the same for sexual sin as for any other: if you turn to him, you are forgiven.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:9 (NIV)
The Bible does not hand us a list of sins from "worst" to "least," and it names only one unforgivable sin, which concerns hardened rejection of the Spirit's witness to Christ. You can read more in What Is The Unforgivable Sin? and Does God Forgive All Sins? Questions about private sexual behavior are answered in Is Masturbation A Sin? You will also find similar topics in Is Oral Sex A Sin? and the full A to Z list.
Key Bible Verses About Sex And Marriage
- Hebrews 13:4 (NIV): honor marriage and keep the marriage bed pure.
- Genesis 19:5 (NIV): the mob at Sodom sought to rape Lot's guests.
- Ezekiel 16:49 (NIV): Sodom's guilt included arrogance and neglect of the poor.
- Leviticus 18:22 (NIV): sexual relations between men are forbidden.
- 1 Corinthians 7:3 (NIV): husband and wife owe each other love in marriage.
- Romans 14:23 (NIV): do not act against your conscience.
- 1 John 1:9 (NIV): confession brings forgiveness and cleansing.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is forbidden sex in the Bible?
Scripture forbids sex outside marriage between one man and one woman, including adultery, premarital sex, incest, rape and same-sex intercourse. For the full list with passages, see What Sexual Activities Does The Bible Forbid?
Is it allowed to have anal sex in the Bible?
The Bible does not mention it directly. Outside marriage it is sinful like all sex outside marriage. Within marriage, there is no verse that plainly forbids it, but that is not the same as saying it is wise, and I counsel against it for reasons given in this article.
What sex is considered a sin?
Any sexual activity outside the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman. Lust and sexual immorality of the heart are included, as Jesus teaches in Matthew 5:28. See What Is Sexual Immorality According To The Bible?
What is the number one worst sin?
The Bible does not rank sins in a single list with one at the top. Some sins do greater harm, but all separate us from God and all are forgiven in Christ. See The Greatest Sin In The Bible.
What is the biggest sin that God will never forgive?
The only sin Jesus calls unforgivable is a settled, hardened rejection of the Holy Spirit's testimony about him. Anyone who is troubled about their sin and wants forgiveness is not in that place. See What Is The Unforgivable Sin?
Will God forgive me if I have done wrong sexually?
Yes. God forgives every sin we bring to him in repentance, sexual sin included. The promise of 1 John 1:9 is for you. For more, read Does God Forgive All Sins?
