Medieval writers attacked religious minorities through their marriage and sexual customs

Evidence

His critique of the Essenes begins with their matrimonial practices. Most Essenes remain unmarried, according to Jacques, because the men do not trust the women to keep their marriage vows. Those who do marry, however, are permitted to share their wives with other men if the women are unable to conceive with their husbands. This is because the purpose of marriage is not the satisfaction of sexual desire, but the procreation of children. — James Renton, Ben Gidley (eds.), Antisemitism and Islamophobia in Europe, 208

Categorization

• XREF: Echoes how antipolygamy campaigns and ‘immodesty’ panics were used to mark out minority groups — related to the complaints-about-immodesty article. — connects to: The Church’s marriage-degrading clergy drove the medieval attack on women.