Climax comes too soon for Sweden’s orgasm church

The Madonna of the Orgasm church was turned away by Sweden’s highest court this week as it made a last-ditch attempt to be registered as a faith community. The religious group, which believes the orgasm is God and should be worshipped, planned to take their lengthy legal battle to the Supreme Administrative Court (Regeringsratten) after the Court of Appeal rejected their application.

Carlos Bebeacua, the church’s Spanish founder and self-appointed cardinal, preaches to his followers in Lovestad, southern Sweden. Speaking in a previous interview with tabloid Kvallsposten, Mr Beceacua said, “The orgasm is the ultimate feeling of lust, it shouldn’t be limited to ejaculation. You can reach it through art or by looking at a landscape and thinking ‘Wow!’”

In November 2008, the Stockholm County Court overruled a decision by Sweden’s Legal, Financial and Administrative Services Agency (Kammarkollegiet) after it refused to register the Madonna of Orgasm church as an official religion. The believers’ ecstasy was short-lived, however, as the Administrative Court of Appeal decided that the use of the word “Madonna” would be understood to refer to the Virgin Mary and, therefore, “cause offence not only in the broad groups of the population that have Christian roots, but also in society as a whole.”

The faith is centred on a painting by Bebeacua which sparked protests during Spain’s World Fair in 1992. According to The Local, However, Bebeacua maintains that Christians in his local community have welcomed to unconventional faith. He also argues that the word “Madonna” means “my lady”, and does not necessarily refer to the Virgin Mary.

The Supreme Court has since refused to hear the case, saying it does not involve an important precedent and that no serious errors were found in the appeal court’s judgement.