Most organised religions place restrictions on sexual activity (and dietary restrictions including fasting) because it is a civilisationally successful strategy.
These restrictions, especially on the young, change people physiologically (epigenetically) to be both more "civilised" and also more aggressive in war. When done on a mass scale they lead to "successful" (ie surviving) civilisations, even though their cost on the personal level can be high.
These religions have never understood WHY these restrictions worked, just that trial and error has led to civilisations adopting them being successful (ie out competing societies that did not adopt such restrictions).
In the last decade or so, Dr Jim Penman's BioHistory has established the scientific basis for why these restrictions have a civilising effect on humans. There are a number of books and videos on this, some of which are free ie https://biohistory.org/shop/epigenetics-and-character/
I find these insights as profound as "Guns Germs and Steel" about why the world is the way it is.
That's a very eloquent point. It seems to come back to quite a prevalent question in our world - how do we improve the condition of the individual while also preserving the welfare and survival of the group? And can we?
Thank you for the link, I wasn't aware of Jim Penman, but it looks like fascinating stuff. It seems we're learning at an unparalleled rate and hopefully that will help provide some of those much-needed answers.