Why is there such a focus in religion on sexual misconduct?

Great question.

First of all I see the Church opposing lying, violence, animal cruelty, etc as well. I think sex simply gets the most publicity. Simply put, sex sells.

There is also mutual agreement over many other sins as you have pointed out. Christians and Atheists both will tell you that it is not a good thing to lie. Both will teach you to treat animals respectfully. Both will tell you violence should be avoided, etc... Yes -- there are exceptions on both ends of the spectrum. However when it comes to sex - "it feels good" and "nobody is harmed". So, with those pretenses in mind the Atheists and Christians begin to disagree.

So -- Two reasons:

1. Sex sells and therefore this gets the most publicity.

2. There is more disagreement over sex than most other sins (as you pointed out).

Corruption of the Catholic hierarchy has been an issue for centuries so it makes an easy target. I don't personally consider it worthwhile as an argument against religion, or even against Catholicism. You could make a strong point against the institutions and traditions that make it hard to weed out people like that, but I've known many wonderful Christians, including priests.

I admit to a little schadenfreude every time a fundamentalist holier-than-thou type is arrested for sexual misconduct, especially involving gay prostitutes. But that's more because of the hypocrisy. I don't consider that to be an attack on fundamentalism. I would point out that maybe fundamentalists shouldn't keep raising these guys up on pedestals though.

I would say it comes down to a simple there is a rule against something they are not doing themselves and personally think is gross so they have no problem trying to shove that down peoples throats. Not to say all or most religious people are cruel but most like anyone else in the world will lie from time to time, or have indecent thoughts even if the bible calls that cheating both in the old testament and new, and like most everyone else they want money and wealth so they ignore the religious text that support socialism in favor of capitalism. There is a saying that goes something like "When I do it it's an accident, when they do it it's intentional." I think that is also the problem with it. We can recognize when we have made a mistake, but when it comes to others we tend to always view it as intentional.

It's a biggie. It pretty much affects the entire human race. It can negatively affect the fate of the entire human race.

It gives us a base to learn how to control something that is controllable, and from that we can learn how to control other emotions and urges for the good of the whole. Orderly behavior is required for society to keep us existing. Ever see a cat in full heat? Doesn't it make you feel vaguely uncomfortable in many ways? That's how people see those who can't control themselves sexually.

The French don't refer to the sexual climax as the "little death" for nothing.

As an aside, I've always found the verse announcing "Adam & Eve will now have sex to produce a child" rather odd, as if it implies sex for them wasn't a common occurrence. They lived for about 1000 years so what was the hurry? Maybe we think about it more because we much have less time than they did to procreate, and we sense it so the urge is stronger? Therefore it becomes more critical to us as a species, even passing various judgments on it because... we think about it so much because we think we must?

Genesis 4:1

Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.”

"Is it because sex is what the religious and non-religious disagree on most strongly, while everyone generally agrees that things like lying and cruelty are bad?"

This is it, mostly. The church uses sex to make people feel guilty so they have to go to church and repent, which makes the pastors wealthy. Some of the more fundamentalist denominations might also like to have some rules from god that don't quite make sense morally. They like the notion of following without questioning. More liberal minded people don't like this stuff being pushed on them.

That seems to be the most common sin committed in today's society,even among some religious leaders. God holds them to a higher level of accountability for this.

According to the Holy Bible and Christian beliefs,sex was made for a married man and a woman. It was for their pleasure and to produce children. In Genesis it states that the two become one flesh.

In Revelation 21:8 & 22:15 it states that none of these sins that people commit, can enter the Kingdom of heaven. All these other sins are just as offensive to God. Unless, one repents of their sins and accepts Jesus as their Savior, they cannot enter Heaven. No one comes to the father,except by me. (Jesus) Here are some scripture verses in reference to homosexuality, Gen.19:4-6, Lev.18:22,Lev 20:13, Rom 1:26,27, 1Co.6:9, Jude:7,Rev.21:8, & Rev 22:15.

In Christanity:

Men and women are to work together. Because sex can relieve stress, create babies, prevent certain cancers etc Sex was created so that when a man has had a long day at work or something his partner can relieve the stress. You are not to have sex with no more than one person because it'll create so many problems. And the more people you do sex with the less pleasurable it'll be over time

Good question... sex is part of human nature, and if you want to control a community with fear and guilt, you bring in sex. If they make it 'okay', people will be one step closer to realizing that religion is a flawed system. If you want, have a relationship with God and treat others how you want to be treated, you don't need anything else. But the rules give them a box to climb into and the limitations are a comfort zone. One day, they might really think about what they are doing and why... till then, let's respect them:)

Sexual orgasm stimulates the creative lifeforce, which increases the level of bioelectricity in the brain/body, which increases thought process depth... which could lead one to choose a more spiritual path.

Most religions these days are non-spiritual, and want to keep people from a higher level of spirituality.

So obviously, if religion kept people away from sex/sexualthings, they'd have no chance of leaving.

Short answer: Most everyone can agree that hurting animals is not humane but there will always be a difference in opinion when it comes to sexual behavior.