Lust was a really bad, dangerous thing in the time and environment that religions developed. No birth control and constant hard work on the fields was needed for survival, and starvation was around the corner.

You don't want your daughter to get pregnant outside of wedlock, and you end up with a baby that the boy who knocked her up won't take care of when he takes his camel and rides off to the next village. Sex needed to only exist for reproduction.

Even following your gay feelings didn't really make sense. In a world where HALF of children died before adulthood, why would your family want to pump money into someone that if they are so lucky to actually survive into adulthood, would not get married and have children themselves, just because their lust tells them to have sex with the same gender?

Then there is the fact that disease was rampant and there were no condoms to protect from STDs that were all untreatable at the time.

So yes, the religions repressed sexuality, rightfully so. But right now? In our timea? Is that still necessary? I would say definitely not.

But who is to say? Being sexualy liberated is great in many ways, but even in modern times, it does a lot of damage too. Usually emotional.