Marriage and the Family
What is the purpose of marriage?
Procreation: marriage is the most stable relationship in which to have children.
Union: marriage enables two people to live together in an atmosphere of love and support.
Rearing Children: marriage is the most loving relationship in which to bring up children.
Pattern for Society: marriage provides society with family units of mutual support.
One Flesh: marriage lets people express their sexuality honestly, passionately and lovingly.
Sacred: marriage is a holy institution which is blessed by God.
Eternal: marriages are everlasting faithful relationships
In the New Testament, Jesus teaches that marriage was created by God:
How has marriage changed?
In 1972, there were 480,285 weddings in the UK, compared to 247,890 in 2011.
In 1970, the average age for a couple to get married was 21, compared to 27 in 2010.
In 2012, there were 12 million married couples in the UK compared to 3 million couples living together without being married.
In 2015, cohabiting couple families were the fastest growing family type in the UK.
In 1970, 75% of people living in the UK identified themselves as being Christian, compared to 59% in 2011.
When a couple get married within the Church they make certain promises or vows.
Can you think of any other ceremony or act that you need to make promises at?
Before a couple can get married in the church they have to attend “preparation classes”
Exclusive Permanent Life giving
Signs and symbols
Rings
The rings show everyone that you are married. They have no beginning or end which reflects the couples love for each other everlasting.
Dress
Priest
The vows
Cohabitation and non-religious people:
Many people today say that Religious understandings about marriage are outdated in today’s world.’
Do you agree? Why? Why not?
Arguments for cohabitation
Arguments against cohabitation
Let’s talk about sex, baby!
Types of sexual relationships
Changing attitudes to sexual relationships – how do you analyse this?
> Christian teaching suggests that Christian attitudes to sexual relationships is...
> This is supported by the quote...
> Christians have responded to changing non-religious attitudes by…
> For example, the quote… can be interpreted as… which fits in with a non-religious point of view because…
Christian teaching is generally that sex is wrong unless it happens within a marriage.
God intended men and women to live together as married couples but not to live together outside marriage.
All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.
Sexual relationships in the past where ideally between a married man and woman. Marriages were seen as purely spiritual contracts, between a couple and God. Therefore, it was only the Church who could perform marriages and grant a divorce.
Homosexuality was illegal until the middle of the 20th Century and divorce and cohabitation were seen as taboo and not the norm. Changing attitudes and changes in the law have made different types of sexual relationships part of our everyday society.
In 1983, 50% of the public said that “same sex
relationships were always wrong," compared with 20% saying this in 2010.
The percentage of the public saying that “same sex relationships are not at all wrong," increased from 17% in 1983, to 45% in 2010.
What does this bible say about sex? How should a Christian interpret it?
What do humanists say about sex?
The Purpose of the family
The family provides:
How does a Christian upbringing lead to, or support belief in God?
A child’s parents will have told them about God and young children believe what their parents tell them.
Christian parents usually teach their children how to pray. This shows that prayer is a natural and important part of their lives and encourages children to believe in God
Going to church and seeing so many people praying to God and worshipping God is likely to make them think that God must exist.
Going to Sunday school would support belief in God because children would learn why Christians believe in God and what they believe about him. Going to Church school would have a similar effect, as God and Christianity would be a normal feature of school life.
“Honor Thy Mother and Father” – This ten commandment shows why Christians believe they should listen their parents about how they are brought up.
Family planning
Christian ideas about contraception come from church teachings rather than scripture. As a result, teachings on birth control are often based on different interpretations of the meaning of marriage, sex and the family.
Opinions on Contraception:
Humanist View
Divorce and remarriage
Divorce is wrong
Divorce can be permitted
Some believe that it is the most loving thing to do for each other if they are unable to live together and cannot find a way to resolve any differences.
Mark 10: 11-12
‘Anyone who divorces his/her wife/husband and marries another woman/man commits adultery against her/him.’
Matthew 5: 31-32
“Whoever divorces his wife, let her have a certificate of divorce”.
Remarriage after divorce is allowed in most churches since 1981. Some Christians argues that we are all capable of making mistakes and that someone should not be forced to live alone for the rest of their lives.
Catholics do not allow remarriage in a church after divorce.
However, if the Pope grants an annulment, then they can remarry in a church. It is very hard for a catholic to get an annulment.
Matthew 5: 31-32
‘But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the grounds of unchastity, cause her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.’
Annulment
An annulment is an official document granted by the Pope which states that the marriage was flawed and didn’t actually take place.
Examples:
Situation Ethics
“The morality of an action depends on the situation”.
Joseph Fletcher (1963)
Situation Ethics is a Christian approach to making moral decisions. It was put forward by the American Christian minister Joseph Fletcher during the 1960s, a time of great social change.
He suggested that:
Men and Women in the family
Gender Roles in the family – which do you support?
Instructions for Christian Households
Catholic view
Women were thought to have separate and different roles to fulfil in Church
They were not allowed to be priests and in the Catholic Church women still are not allowed. In Genesis 2, the Bible taught that Eve was formed from Adams rib.
St. Paul said that women must not speak in church.
“For the husband is head of the wife as Christ is the head of the Church”
The priest represents Jesus when giving the bread and wine, therefore some believe he must be a man.
A more modern approach by Protestants
Many Churches have become more accepting of women as equals.
They now teach that men and women should have equal roles.
In 1994, the Church of England began to ordain women as priests
Only in 2015 has the first female bishop been appointed!
Gender Equality:
Equality:
‘The state of everyone having equal rights’
Sexism: ‘Discriminating against people because of their gender (sex).’
Sexism can occur in the workplace and there is an inequality in male and female roles, for example…
Women make up 84% of workers in the service industries (care assistants, child minders, hairdressers, checkout staff etc.). Men make up 66% of all senior officials (managers and business professionals).
Traditionally certain roles have seemed more suited to certain genders.
Remember, men can be the victims of sexism too.
The Bible on Women’
‘God created humanity in his own image, male and female he created them both.’ Genesis 1:27
‘Wives submit to your husband… for the husband is head of the wife.’ -Ephesians 5:22
Which do you agree with?
Procreation: marriage is the most stable relationship in which to have children.
Union: marriage enables two people to live together in an atmosphere of love and support.
Rearing Children: marriage is the most loving relationship in which to bring up children.
Pattern for Society: marriage provides society with family units of mutual support.
One Flesh: marriage lets people express their sexuality honestly, passionately and lovingly.
Sacred: marriage is a holy institution which is blessed by God.
Eternal: marriages are everlasting faithful relationships
In the New Testament, Jesus teaches that marriage was created by God:
How has marriage changed?
In 1972, there were 480,285 weddings in the UK, compared to 247,890 in 2011.
In 1970, the average age for a couple to get married was 21, compared to 27 in 2010.
In 2012, there were 12 million married couples in the UK compared to 3 million couples living together without being married.
In 2015, cohabiting couple families were the fastest growing family type in the UK.
In 1970, 75% of people living in the UK identified themselves as being Christian, compared to 59% in 2011.
When a couple get married within the Church they make certain promises or vows.
Can you think of any other ceremony or act that you need to make promises at?
Before a couple can get married in the church they have to attend “preparation classes”
- The purpose of the lesson is so that they can know and understand the purpose of
- The vows are made before the priest and the wedding guests and more importantly before God.
- They are an expression of what a Catholic marriage should be:
Exclusive Permanent Life giving
- The fact that the vows are made before God, in his Church and before witnesses should help the couple to recognise how important they are and encourage them to endeavour to overcome whatever difficulties there are in marriage. Eg
- Catholics Choose to get married in Church and the wedding service often takes place in a mass, this is called a Nuptial Mass.
- People choose to get married this way because they want to receive the blessed sacrament (Holy Communion) at the start of their new life to give them strength and Grace (God’s Love)
Signs and symbols
Rings
The rings show everyone that you are married. They have no beginning or end which reflects the couples love for each other everlasting.
Dress
- The dress is a symbol of purity. The bride and groom should be virgins on their wedding day. This is represented by the bride wearing white
Priest
- The priest is a witness for God. The couple carry out the sacrament to each other. The priest is a witness to them coming together.
The vows
- The vows are a verbal contract between the bride and the groom for their married life. They promise to stay with each other throughout the good and bad times.
Cohabitation and non-religious people:
Many people today say that Religious understandings about marriage are outdated in today’s world.’
Do you agree? Why? Why not?
Arguments for cohabitation
- Cohabitation is living together in a sexual relationship but without legalising the union through marriage.
- In the UK today, about half of all couples choose to live together without being marriage – this is called cohabitation. IN 2016 the UK National Statistics Office revealed that the cohabiting family is the fasted growing family type. Some cohabiting couples decide after a while of having lived together to get married, whereas other may cohabit without ever marrying.
Arguments against cohabitation
- It enables couples to get to know each other properly before making the commitment of marriage
- IF the relationship doesn't work, they can separate without the legal consequence of divorce
- Children can be brought up as successfully by a cohabiting couples as by a married couple
- Marriage lacks importance: a couple can make a loving personal commitment to each other without going through a legal ceremony
- It can encourage a casual attitude towards relationships
- It is too easy to break up and sop couples are not encouraged to talk things through when times get tough
- Children are best brought up in a stable home with two married parents
- The Bible supports lifelong marriage
Let’s talk about sex, baby!
Types of sexual relationships
- Premarital sex - Engaging in a sexual relationship before marriage.
- Extra marital sex – a married person engaging in a sexual relationship with someone other than their married partner.
- Marital sex – a couple engaging in a sexual relationship during marriage.
- Same sex – Engaging in a sexual relationship with someone of the same sex.
Changing attitudes to sexual relationships – how do you analyse this?
> Christian teaching suggests that Christian attitudes to sexual relationships is...
> This is supported by the quote...
> Christians have responded to changing non-religious attitudes by…
> For example, the quote… can be interpreted as… which fits in with a non-religious point of view because…
Christian teaching is generally that sex is wrong unless it happens within a marriage.
God intended men and women to live together as married couples but not to live together outside marriage.
All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.
Sexual relationships in the past where ideally between a married man and woman. Marriages were seen as purely spiritual contracts, between a couple and God. Therefore, it was only the Church who could perform marriages and grant a divorce.
Homosexuality was illegal until the middle of the 20th Century and divorce and cohabitation were seen as taboo and not the norm. Changing attitudes and changes in the law have made different types of sexual relationships part of our everyday society.
In 1983, 50% of the public said that “same sex
relationships were always wrong," compared with 20% saying this in 2010.
The percentage of the public saying that “same sex relationships are not at all wrong," increased from 17% in 1983, to 45% in 2010.
What does this bible say about sex? How should a Christian interpret it?
What do humanists say about sex?
- Sexual must be CONSENSUAL sex – rape in any form is unacceptable
- Sex must be between people of age. Paedophilia is regarded as wrong regardless of religious teachings
- A sexual partner ought ideally to be single or separated from their partner. Non religious people find cheating on a partner offensive
- No payment should be involved in sex – no prostitution
- High levels of promiscuity are frowned upon
- Sex out to be safe: given the risk of disease and pregnancy, barrier methods of contraception should be used.
The Purpose of the family
The family provides:
- Identity- gives a sense of belonging and legal identity
- Care: for the sick, elderly and very young
- Shelter – a home
- Teaching – patterns of behaviour and religious traditions
- Support – both emotional and physical
How does a Christian upbringing lead to, or support belief in God?
A child’s parents will have told them about God and young children believe what their parents tell them.
Christian parents usually teach their children how to pray. This shows that prayer is a natural and important part of their lives and encourages children to believe in God
Going to church and seeing so many people praying to God and worshipping God is likely to make them think that God must exist.
Going to Sunday school would support belief in God because children would learn why Christians believe in God and what they believe about him. Going to Church school would have a similar effect, as God and Christianity would be a normal feature of school life.
“Honor Thy Mother and Father” – This ten commandment shows why Christians believe they should listen their parents about how they are brought up.
Family planning
Christian ideas about contraception come from church teachings rather than scripture. As a result, teachings on birth control are often based on different interpretations of the meaning of marriage, sex and the family.
Opinions on Contraception:
Humanist View
- Married love strives towards the procreation and education of children.
- Responsible parenthood should provide physical, economic, psychological and social security. If this is not possible, then a married couple can choose not to have children.
- New life does not have to be the result of every act of sexual intercourse, but it must include the potential for it.
- Any kind of artificial contraception should be excluded from sexual intercourse.
Divorce and remarriage
Divorce is wrong
Divorce can be permitted
Some believe that it is the most loving thing to do for each other if they are unable to live together and cannot find a way to resolve any differences.
Mark 10: 11-12
‘Anyone who divorces his/her wife/husband and marries another woman/man commits adultery against her/him.’
Matthew 5: 31-32
“Whoever divorces his wife, let her have a certificate of divorce”.
Remarriage after divorce is allowed in most churches since 1981. Some Christians argues that we are all capable of making mistakes and that someone should not be forced to live alone for the rest of their lives.
Catholics do not allow remarriage in a church after divorce.
However, if the Pope grants an annulment, then they can remarry in a church. It is very hard for a catholic to get an annulment.
Matthew 5: 31-32
‘But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the grounds of unchastity, cause her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.’
Annulment
An annulment is an official document granted by the Pope which states that the marriage was flawed and didn’t actually take place.
Examples:
- If one of the people married didn’t understand the commitment they were making,
- If they were forced to marry.
Situation Ethics
“The morality of an action depends on the situation”.
Joseph Fletcher (1963)
Situation Ethics is a Christian approach to making moral decisions. It was put forward by the American Christian minister Joseph Fletcher during the 1960s, a time of great social change.
He suggested that:
- Love should be the only principle upon which to make moral choices
- A good action is one which aims to do the most loving thing. It is based on the teaching of Jesus ‘My command is this: love each other as I have loved you.’ (John 15: 12)
- A person should only obey the rules in the Bible or the Church if that teaching results in the most loving thing to do.
- Fletcher was clear about the kind of love that should be applied –
- agape love, which is an attitude towards people rather than a loving feeling.
- To show agape love makes it possible for someone to love their enemies and to act in loving ways towards people who have not done anything to deserve that love.
- God would not have provided the laws of the Bible if he did not want them to be the basis of moral decision making.
- They feel that Christians should do as most Christians do; rather than follow their own ideas.
Men and Women in the family
Gender Roles in the family – which do you support?
- Men and women should support each other.
- Men should provide for the family.
- Women should look after the home.
- Women should submit to their husbands.
- God created men to lead, e.g. Adam.
- God created men and women as equals.
Instructions for Christian Households
- Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless
Catholic view
Women were thought to have separate and different roles to fulfil in Church
They were not allowed to be priests and in the Catholic Church women still are not allowed. In Genesis 2, the Bible taught that Eve was formed from Adams rib.
St. Paul said that women must not speak in church.
“For the husband is head of the wife as Christ is the head of the Church”
The priest represents Jesus when giving the bread and wine, therefore some believe he must be a man.
A more modern approach by Protestants
Many Churches have become more accepting of women as equals.
They now teach that men and women should have equal roles.
In 1994, the Church of England began to ordain women as priests
Only in 2015 has the first female bishop been appointed!
Gender Equality:
Equality:
‘The state of everyone having equal rights’
Sexism: ‘Discriminating against people because of their gender (sex).’
Sexism can occur in the workplace and there is an inequality in male and female roles, for example…
Women make up 84% of workers in the service industries (care assistants, child minders, hairdressers, checkout staff etc.). Men make up 66% of all senior officials (managers and business professionals).
Traditionally certain roles have seemed more suited to certain genders.
Remember, men can be the victims of sexism too.
The Bible on Women’
‘God created humanity in his own image, male and female he created them both.’ Genesis 1:27
‘Wives submit to your husband… for the husband is head of the wife.’ -Ephesians 5:22
Which do you agree with?
