Download Marriage and The Family - Trinity Church of England High School

MARRIAGE AND THE
FAMILY
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MARRIAGE AND THE FAMILY
Key Words
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Adultery – a sexual act between a married person and someone
other than their marriage partner
Civil partnership – a legal ceremony giving a homosexual couple
the same legal rights as a husband and wife.
Cohabitation – living together without being married
Contraception – intentionally preventing pregnancy from occurring
Faithfulness – staying with your partner and having sex only with
them
Homosexuality – sexual attraction to the same sex
Nuclear family – mother, father and children living as a unit
Pre-marital sex – sex before marriage
Procreation – making new life
Promiscuity – having sex with a number of partners without
commitment
Reconstituted family – where two sets of children (step-brothers
and sisters) become one family when their divorced parents marry
each other
Re-marriage - marrying again after being divorced from a previous
marriage
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Reasons for the changing attitudes to family and divorce:
CHANGING ATTITUDES TO COHABITATION & MARRIAGE
 Effective contraception more readily available
 Fewer people go to church, so believe sex before marriage is OK
 Many celebs cohabit making cohabitation appear more acceptable
 TV & films show sexual relationships outside of marriage which
makes pre-marital sex more acceptable

CHANGING ATTITUDES TO DIVORCE
It used to be difficult to divorce. It was looked down on and you could not
remarry in church. Today divorce is much more acceptable in society.
Reasons for more divorces
 It is easier and cheaper to divorce than it used to be
 People live longer, so more opportunity for divorce
 Women are less prepared to put up with bad treatment from husbands
than they used to be
 Women are more financially independent
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Changing Attitudes to marriage and family life
Family life has changed in the U.K as have attitudes to marriage and
cohabitation
In the 1960s young people wouldn’t have sex until they were married, they
would marry in a church by the age of 25, most marriages would last for
life, most families would be nuclear families and homosexual sex was a
criminal offence.
How attitudes have changed:
 Most people have sex before marriage
 Couples cohabit before marriage
 People get married later in life
 Not many marriages take place in church
 Divorce is accepted
 Extended families are common
 There are many single parent families
 Many parents are not married
 As more divorce and remarry there are more reconstituted families
 Homosexual sex is legal
 Civil partnerships are legal (Civil Partnerships Act 2004)
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Reasons for the changing attitudes to family and divorce:
FAMILY LIFE
 More cohabiting couples means many families where parents aren’t
married
 More divorce has led to an increase in re-marriage
 Extended family is more popular with mothers being in work
 Increased divorce rate means more single parent families
HOMOSEXUALITY
 Changes in the law on homosexuality makes society more accepting
of homosexual couples
 Homosexuality could be ‘genetic’, making it more acceptable
 More openness of gay celebs makes it more acceptable, e.g. Elton
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John and David Furnish
 The work of organisations e.g. Stonewall has led to more equal rights
for homosexuals
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Sex outside marriage –Christian views
Sex outside marriage includes adultery and premarital sex
1. Most Christians believe that the right place for sex is within marriage
and so pre-marital sex is wrong. The Catholic Truth Society says,
"Every sexual act must be within the framework of marriage".
2. In the Ten Commandments it says: You shall not commit adultery.
Committing adultery (unfaithfulness) breaks the marriage vows and
10 commandments.
3. Promiscuity is also condemned by Christians. In the Bible sex
outside marriage is called fornication, and this is a sin.
4. Some Church leaders and the Catholic Catechism say that sex
before marriage is a sin.
5. Sex was given to humans for procreation & children should be
brought up in a Christian family.
6. Some Christians (liberal Protestants) believe sex before marriage is
OK if the couple love each other, are in a long term relationship and
plan to marry eventually. They accept co-habitation.
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Sex outside marriage – Muslim views
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Divorce – Christianity
There are different attitudes to divorce in Christianity:
1. Roman Catholics do not accept divorce because:
 Jesus banned divorce in Mark’s gospel
 When people marry they make a covenant with God that
cannot be broken without God’s consent.
 The Cathechism says divorce is not allowed
BUT Catholics have Marriage Tribunals that can decide a marriage
never existed (annulment).
2. Most Christians do not approve of divorce but believe that if a
marriage has broken down and there is no chance of the couple
getting together again, then there can be divorced. They believe
this because:
 God is always prepared to forgive sins if people are determined
to live a new life.
 In St Matthew’s Gospel Jesus allows divorce for adultery.
 It might be the ‘lesser of 2 evils’ to get divorced
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Divorce – Islam
There are 2 attitudes to divorce and remarriage in Islam:
Some Muslims disagree with divorce because:
 Muhammad said: "The most detestable act God has permitted is
divorce" (Hadith)
 Divorce harms the family which is very important in Islam.
 Muslims will be judged on the Last Day about how well they have
looked after their family
 Teachings in the Qur’an go against divorce – have a 3 month
cooling off period instead
1. All Muslims believe marriage is the right place for sex. They
condemn sex before marriage (pre-marital sex) and outside of
marriage (adultery).
2. Muslims believe this because:
 The Qur’an teaches that sex before marriage is the same as
adultery and a great sin.
 The Shari’ah Law says sex should only take place in marriage
 In Islam there are strict punishments for sex outside marriage
(adultery & pre-marital sex).
 Sex should primarily be for procreation, & children should be
brought up in a family where the mother and father are married
 Muslims think sexual permissiveness lead to a breakdown in
society & the Qur’an says nothing should be done to harm the
family.
Divorce is permitted and acceptable as a last resort in Islam. There has
to be a 3 month period when a couple try to restore their marriage. This
is because:
 Marriage is a contract in Islam & contracts can be broken
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 The Qur’an allows divorce and sets out regulations about it.
 Divorce is the lesser of 2 evils-better to divorce than live in hatred
 The Shari’ah law allows divorce
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Family Life – Christianity
Family life is important for Christians because:
 Having children is seen as an important purpose of marriage
 They believe the family was created by God to keep society
together and is the basis of society.
 Christian teaching of divorce makes it clear parents should
stay together
 The family is the place where children learn the difference
between right and wrong
 The family introduces children to faith through baptism,
Sunday School, festivals, etc.
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Family Life – Islam
Family life is at the centre of Islam and is very important because:
 The Qur’an says children are a gift from God and parents will be
judged at the Last Day on how well they have brought them up.
 The Qur’an teaches the family is the basic unit of society. This
is the place where children should be brought up.
 The Prophet Muhammad married and had a family – Muslims
should follow his example.
 The family is the place where children learn the difference
between right and wrong
 The family introduces children to faith through aqiqa, Salah,
going to madrasah etc
However, some Christians who believe they should follow the
traditions from the time of Jesus believe Christians should leave
their families and serve God by being a monk/priest/nun.
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Christian attitudes to homosexuality
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Muslim attitudes to homosexuality
There are 3 different attitudes to homosexuality among Christians –
Evangelical Protestant attitude
Homosexuality is a sin & shouldn’t be practised because:
1) The Bible condemns homosexuality
2) Jesus can remove homosexual feelings
3) Churches don’t allow homosexuality
The Catholic attitude
Homosexuality is not a sin but practising it is a sin because:
1) The Bible condemns homosexuality
2) The Catholic Church condemns it
3) Discrimination is a sin, so Catholics must accept homosexuals
The Liberal Protestant attitude
Lifelong homosexual relationships are acceptable, but homosexual
relationships cannot be equal to a Christian marriage because:
1) The Bible needs interpreting in light of modern times
2) Christians should demonstrate love as taught in the Bible
3) It is very hypocritical to criticise homosexuals
The majority attitude
Most Muslims believe homosexuality is wrong because:
 It is condemned in the Qur’an, which is the final word of God
 Muhammad condemned homosexuality & Muslims should follow
his teachings
 The primary aim of sex is procreation which cannot happen
through homosexual sex
 Homosexuality denies the possibility of family life, the family is
the heart of Islam.
The minority attitude
Some Muslims believe homosexuality is acceptable because:
 Islam is a religion of tolerance so everyone should be accepted
 God created everyone and loves each person
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 Scientific evidence suggests people are born homosexual so
God must have made them that way.
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Different Christian attitudes to contraception
Contraception was developed in the 19th Century. The pill became
popular in the 1950s to prevent against pregnancy. Condoms are now a
popular form of contraception to also prevent against STIs.
Christians have 2 main views to contraception:
Catholic Attitude: Sex is for procreation as well as pleasure. Christians
shouldn’t use artificial methods of contraception but natural family
planning (sex during the infertile period of a woman’s menstrual cycle).
They have this attitude because:
 The Pope has condemned artificial methods of contraception
 God intended Christians to procreate
 Some contraceptives act as an abortifaciant and make women have a
very early abortion
 Contraception can encourage promiscuity which can lead to broken
families and STIs.
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Different Christian attitudes to contraception
Non Catholic Christian Attitude:
All forms of contraception are acceptable for controlling the size of
the family but not to stop couples having children.
They have this attitude because:
 Christianity is about love, and contraception helps improve
women’s health, etc and the standard of living for families
 God created sex for enjoyment in marriage and so women
should not have to worry about falling pregnant
 Nothing in the Bible forbids contraception
 It is better to combat HIV/AIDS by using contraception than
following Christian rules too strictly.
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Different Muslim attitudes to contraception
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Different Muslim attitudes to contraception
Muslims have 2 viewpoints to contraception:
Some Muslims believe contraception is going against the will of God
because:
Muslims have 2 viewpoints to contraception:
Some Muslims believe contraception is going against the will of God
because:
 The Qur’an suggests that Muslims are against birth control
 They believe God created sex for procreation and contraception stops this
 Some contraceptives act as an early abortifaciant
 They believe it is a Muslim’s duty to have a large family
Some Muslims believe contraception is OK to limit family size because:
 There are several Hadiths where Muhammad allows the use of coitus
interruptus as a means of contraception
 The Qur’an states the family shouldn’t have too much pressure on them and
contraception may help with this
 If the pregnancy may lead to the mother’s death, contraception is allowed
 Muslim lawyers agree contraception is different to abortion so should be
allowed
 The Qur’an suggests that Muslims are against birth control
 They believe God created sex for procreation and contraception stops this
 Some contraceptives act as an early abortifaciant
 They believe it is a Muslim’s duty to have a large family
Some Muslims believe contraception is OK to limit family size because:
 There are several Hadiths where Muhammad allows the use of coitus
interruptus as a means of contraception
 The Qur’an states the family shouldn’t have too much pressure on them and
contraception may help with this
 If the pregnancy may lead to the mother’s death, contraception is allowed
 Muslim lawyers agree contraception is different to abortion so should be
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allowed
PART B QUESTIONS – 4 MARKS
PART C QUESTIONS – 8 MARKS
Do you think religions should accept homosexuality? Give two
reasons for your point of view.
Choose one religion other than Christianity and explain why some
of its followers allow any form of contraception and some do not.
Do you think divorced Christians should be able to get remarried
in church?
Give two reasons for your point of view.
Choose one religion other than Christianity and explain why most of
its
followers are against sex outside marriage.
Do you think homosexuals should have equal rights? Give two
reasons for your point of view.
Choose one religion other than Christianity and explain why some of
its followers are against homosexuality, but others are not.
Should religious people use contraception? Give two reasons for
your point of view.
Choose one religion other than Christianity and explain why some
of its followers allow divorce, but others are against it.
Do you think men should help with housework? Give two reasons
for your point of view.
Explain why Christians have different attitudes to the use of
contraception.
PART D QUESTIONS – 6 MARKS
‘Family life is more important for religious people than for nonreligious people.’
i) Do you agree? Give reasons for your opinion.
ii) Give reasons why some people may disagree with you.
‘No religious person should ever get divorced.’
‘No Christian should ever get divorced.’
‘Christians should never use contraceptives.’
‘No Christian should be homosexual.’
‘There’s no difference between living with a partner and being
married to them.’
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