Marriage and the Family Sex outside Marriage pre-marital sex (promiscuity, cohabitation) Extra-marital sex (adultery)

SEX Sex outside marriage = pre- marital sex AND adultery

Changing attitudes to sex 1960’s2000’s No sex till marriedMost do 1-2 sexual partners10 or more Married by 25Married in 30’s Married in churchLess in church Cohabitation notCohabitation OK good

Outline how attitudes to divorce have changed (8 marks) Used to be: difficult to get and expensive so very few took place. People looked down on if divorced and couldn’t remarry in Church. Now: accepted as normal, cheaper and easier, no stigma attached, can remarry in Church

Explain WHY attitudes to divorce have changed/there are more divorces now (8 marks) Expectations of marriage changed Women not prepared to accept unequal treatment Women financially independent Changes in life expectancy – “life” is much longer now than it used to be Divorce has been made easier and cheaper

Christian attitudes to Sex Pre-marital Wrong: sex given to humans by God for procreation of children which should be in marriage BIBLE says its sinful BUT some accept cohabitation as long as a step towards marriage because Church has to accept modern life and Jesus said love is most important thing

Christian attitudes to SEX Adultery WRONG: Breaks wedding vows said before God “forsaking all others” Breaks Ten Commandments “Do not commit adultery” Condemned by Jesus in Sermon of the Mount

Islam and Sex Pre-Marital Wrong: Forbidden in Qur’an Shari’ah says sex is for the procreation of children so should take place in marriage Qur’an says girls and boys should be socially separated after puberty to prevent this

Islam and Sex Adultery Serious sin Condemned by Allah in Qur’an Breaks the marriage contract Likely to harm the family

Christian Marriage Main Features of Wedding ceremony Readings from the Bible Exchanging vows Exchanging rings Welcome and talk from priest about nature of marriage Prayers asking God’s blessing on the couple and help of the Holy Spirit to make the marriage work Purposes of Marriage So that a couple can have a life long relationship So that the couple has love, support, companionship of each other To have sex in the way God intended (within a marriage) For the procreation of children For bringing up a Christian family For a relationship which is blessed by God

Christianity and Divorce Some Christians - CATHOLIC NO DIVORCE AND NO REMARRIAGE Marriage can only be dissolved by death Jesus taught divorce is wrong Couple made promise to God in sacrament of marriage – cannot be broken

Christianity and Divorce Some Christians – PROTESTANT DIVORCE AND REMARRIAGE ALLOWED Lesser of two evils Jesus allowed divorce for adultery Christianity is about forgiveness – should have second chance Better to divorce than live in hatred and quarrel all the time

Islam and Marriage Purposes of Marriage Follow example of Prophet Muhammad Have children Bring them up as Muslims Have sex Love Features of wedding ceremony Stating in front of witnesses both partners agree to marry Signing marriage contract Sermon, prayers, readings from the Qur’an

Islam and Divorce SOME – marriage for life; no divorce Hadith says divorce is the most hated of things allowed by Allah MOST – divorce allowed; marriage is a contract; allow remarriage - Qur’an permits divorce; has rules to follow such as man must announce his intention to divorce 3 times with a month in between = iddah – try to make marriage work, live together but sleep separately - marriage is a contract and contracts can be broken - better to divorce than live in hatred and argue all the time

Family life has changed… More single parent families because attitudes to sex have changed More parents are not married because attitudes to cohabitation have changed More step families because attitudes to divorce have changed

Christianity/Islam and the family Teachings on family life: Parents should love children, provide them with food, shelter, etc. raise their children in the religion Children should respect their parents, look after them when they are old Why family is important Created by God to keep society together Children taught right and wrong so less evil in the world To continue the faith ISLAM also to follow example of Muhammad

How Church/mosque help family life CHURCH Family services Brownies, Cubs, Scouts, youth clubs Church schools Sunday schools Counselling from priests\ministers MOSQUE Madrasahs Social activities for young people Family committees – distribute charity to help families Muslim schools

Christianity and Homosexuality The Catholic Attitude not Being homosexual is not a sin. is Criticising homosexuals is a sin. Homosexuals are asked to live without any sexual activity. Why? The Bible condemns homosexual activity. Sex should have the possibility of creating children. It is the teaching of the Magisterium. People cannot help their sexual orientation, but they can control their sexual activity.

Christianity and Homosexuality The Evangelical Protestant Attitude is Being homosexual is a sin. Homosexuals can be changed by the power of the Holy Spirit. Why? The Bible says homosexuality is a sin. The salvation of Christ can remove all sins, including homosexuality. All churches have taught that homosexuality is wrong in the past. The Evangelical Alliance has condemned homophobia and said churches should welcome homosexuals.

Christianity and Homosexuality The Liberal Protestant Attitude Homosexuals are welcomed into the church. Homosexual relationships are accepted. Blessings are provided for civil partnerships. Why? The Bible texts express Jewish belief at the time it was written. The Christian belief in love and acceptance means that homosexuals must be accepted. They believe that Christians should be open and honest. So gay Christians should not be made to tell lies or have to pretend to be heterosexual.

Islam and Homosexuality The majority attitude (Most) Homosexuality is wrong. Why? It is condemned in the Qur’an. Muhammad condemned homosexuality. Sex is only lawful within the marriage of a man and a woman. Sex should have the possibility of creating children. All Muslims should try to have a family.

Islam and Homosexuality The minority attitude (some) Some accept homosexuality. Why? Islam is a religion of tolerance. God created and loves all people. Science shows that God must have made some people homosexual.

Christianity and contraception The Catholic Attitude Responsible parenthood. Natural family planning not artificial contraception. Why? Teaching of past popes and catechism of the Catholic church. Sex should be unitive and creative (bring people together and bring new life). Some contraceptives bring about an early abortion. (the coil, IUD). Artificial contraception leads to promiscuity, broken families, divorce and sexually transmitted diseases. The current pope has said that men and women at risk of getting HIV can use contraception for protection from disease.

Christianity and contraception The Attitude of Non-Catholic Christians All forms of contraception are permissible. Why? Christianity is about love and justice. contraception improves a woman’s health and raises the standard of living. God created sex for enjoyment and to strengthen marriage. This is more likely without the risk of pregnancy. There is nothing in the Bible that forbids the use of contraception. There is nothing in the Bible that forbids the use of contraception. In 1930 the Worldwide Anglican Church said that Christians could use contraception to limit family size. Using condoms is the best way to combat the spread of AIDS/HIV.

Islam and contraception Some Muslims believe that contraception should not be used at all. Why? The Qur’an says ‘you should not kill your children for fear of want’. God created sex for having children. No abortion so no contraceptives that act as an early abortion. It is the duty of Muslims to have large families.

Islam and contraception Some Muslims believe that contraception should be used to limit the number of children in a family. Why? There are several hadith which record that the Prophet permitted the use of natural contraception. The Qur’an says God does not place extra burdens on his followers, and contraception stops the problems that come with having a large family. If pregnancy risks a mothers health, contraception must be allowed because Islam puts the mothers life first. Muslim lawyers agree that contraception is different from abortion and so should be permitted.