RE GCSE Marriage and the family Mrs Strange

Use this Power Point as a starting point or to investigate or revise this unit Use this Power Point to revise key points on the unit shown on the front cover GCSE Bitesize is also a valuable revision tool

Marriage and the family Click on the links below to choose your revision focus. At the end of each section click the arrow at the bottom to return here or proceed with Power Point as normal Marriage Divorce and remarriageLove, sex and relationships Family life and upbringing

Key words for marriage and the family Cohabitation: living together without marriage Civil ceremony: marriage recognized by law but without religious involvement In-laws: relations gained on marriage Wedding: a marriage service Registry office: place where births, marriages and deaths are registered Marriage: the legal union of a husband and wife Divorce: official separation/dissolving of marriage

Cohabitation – for and against Enables a couple to know each other before committing to marriage Chance to see if sexually compatible If things go wrong split without divorce A couple can always marry if they decide to have children Encourages a casual attitude to relationships Can know if compatible without living together If too easy to break up couples will separate over differences which could be patched up Children need a stable home with two parents – best achieved through marriage

Christian ideas about marriage: the wedding service The Christian wedding service combines legal and religious aspects. This marriage takes place in the sight of God and is intended to be permanent. The vows the couple take stress their faithfulness to each other through every possible experience of life. The Roman Catholic service ends with a Nuptial Mass. The wedding service and the Bible both stress that marriage is forever. Some churches will remarry divorced people but most will not.

Importance of marriage and the vows Marriage is important for Christians because: It is a gift from God and he intended men and women to live together Men and women should help and support one another and be faithful It is for bringing up children I take you,..., to be my wife [or husband]. to have and to hold from this day forward; for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part, according to God's holy law; and this is my solemn vow.

Muslim beliefs on marriage Important to the prophets including Muhammed Normal duty of every human being Qur’an advocates equality in marriage and a Muslim woman keeps her own name along with property she may own A husband must provide his wife with a good standard of living

Arranged Marriage This is a selection of marriage partner, often arranged by the parents. Sometimes adverts are used in Muslim magazines. Love is expected to come after the marriage, not before. Both partners must agree to the marriage but most trust their parents to make the right choice for them.

Arranged marriages The west make fun of the Islamic way of marriage in particular arranged marriage, yet the irony is that statistically arranged marriages prove to be more successful and lasting than romantic types of courtship. This is because people are blinded by the physical attraction and thus do not choose the compatible partner. Love blinds people to potential problems in the relationship. There is an Arabic saying: which says "the mirror of love is blind, it makes zucchini into okra". Arranged marriages on the other hand, are based not on physical attraction or romantic notions but rather on critical evaluation of the compatibility of the couple. This is why they often prove successful.

Key words linked to Islamic religion and marriage Mahr: dowry of money or jewellery for the bride Polygamy: more than one marriage allowed Imam: leader of prayers in a mosque Nikah: marriage contract Khul:divorce at the request of the wife Mosque: religious centre for prayers Hadith: traditions relating to Muhammed Allah: God Qur’an: Muslim religious book

Muslim Weddings Two sets of parents fix a contract which includes a dowry Marriage can take place at a mosque or the bride’s home Two witnesses must be present It is a social ceremony but prayers seeking Allah’s blessing will be said for the couple and their families The next day a feast is given by the bridegroom Muslim men are allowed to marry more than one wife but it is rare. It may happen if the first wife cannot have children. Polygamy is unlawful in Britain and Tunisia. Click to return to choices

DIVORCE

Divorce: reasons for Most people agree with divorce if there is no love left and may cause suffering to partners and children Adultery Physical violence Mental cruelty abandonment

Key words for divorce Divorce: legal ending of a marriage Adultery: when a husband or wife is unfaithful Desertion: when a spouse leaves the marital home Remarriage: person who has been divorced or widowed gets remarried Mediation: talking to both sides to aid communication Unreasonable behaviour: behaviour which one cannot put up with Annulment: Catholic Church declaration that marriage did not exist

Divorce and its effects Divorce is the procedure which brings a legal ending to a marriage. It is granted for several reasons including: Adultery, desertion and unreasonable behaviour or if they both agree after living apart. Can divorce after one year if irretrievably broken down (and lived apart for 2 years) The divorce rate is almost one in two in Great Britain. Number of single parent families increased Social problems can result Children and adults can suffer stress at losing partner/parent Financially worse off Some children suffer at school with results

Christian attitudes to divorce The Church of England do accept divorce although it will not usually remarry divorced people. They remarry in a civil ceremony and may have a blessing The Roman Catholic Church believe marriage vows cannot be broken. However an annulment can be granted in extreme cases. Non-conformist churches allow divorced people to remarry in church but ministers can refuse if they feel it isn’t right. They usually forgive and see it as a new start.

Islamic divorce A man must state his intention to divorce on three separate occasions with a month in between The couple must live together but sleep separately for 3 months to ensure the wife is not pregnant – also gives a better chance for reconciliation Husband must provide for his wife and child until she remarries. If the woman wants a divorce she must repay the mahr (dowry) and she gets nothing from her husband apart from child support If either partner ceases to be a Muslim the marriage is regarded as ended. Divorce rate is growing amongst British Muslims.

Remarriage & Cohabitation In 1981 the Church of England allowed people to marry again after a divorce and many other Churches now follow this position. Remarriage is forbidden in the Roman Catholic Church (unless an annulment has been granted) because divorce is not permitted. Cohabitation The Roman Catholic Church is totally opposed to people cohabiting (living together without being married). Sexual intercourse outside marriage is a very serious sin and these people cannot receive communion in the church. Some Protestant churches accept cohabitation although they would always encourage people to marry in church.

THE FAMILY

What is a family? Extended family Usually consists of three generations living together or very close to each other. This form of family life is reflected in various holy books and is a traditional family arrangement Nuclear family Modern Western family made up of just parents and children living together. There is contact with other members but often spasmodic Reconstituted family When two sets of children become one family after their parents become a couple One parent family Only one parent living with and bringing up a child or children due to divorce, separation, death or being an unmarried parent

Importance of the family Gain a sense of self or identity from our family – likeness, names, values Teaches us social behaviour to prepare us for life Provides with fist experience of bonding – parents and siblings Family life is the basic way that society looks after vulnerable members – young and old

4 features of a Christian upbringing You would be baptised and taught about God from an early age. Your parents would probably teach you prayers and ensure that the promises made at the baptism were kept. You would probably go to Sunday School where you would learn more about God and how he made and looks after you. You would say prayers to God thanking him for looking after you. It would seem natural to you to believe in God. You would be taken to church by your parents especially at Christmas and Easter. At church you would hear people talking about God and assuming that God exists. You might attend a church school where these teachings would be confirmed. Also at school there would be RE lessons which are compulsory and assemblies where prayers might be said.

Christian events in lifetime Daily: prayers, saying grace at mealtimes, RE lessons, assemblies - gives knowledge and values God. Weekly: influenced by TV programmes, church on the Sabbath, Sunday Schools where more teaching and knowledge is available. Our lives may also be influenced by Sunday opening hours which restrict shop hours so Christians have time to pray/ recognise it as a special day. Annually: our school holidays of Christmas and Easter are based around Christian holidays. Celebration of these events commercially by giving of presents reflecting their religious meaning i.e. presents for the birth of Jesus and eggs at Easter to celebrate rebirth of Jesus (rising from the dead). Lifetime occasions: Christening to remind us that Jesus was baptized and we now make promises to keep the Christian faith. Wedding ceremonies show a commitment to a person and the belief of bringing families up in a stable environment. Funerals usually have a church service with prayers and hymns prior to the burial or cremation. This also confirms the belief in God and the care he will continue to give to a person through life and death.

Muslim religious upbringing If you were Muslim: The first words you would hear after your birth would be ‘Allah is great’ Your family would pray five times a day At Ramadan the whole family would stop eating and drinking during daylight hours You would go to a madrasah (mosque school) to learn Arabic and the Qur’an It would seem natural to you to believe in God.

SEX AND CONTRACEPTION

Christian attitudes to love and sex Love is a warm affection for, or a close attachment to, another person. Sex is often used to mean sexual intercourse. Christian teaching is generally that sexual intercourse is wrong unless it happens within a marriage. God intended men and women to live together as married couples - not to cohabit. As well as saying that sexual relationships should only take place within marriage, traditional Christian teaching is also very opposed to homosexuality. A growing number of Christians are beginning to accept that for some people homosexual relationships are not going against God's wishes. Although many Christians still regard homosexual activity as a sin, it is widely felt that individuals in homosexual relationships should not be discriminated against or excluded from Christian communities.

Contraception and Christianity Christian couples say their choice on contraception should be by using their conscience, teachings of the Bible etc – ’responsible parenthood’ In 1930 the depression saw poverty on a great scale with children suffering so the Protestant Churches changed their minds about contraception. They thought it was better to have less children and bring them up well. Roman Catholic Church recommend no artificial means of contraception. They allow the rhythm method (based on a woman’s fertile period)

Muslim attitudes towards sex Islam teaches that sex is a natural part of human life. The sex drive is God given. Sex must be part of marriage. Sex outside marriage is absolutely forbidden in the Qur’an. Muslims should marry and have sex to produce children, for their physical satisfaction and to build a loving relationship between husband and wife.

Muslim attitudes towards contraception Contraception is allowed to space child bearing Non permanent methods such as condoms, cap, IUD and oral contraceptives are allowed Female sterilization is allowed only under medical opinion that a woman’s life would be seriously affected by pregnancy. Vasectomy is strictly forbidden

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