Section 3.3 - Marriage and the Family
- Created by: Roisin Fletcher
- Created on: 25-02-13 16:30
Key Words - Part 1
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 heterosexual married couple
Cohabitation - Living together without being married
Contraception - Intentionally preventing pregnancy from occurring
Faithfulness -Staying with your marriage partner and having sex only with them
Homosexuality - Sexual attraction to the same sex
Key Word - Part 2
Nuclear Family - Mother, father and children living as a unit
Pre-marital Sex - Sex before marriage
Procreation - Making a new life
Promiscuity - having sex with a number of partners without commitment
Re-constituted Family - Where two sets of step-sibling become one family after their divorced parents marry
Re-marriage - Marrying again after being divorced from a previous marriage
The Purposes of Marriage
- A couple can have a life-long relationship of love and faithfulness
- A couple can have the support and comfort of each other
- They can have the gift of children
- They can bring up a Christian family
- They can receive God's grace and strength through the sacrament
Mixed Marriages
- Couples entering into a mixed marriage are usually allowed to marry in a Catholic church, provided they follow the principles below:
- They have chosen to marry of their own accord, with no external pressure
- They intend to remain together for life
- They intend to be faithful to each other
- They intend to have children, if the bride is of a child-bearing age
- The Catholic must promise to do everything in their power to bring up any children of the marriage in the Catholic faith
The Catholic Attitude to Divorce
- The Catholic Church does not allow religious divorce or re-marriage
- Even after a civil divorce, the couple are still married in the eyes of God, and so they cannot re-marry.
- Jesus taught that divorce was wrong
- The couple have made a covenant with God, which cannot be broken
- The Catechism teaches that a marriage cannot be dissolved
- Re-marriage after divorce is counted a bigamy and adultery in the eyes of the Catholic Church
- If it can be proved that the marriage was not a true Christian marriage, Catholics can have an Annulment.
Non-Catholic Christian Attitudes to Divorce
- Most non-Catholic Churches think that divorce is wrong, but allow it if the marriage has broken down
- For the most part, divorced people are allowed to re-marry, although they sometimes have to promise that this time their marriage will be for life
- Jesus allowed divorce in Matthew 19:19 for a partner's adultery
- Sometimes a broken marriage's effects is found to be a greater evil than the evil of divorce itself
- If Christians repent and confess their sins, they can be forgiven
- A couple should have another chance at marriage if they are keen to make it work this time
- These Churches believe it is better to divorce than to live in hatred and quarrel all of the time
Christian Attitudes to Promiscuity, Adultery and P
- Christianity teaches that sex should only take place within a marriage between a man and a woman
- Sex was given to humans by God for the purpose of having children, and children should only be produced within a marriage
- The Bible teaches that fornication is wrong; Christians should follow the teachings of the Bible
- The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that pre-marital sex is wrong
- Christians should not have sex outside of marriage because it breaks the marriage vow of being faithful to each other
- Adultery is condemned in the Ten Commandments, which all Christians should follow
- Adultery is condemned by Jesus in the Gospels; all Christians should follow the teachings of Jesus
Why Family Life is Important for Catholics
- One of the main purposes of Catholic marriage is to have children and bring them up as good Catholics
- Catholicism teaches that the family was created by God, and is the only place for the up-bringing of children
- Families are too important to be broken up by divorce
- Without the family, children would not learn the difference between right and wrong, and about faith
- The Church teaches that the Christian family is the most important family, which is why Catholic priests, nuns and monks leave their families so that they can serve God
Catholic Parishes and Families
Up-bringing of Children
- Catholic primary and secondary schools to teach right from wrong and help parents fulfill their promises to bring up their children as Catholics
- Parishes run classes to prepare children for receiving the Sacraments, helping parents with their children's Catholic up-bringing
- Some parishes run children's liturgies to give children an idea of the spiritual strength of Mass and raise them as good Catholics
- Some parishes run youth clubs and activities to keep children off of the streets
Keeping Families Together
- Catholic parishes offer lots of help to keep families together
- During Mass the priest may remind parents of their marriage vows and other reasons not to divorce
- The parish priest has a duty to give help and advice
- The Church has a national programme for the support of marriage and family life
- The Church has provided resources for parishes to be more family-friendly, as well as producing leaflets for families
- Many parishes also provide financial support for families in need
Christian Attitudes to Homosexuality
- Being homosexual is not a sin, but homosexual sexual activity is
- The Church believes that it is sinful to criticise homosexuals or attack their behaviour
- The Bible condemns homosexual sexual activity, as sex should be for procreation only
- The Church teaches that people cannot help their sexual orientation, but can control their sexual activity
- Discriminating against people because of their sexual orientation is similar to racism, which is sinful
- They believe that the salvation of Christ can remove all sins, including homosexuality
- All the Churches have taught the homosexuality is wrong, even though some now say that it is not
Liberal Protestant Attitude to Homosexuality
- Many Liberal Protestants welcome homosexuals into the Church, and accept homosexual relationships
- Some L.P.s provide blessings for civil partnerships
- They believe that Bible texts condemning homosexuality show beliefs at the time rather than the true word of God
- They feel that the major Christian belief in love and acceptance means that homosexuals must be accepted
- Many believe that if homosexual Christians believe the Holy Spirit approves of their homosexuality, it must be true
- They believe that Christians should be open and honest, so gay Christians should not be forced to tell lies and pretend to be heterosexual
Attitudes to Contraception
Catholic Attitude to Contraception
- Couples should limit their family size through using natural family planning
- Various Popes have both condemned all forms of artificial contraception, and permitted solely natural methods
- The Church teaches that all sex should be unitive and creative
- Some artificial contraceptives bring on early abortion, which the Church fully condemns
Non-Catholic Christian Attitudes to Contraception
- Almost all non-Catholic Christians believe that all forms of contraception are permissible
- They believe that contraception protects a woman's health and raises the standard of living
- God created sex for enjoyment and to strengthen marriage, rather than solely to produce children
- There is nothing in Bible that condemns contraception
- They say that Christians can use contraception to limit family size, as well as combat HIV/AIDS
Methods of Contraception
Natural Methods
- Natural Family Planning (NPF) - Planning sex around the times in the month when a woman is at her most infertile
- Measuring the hormone levels in the urine - To find a woman's most infertile period
Artificial Methods
- Condoms - Prevents the sperm from reaching the egg, also effective in preventing the spread of STD/Is and AIDS/HIV
- The Pill - Prevents a woman from producing eggs
- The Coil - Stops a fertilised egg from latching onto the womb
- The Morning-after Pill - Brings about an early abortion if the egg becomes fertilised
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