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

Sex outside marriage = pre-marital sex AND adultery

Changing attitudes to sex 1960’s 2000’s No sex till married Most do 1-2 sexual partners 10 or more Married by 25 Married in 30’s Married in church Less in church Cohabitation not Cohabitation OK good

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

MARRIAGE

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

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

DIVORCE

Outline how attitudes to divorce have changed (6 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

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

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

FAMILY LIFE

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 eg of Muhammad

How Church/mosque help family life 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