1. EQUALITY OF MEN AND WOMEN
GENDER PREJUDICE
EQUALITY OF MEN AND WOMEN
MARRIAGE
CHANGING ROLES OF WOMEN
DIVORCE
FAMILY LIFE
SEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS

2. Marriage is also important to Humanists and atheists.
Marriage is important to Christians because it was created by God.
“Marriage was established by God when he created humans.” (Mark 10:6-8)
“In marriage, God joins the couple together in a sacred bond that humans have no right to break.” (Mark 10:9-10)
Jesus spoke about the importance of marriage and believed in monogamy (marriage to one person at a time) and it should be between a man and women.
The Church teaches that God created marriage:
So that a couple can have a lifelong relationship of love, companionship and faithfulness.
So that a couple can have the support and comfort of each other and enjoy sex with each other.
So that children can be brought up in a Christian family and become members of the Church.
A way of showing love for each other.
Marriage is very important to Catholic Christians, it is one of the 7 sacraments. They believe the wedding joins the man, wife and God together.
Marriage is important because:
Marriage was created by God as a way of preserving society.
Christians believe that marriage is the only acceptable way to have sex.
Christian families are brought together through marriage.
Marriage is also important to Humanists and atheists.
They believe it gives people a stable financial backing.
It is socially accepted in society.
It gives a stable home for a family.
It is a public ritual that shows your love for another person.
Key words:
Adultery: a sexual act between a married person and someone other than their marriage partner.
Sacred bond: a joining together sanctified by God which cannot be broken by humans.

3. Both partners must not be married.
Different types:
Premarital- sex before marriage.
Cohabitation- two people living together in a sexual relationship without being married.
Same-sex relationship- a homosexual relationship. 2 men or 2 women who are in a sexual relationship.
Extramarital sex- sometimes referred to as Adultery, having sex with someone when married to someone else.
“Flee from sexual immorality…whoever sins sexually sins against their body. (1 Corinthians)
Christianity teaches that sex is a gift from God to be enjoyed between a husband and wife. Christianity teaches that sex was given to humans by God for the joy, pleasure and bonding of a married couple and to procreate. (have children)
Christian attitudes to SEX OUTSIDE MARRIAGE
Pre-marital sex –
purpose of sex is to create children, as a child should be brought up by married parents sex should take place within a marriage.
Bible teaches sex outside marriage is sinful
Catechism of Catholic Church teaches pre-marital sex is wrong
Some Christians would permit a couple to cohabit before marriage if they were in a loving, long term relationship that was leading to marriage.
Adultery –
All Christians are against adultery
Goes against 1 of the 10 Commandments
Adultery breaks the wedding vows
Jesus condemned adultery
Humanist and atheists do not disagree with sex before marriage, but only if:
It is consensual
Both partners must not be married.
Sex should involve a degree of stability.
Sex should be safe.

4. The Bible condemns homosexual sex.
Changes in the law have made it easier to be openly homosexual. As society begins to recognise homosexuality as an acceptable orientation, more institutions began to offer equal status for homosexual couples.
Liberal Protestants have the attitude that lifelong homosexual relationships are acceptable and homosexuals are welcomes into the Church. They are happy to provide blessings for civil partnerships but not same-sex marriages, which they believe cannot be equated to Christian marriage. They have these beliefs because.
The teachings of the Bible are outdated and need reinterpreting for modern time.
Christianity is based on love and acceptable of all.
Christians should be open and honest, refusing rights to gay Christians encourages them to be dishonest.
Catholics believe that homosexuality is not a sin but that homosexual sex is sinful. The Catholic Church asks for homosexuals to live without any sexual activity. They have this attitude because:
The Bible condemns homosexual sex.
Sex is supposed to bring children, homosexual sex cannot.
The catechism teaches that marriage is between one man and one women.
The Church teaches that a person cannot control their sexual orientation, but can control sexual activity.
Evangelical Protestants believe that homosexuality is a sin. They believe there should be no homosexual Christians. Some hold special prayer meetings to give homosexuals the power of the Spirit to change their sexual preference. They have this attitude because:
They believe the Bible is the direct word of God, and the Bible condemns homosexuality in some passages.
They believe the salvation of Christ can remove sins, even homosexuality.
Homosexuality is sinful because Churches in the past have taught that.

5. Different types of families:
Nuclear family- Mother, father and children living together as a unit.
Single-parent families- A single parent and dependent children.
Same-sex parent families- Same-sex couple with the children.
Extended families-Three generations are living under the same roof.
Blended family- two separate families are joined together when parents decide to remarry.
All Christians believe that the family was created by God as the basic unit of society and as the only place in which children should be brought up. One of the main purposes of Christian marriage is to have children and bring them up in a secure and loving Christian environment so that they will come to love God and follow Jesus. Family is of particular importance in Christianity because:
The family is the place where children are introduced to the faith.
The family has the basic task of bringing up children safely and securely until they are mature enough to look after themselves.
The family has a duty of instilling moral values into the children so that they become good responsible citizens.
Children have a duty to look after their parents when their parents are too old or infirm to care for themselves. The Commandments tell Christians to honour their mother and father.
However, there is a tradition dating back to Jesus, which says that there are more important things than the family for Christians. Marriage is not compulsory for Christians and many Christians feel they can serve God best by remaining single, for example Roman Catholic Priests, Nuns and Monks leave their families to serve God.
Non-religious ideas about the family.
Most families in the UK are now non-religious. All recent surveys show that at least 60% of people have little or no contact with religion. However, the family is very important to people regardless of religion. Falling in love and having a family is a goal in life for most people, no doubt because raising a family is part of what is known as the “selfish gene”: we want our genes to continue into future generations. Non-religious people see that the purpose of family life is as follows:
To bring up children safely and securely until they are mature enough to look after themselves by making sure that the physical and material needs of the children are met.
To pass on moral values to the children so that they become good responsible citizens.
To provide emotional and financial support throughout life.
The importance of family life to non-religious people can be seen in the way that family members will come to the rescue in times of need regardless of religious commitment. Families also come together at times like Christmas just as much as religious families.

6. Many Christians say that the support of the Christian Church is very important for families. Through local churches, and worldwide. It provides practical, emotional and spiritual support that helps families to thrive and develop their faith. They would also say that supporting families is another demonstration of God’s love. It builds a sense of Christian community and strengthens the Church. Faith can also be strengthened through worshipping and socialising with other Christians who share the same values and beliefs.
The Christian Church is sometimes described as a loving Mother who wants to care for her “Sons and Daughters”, so they each grow and become the person God wants them to be. Some Christians say ‘a family who prays together stays together.’
There are a number of ways that the Church offers support for the family:
Raising children as Christians means taking them to church regularly and that requires the Church to be helpful to children.
Teaching children about Christianity requires knowledge and expertise in the faith that parents are not likely to have, so Church schools, Sunday Schools and so on are vital.
For Catholic, Anglican and Orthodox families, taking part in the sacraments is important and that requires the help of the Church.
Being part of the larger family of the Church, which will give help if needed, is a great source of comfort and strength for a family.

7. Christian views on contraception
Benefits of contraception:
It can limit the amount of children you have.
It can offer protection against STI’s.
People can enjoy sex without getting pregnant.
It can maintain a good standard of living for the family unit.
Liberal Christians
Roman Catholics and Evangelical Protestants.
The Catholic Church believe contraception has increased the divorce rate and STD’s.
It is a responsible way to bring further fulfilment in a marriage.
It can control how many children you have and means children will have a good quality of life
It can allow the role of sex to be separated from making children and this is not against God’s will.
Sex was supposed to bring two people together, artificial methods take that away.
Some contraceptives bring about a very early abortion and so could be classed as murder.
Christianity is about love and justice, contraception can raise living standards and improve maternal health.
Several Popes (Catholic Church) have said that only natural forms of contraception are allowed.
It can promote promiscuity and broken families
God created sex for enjoyment and to cement the bonds of marriage.
It can help avoid pregnancy for a women who needs to for medical reasons.
God designed sex for procreation. This is called “natural law” this is something all humans should adhere to.
Artificial methods are against God’s intentions, if God wants you to have a child, you should not stop that.
It can combat HIV/AIDs by using condoms
Sex is a gift from God and as well as being for pleasure it is for procreation (making children)

8. Jesus always taught to show love and compassion.
“Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning.  I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.” (Matthew 19)
Catholic Attitude:
Catholics do not allow religious divorce or remarriage.
Jesus taught that divorce is wrong and Christians should follow his teachings.
The couple had made a covenant with God in the sacrament of marriage and that covenant cannot be broken by any earthly power.
Protestant Attitude:
They teach that divorce is wrong but allow it if the marriage is broken down.
They allow divorced people to remarry- Jesus allowed divorce in Matthew 19 (above) if partner has committed adultery.
They believe that divorce is the ‘lesser of two evils’. It would be worse for a couple to stay in an unhappy marriage.
Christians believe in forgiveness. They believe this should apply to divorce and remarriage.
“What God has joined together, let no one separate.” Matthew 19:6
Atheist and Humanist view
All married couples should have the right to divorce.
Divorce should make sure that the spouses are treated equally in the divorce.
Divorce should make sure that children are looked after.
They should have the right to remarry.
Some Christians may apply situation ethics to divorce. They would look at the pros and cons of the decision and decide what would bring the most loving outcome. They would take in to consideration things such as children/money/reasons for divorce. They would decide on the best outcome.
Jesus always taught to show love and compassion.

9. “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27)
Liberal Protestants:
They believe that men and women are equal.
They should equal roles in the family.
They base their beliefs on Genesis 1 (above) that man and woman made at the same time and they are equal.
St Paul also taught that “there is neither male not female in Christ” The idea that they are both the same.
Jesus treated women equally in various stories in the Bible. E.G It was women that Jesus appeared to first after the resurrection.
Atheist and Humanist views
They believe that men and women are equal in all aspects of life.
Many men share housework and childcare activities.
Catholics:
Catholics teach that men and women should have equal roles in the family.
They teach that men and women have equal status in the eyes of God.
Evangelical Protestants:
They teach that men and women have separate and different roles. It is the role of women to bring up children and a man to provide for the family.
Women should dress simply and keep their heads covered in church.
They base their ideas on the fact that Adam was made first, so men are superior. (Genesis 2)
The disciples of Jesus were all men.
In Ephesians (below) St Paul said the husband was the head of the wife.
“Wives submit to your husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife..” (Ephesians 5:22)

10. It is sometimes said that Christianity is full of gender prejudice because God is described as a man. All the great heroes of the Bible were men, Jesus chose only men as his disciples and all the writers of the books of the Bible were men.
Evangelical Protestants:
They teach that men and women have separate and different roles so cannot have equal rights.
They believe women should not speak in Church.
They should not teach men and submit to their husbands.
They use the story of Adam and Eve to argue that men have been given more rights by God because Adam was created first.
It was Eve that was led astray by the Satan.
They do not see this as discrimination as this is what God set down in the New Testament.
Catholic Church:
Men and women should have equal roles.
In Genesis 1, Adam and Eve were made at the same time, therefore are equal.
They do not allow women to be Priests however, because Jesus was a man and the Priest represents Jesus during Mass.
All the disciples were men and Priests are the successors of the disciples.
Liberal Protestants:
Men and women should have equal status because in Genesis 1, they were created at the same time.
The Gospels show Jesus treating women as his equals
There is evidence to suggest that women were priests in the early Church.
Some Christians campaign for the equality of men and women in the Church. The Movement for the Ordination of Women (MOW) have worked tirelessly to get women ordained in the Church. In 1993 the first women priest was ordained in the Church of England. The Catholic Church still do not allow women priests.