3.3 Marriage and family life Flashcards
Changing attitudes- marriage
- Marrying older, declining numbers, less in church
- Valued as less, role of women changed, contraception
Changing attitudes- divorce
- Rising numbers, 42% end in divorce
- Divorce reform act- 1969, marriage valued less, more stress, longer lives, more socially acceptable, less religion
Changing attitudes- family life
- Less nuclear/more reconstituted, less are married/more cohabitation, less family time spent together, contraception means fewer children
- More divorces, more acceptable, less marriages
Changing attitudes- homosexuality
- Civil partnership- 2004, gay marriage- 2013
- More acceptable, legal, openness of gay celebs, IVF
Sex outside of marriage- for
- God gave us free will
- Couple may not be able to afford marriage
- If love is shown it could be justified
- Bible is outdated
Sex outside of marriage- against
- Gift from God- disrespectful
- Against 10 commandments (adultery)
- Shows faithfulness (importance of marriage)
- For procreation
Features of Catholic marriage
- Celebrated by a priest
- Exchange of vows- promise faithfulness and to accept children
- Exchange of rings- circle is never ending
- Prayers ask for God’s blessing
Purpose of Catholic marriage
- Sacrament- God imparts his grace and strength on the couple
- Takes place in a church by a priest, readings from Bible, prayers
- Permanent- for life
- Vows- “will you love and honour each other… for the rest of your life?” rings- circle is everlasting
- Everlasting- couple must be faithful
- Vows- “promise to be true to him/her”
- Life-giving- procreation is a marriage commitment
- Priest asks “will you lovingly accept children from God?”
Divorce- Catholic attitude
- “a marriage concluded and consummated between baptised persons can never be dissolved”
- Jesus claimed that divorcees who remarry commit adultery
- Vows at the wedding can never be undone
- Genesis- God created man and woman to be together
Divorce- annulments
- Declaration that the marriage was never valid in the first place
- Can take between 9-24 months
- Grounds include- one of the partners having hidden information such as previous marriage or infertility, or not fully understanding the commitment made at marriage
- Catholics still encourage reconciliation
Divorce- Liberal attitude
- Think it’s the lesser of two evils- acceptable in certain situations
- “love thy neighbour”
- Jesus allowed for divorces in the case of unfaithfulness
- Christianity teaches forgiveness, so the church should forgive
Homosexuality- Roman Catholic
- Not a sin to be homosexual, but homosexual acts are sinful
- Sex is creative, and homosexual sex isn’t
- Condemned in five places in the Bible
- Against discrimination of homosexuals
Homosexuality- Evangelical
- Sin because it is condemned in the Bible- “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman: it is an abomination”
- Say it is a choice
Homosexuality- Liberal
- Lifelong monogamous relationships are morally acceptable
- Bible passages need to be reinterpreted in modern times
- Christians teach love and acceptance
- Jesus never said anything about homosexuality
Family life- importance
- Learn right from wrong- less evil
- Introduced to their faith through sacraments and mass
- Fulfillment of promise made at their wedding
- Centre of love and care
- CCC- “original cell of social life”
Family life- church help with upbringing of children
- Have close links with/run Catholic schools
- Help to prepare for sacraments
- Run children’s liturgies
- Arranging youth groups/children’s play groups
Family life- church help to keep families together
- Run marriage preparation courses
- Run support groups
- Parish priest is available to give advice
- Financial support through charities like Catholic Marriage Care
Contraception- types
Artificial: -prevent conception during sex, can prevent STDs
-Barrier methods create a barrier between the sperm and the egg e.g. condom
-Hormonal methods regulate a woman’s hormones to prevent the release of an egg e.g. the pill
-Sterilisation stops any further release of sperm or eggs
-Abortifacients prevent a fertilised embryo from implanting on the lining of the uterus e.g. morning after pill
Natural: -avoids conception by avoiding sex at certain times with knowledge of the menstrual cycle e.g. natural family planning
Contraception- Catholic view
- Natural family planning is allowed to control family sizes
- Sex should be creative
- Some are early abortions
- Leads to sexual promiscuity leading to more STDs
Contraception- for
- Can give a better quality of life due to more money per person
- Sex doesn’t always have to be creative
- The Bible doesn’t forbid contraception
- Can help prevent the spread of STDs
