Religious Belief of Marriage

Question 1

What is Marriage?

Answer 1

• Marriage in the Catholic Church is known as the sacrament of Matrimony and is understood as part of God’s Original Plan as it reflects the Creators love for humans
• Catholics understand that marriage is significant and within it expresses a number of interconnected beliefs’ marriage is christian vocation, a path to salvation, a communion between two people and a sign and source of God’s grace

Question 2

What are the Key Features of Marriage?

Answer 2

1. Covenant - Marriage is a commitment initiated by God, it is a special covenant between a husband and wife “a partnership of the whole life” in which they mutually hand over and accept each other
2. Christian Vocation - Marriage involves a call from God, provides meaning and purpose to life
3. Sign and source of Gods Grace - As it is a sacrament, the couples relationship expresses in a unique way, the unbreakable bond of love between Christ and his people

Question 3

How does Marriage relate to people?

Answer 3

~ Fidelity - Marriage unites a couple in a faithful, exclusive and mutual love
~ Indissolubility - Is the way to respond to God’s call to holiness, it is a lifelong and permanent commitment which is unbreakable, not even the Pope can break the bond
~Procreation - Marriage opens a couple to giving life, the possibility of having children
~Sacrament - Marriage calls the couple to be a sign of Christ’s love in the world

Question 4

How is Marriage portrayed in the Old Testament?

Answer 4

• Goods Original Plan for marriage was outlined in Genesis
• Men and Women are in the image and likeness of God, God blessed them saying “Be Fruitful, fill the earth and subdue it” (Genesis 1:27)
• The Old Testament paints the picture of a Patriarchal Society
• Men and Women did not treat each other with integrity, honour and love as God intended
• There was sexual inequality, wife was considered inferior, a possession and severed the husband
• Marriage during this time was seen as more of a ‘Contract’ rather than a ‘Covenant’
• Polygamy was a commonly allowed practice e.g. Solomon had 700 wives
• Women were seen the property of men, which was not what God intended

Question 5

How is Marriage portrayed in the New Testament?

Answer 5

• Jesus resists the Original Plan for Marriage, and elevated the importance to the Sacrament which God intended it to be
• Jesus held marriage in high esteem and calls his follows to embrace marriage as it was Originally given by God
• However in reality marriage could be dissolved by the man if necessary, against God’s original plan
• It was seen as a purely civil contract between a man and a woman with no religious rites celebrated within the home
• Parents arranged the marriages of their children often at a young age and partners were chosen within the family

Question 6

What did St Paul contribute to Marriage?

Answer 6

• St Paul believed married people should live in a way that reflects the Old Testament notion of the Covenant between God and his people
• He moved away from the idea of Polygamy, the man owning the life and stressed on the loving, fidelity and the consideration of the wife
• Believed in sexual equality
• “Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the Church “ (Ephesians 5:26-27)

Question 7

How did St Augustine view Marriage?

Answer 7

• St Augustine of Hippo, a Church father believed strongly in indissolubility and the procreation of children
• Augustine developed a theology of the Sacramentality of Christian Marriage without actually calling it a sacrament
• He distinguished three values of marriage: Fidelity, Procreation and Indissolubility
• He wrote about the symbolic character of Christian Marriage, a sacred sign of the Holy bond between Christ and his Church without cannot be broken
• At this time there was no definitive religious ceremony for Marriage
• Marriage itself remained as an Act Governed by Civil Laws
• Augustines influence led to change, the mutual consent from both the man and the woman which became more prevalent and made marriage more sacred and valid than ever

Question 8

What was Established at the Council of Trent?

Answer 8

• The Council of Trent declared Marriage to be a permanent and indissoluble bond
• Bishops declared Marriage as one of the 7 sacrament sunder law of Gospel
• The Church took legal rights to legislate Marriage, it was considered valid if celebrated with a Priest and two witnesses
• The practice of Polygamy (marrying multiple spouses) was made illegal
• The Council of Trent also established a number of canons (laws)
• The Church had control of the laws of Marriage and Divorce was only allowed under extreme circumstances

Question 9

What influence did Vatican II have on Marriage?

Answer 9

• After the 21st Ecumenical Council there was a fuller theology of Marriage
• Marriage was more grounded and considered to be one of the 7 sacraments and a Covenant of God (a sign and source of God’s unconditional love)
• Vatican II reaffirmed the three purposes of Marriage - procreation of children, the union between a man and a wife as a covenant and its indissolubility
• The constitution of the Modern World states that marriage is seen as an important vocation
• The love between couples was held in high esteem because it was a witness, to others, of committed married love and a sign of Christ’s own love for the Church