The Purpose of the Family and Parish Support
What is a family for, and how does a local church support it? Explore the Christian purposes of the family and the parish's practical help, alongside non-religious views, for balanced evaluation.
Put it to work, not just to memory
Free and interactive, so you are arguing with the material rather than rereading it.
Start revising freeWhat you'll cover
What is a family for?
Almost everyone values family, but people explain its purpose differently. Many Christians see the family as a gift from God: a place to have children, keep them safe, and bring them up - often in the faith. Non-religious people (including Humanists) also value family highly, usually for love, support and wellbeing rather than for any religious reason. In the exam you weigh both views. This module focuses on the family's purpose and how a local parish supports it.
Family and marriage words
Four terms come up throughout this topic.
Match each family type
- Nuclear family
- Single-parent family
- Extended family
- Blended family
- Two parents and their children in one household
- One parent raising their children
- Several generations living together or very close by
- Two families joined together, often with step-parents and step-siblings
A purpose of the family
Which of these is a purpose of the family in Christian teaching?
- Procreation and bringing up children
- Guaranteeing that the family becomes wealthy
- Providing a place to store possessions
- Keeping children away from all other people
Two ways to value family
Christians and non-religious people both value the family, but for different reasons. Good answers give both sides.
Purposes of the family
Select the TWO purposes of the family in Christian teaching.
- Procreation - having and raising children
- Providing security and a stable, loving home
- Guaranteeing the family becomes rich
- Keeping children away from all education
How the parish helps
A local church (parish) supports families in practical ways: family worship (all-age services - recalling how Jesus welcomed children, Matthew 19:13-14), rites of passage (baptism, marriage, funerals), parenting classes, marriage counselling, and Sunday schools that teach children the faith. Exam habit: this Edexcel spec expects a non-religious view alongside the Christian one, so always name the secular position too - and where the topic touches family planning or divorce, name situation ethics rather than saying "some people think".
Match each kind of support
- Sunday school
- Parenting classes
- Marriage counselling
- Family worship
- Teaches children about the Christian faith
- Helps parents with raising their children
- Supports couples whose relationship is struggling
- All-age church services that include children
Supporting families
Which of these is a way a local parish supports families?
- Running a Sunday school to teach children
- Charging families rent to attend services
- Banning children from all services
- Refusing to help struggling couples
Rites through a life
Put these Christian rites of passage into the order a person might reach them through life.
- Baptism, often as an infant, welcoming them into the Church
- Confirmation, often as a teenager, confirming their own faith
- Marriage, as an adult starting a new family
- A funeral, marking the end of their earthly life
Family and parish in a paragraph
A family gives children _____ and a stable home, and Christian parents often aim to raise them in the _____. The local _____ supports families through Sunday _____ and marriage _____.
Give both sides
Three exam moments on family. Pick the balanced, spec-accurate response each time.
- A student writes only what Christians think about the family and ignores non-religious views. On this Edexcel spec, what is the problem?
- A blended step-family joins a church. Which response best reflects that Christians hold divergent views?
- On family planning, the spec references situation ethics. A strong answer names it and says...
Your turn: evaluate
Evaluate the statement: "The main purpose of a family is to have and raise children." In your answer, give Christian views and non-religious views, and reach a justified conclusion.
- Give a Christian view (e.g. procreation and raising children in the faith)
- Give a non-religious or Humanist view (e.g. love and support matter more than having children)
- Consider other purposes too, such as security and educating children
- Reach a balanced judgement without simply declaring one view right
Give the non-religious view too
On this topic, two things lift an answer. First, always give the non-religious view alongside the Christian one - most of these questions demand it, and a Christian-only answer caps your AO2 marks. Name the Humanist or atheist position, and name situation ethics where family planning or divorce come up. Second, show that Christians themselves disagree - some emphasise the traditional nuclear family, others welcome every loving family type - and support each purpose (procreation, security, education) with the way a parish actually helps: Sunday schools, family worship, counselling and the rites of passage that mark a life.