Marriage and Sexual Relationships

One topic, many views 💍

Marriage, sexual relationships and family life are areas where people hold **very different** views - and where Christians themselves **disagree** with one another. The most important thing this topic asks of you is not to pick a side, but to **understand and evaluate** the range of views fairly: **some Christians**, **other Christians**, and **non-religious people** (including Humanists) each reason differently. Getting that range right, and treating every view with respect, is exactly what the exam rewards.

Words this topic uses 🗂️

Learn these first - they come up throughout the topic and in the exam.

Match each term to its meaning 🔗

Why do many Christians marry? 📜

Drawing on teaching such as Mark 10:6-9, which best sums up how many Christians understand the purpose of marriage?

• A lifelong, faithful union for love, companionship and often raising a family
• Mainly a way to combine two people's money and property
• A short-term arrangement to be ended when convenient
• Something every single person is forced by law to do

Marriage: a range of views ⚖️

How important is marriage? People answer differently, and the exam wants you to know the range - religious and non-religious - and to attribute each view fairly.

Reasons many Christians give ✅

Select the TWO reasons many Christians give for the importance of marriage.

• It expresses a lifelong, faithful commitment before God
• It provides a stable setting for raising a family
• It is only worth doing for a tax advantage
• It exists only to make one partner superior to the other

Sexual relationships: where Christians differ 💬

This is an area of real disagreement, so attribute views carefully. **Traditional teaching**, held by many Christians (drawing on passages such as 1 Corinthians 6), is that sex belongs within marriage. **Other Christians** and some denominations take a more accepting view of sex before marriage, cohabitation and **loving same-sex relationships**, emphasising love and commitment. **Non-religious people** generally see relationships as a private matter of consent and care. In the exam, show that you know Christians **disagree**, and treat every view - and every person - with respect.

Match each family type 🏠

What is the family for? 👪

Christian teaching such as Ephesians 6:1-4 highlights the family's role. Which set of purposes does it most emphasise?

• Procreation, giving children security, and their education including in faith
• Building up as much family wealth as possible
• Keeping children away from the wider community
• The family has no particular purpose

Build a balanced evaluation 🪜

An interactive activity.

Handle the discussion well 🧭

An interactive activity.

The summary 📝

Many Christians value the _____ of marriage - the belief it is holy and lifelong - and see it as the ideal setting for a family. On sexual relationships, some Christians follow _____ teaching while others are more accepting, so views _____. Families come in many forms, including nuclear, single-parent and _____ families. The exam skill is to contrast divergent views and reach a _____ judgement.

Your turn ✍️

An interactive activity.

The grade-9 technique 🎯

The single biggest lift in this topic is to stop writing "**the** Christian view" and start writing "**some** Christians" and "**other** Christians". Showing that a religion contains **divergent** views is exactly what the top band rewards. So always: attribute each view (some Christians, other Christians, many non-religious people), support it with a reason or teaching, set it against a divergent view, and reach a judgement that follows from the argument. Treat every view - and every person it concerns - with respect, and your answer reads as fair, informed and evaluative.