Religion and Relationships: Perspectives and Themes

Three voices on every theme

Unit 2 is a non-examination assessment: six hours of work, 60 marks and 20 per cent of the qualification. WJEC sets two themes from a list of seven, each with a statement to discuss, and your centre chooses one. The seven themes are: marriage, adultery, divorce and remarriage; artificial contraception and natural family planning; cohabitation and sex before and outside marriage; same-sex relationships, civil partnerships and same-sex marriage; interfaith relationships and marriage outside the religious tradition; roles within the family, including gender roles; and religious upbringing, childhood ceremonies and faith-based schooling. Whatever the theme, you work with three voices: Christianity or Catholic Christianity, the world religion you study in every other unit, and non-religious perspectives. None of the marks in this unit are for plain recall. They are for applying what you know, comparing perspectives and reaching a judgement, so this module keeps asking where views agree, where they differ, and why.

Five relationship words to use precisely

These words come up across several themes. Using them exactly shows the examiner you understand the issue, not just the opinion.

Match each Unit 2 theme to a question it raises

Christians disagree about divorce

There is no single Christian view of divorce. Two large churches start from the same belief, that marriage is meant to be for life, and reach different practices.

Advise a divorced Catholic

Maria is a Catholic. Her civil divorce has gone through, and she wants to marry her new partner in her parish church. What is the Catholic Church most likely to say?

• It can only marry her if a church tribunal rules her first marriage was never valid
• It will marry her, because the civil divorce has ended the first marriage
• It leaves the decision to her parish priest
• It will never allow any Catholic to marry a second time

The other two voices

Your second religion is the world religion you study in every unit, so check its teaching on your theme. Islam is used here as an example. In Islam, marriage (nikah) is a contract and a religious duty, and sex belongs only within marriage. Divorce is permitted, but as a last resort: families are expected to try to reconcile the couple first, and there is a waiting period before a divorce is final. Non-religious perspectives are often represented by Humanists, who base their views on reason, evidence and human wellbeing rather than on scripture. Humanists generally see marriage as a serious commitment, but accept divorce when a relationship has failed, and judge sexual relationships by consent, honesty and care for others. Notice the common ground as well as the differences: all three voices value faithfulness and the welfare of children, even where they disagree about divorce or sex before marriage.

Find the shared ground

Five statements comparing perspectives. Tap the TWO that describe a SIMILARITY rather than a difference.

• Catholic, Muslim and Humanist views all value faithfulness within a committed relationship.
• The Catholic Church does not recognise divorce, but Islam permits it as a last resort.
• Traditional Christian and Muslim teaching both place sex within marriage.
• Humanists reach their views through reason, while religious believers also look to scripture.
• The Church of England may remarry divorced people in church, but the Catholic Church will not without an annulment.

How the law has changed

Relationships law in England and Wales has changed a great deal in living memory. The Divorce Reform Act 1969 allowed divorce when a marriage had broken down irretrievably. The Civil Partnership Act 2004 gave same-sex couples legal recognition. The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 allowed same-sex marriage, with the first weddings in 2014, but it protects religious freedom: no religious group has to hold same-sex weddings, a group must choose to opt in, and the Act bars the Church of England and the Church in Wales from doing so under their present rules. In 2019 civil partnerships were opened to opposite-sex couples. In April 2022 no-fault divorce began, so a couple no longer has to blame one partner to end a marriage. Each change made something legal. None of them changed what any religion teaches, and religions have responded in different ways.

Put the law changes in order

Put these five changes to relationships law in England and Wales in the order they happened, earliest first.

• Divorce allowed when a marriage has broken down irretrievably
• Civil partnerships created for same-sex couples
• Same-sex marriage allowed, with religious groups free to opt out
• Civil partnerships opened to opposite-sex couples
• No-fault divorce begins, so no partner has to be blamed

A changing landscape of belief

The country the laws serve has changed too. In the 2011 census, 59.3 per cent of people in England and Wales described themselves as Christian. By the 2021 census it was 46.2 per cent, the first time under half, and 37.2 per cent said they had no religion. In Wales alone, no religion was the largest answer, at 46.5 per cent against 43.6 per cent Christian. This is the interconnection the specification asks about. As fewer people follow religious teaching on relationships, laws are passed that reflect wider attitudes, such as same-sex marriage and no-fault divorce. Religions then decide for themselves how to respond: some hold their teaching, some change their practice, and believers within one tradition can disagree. A strong Unit 2 answer shows that link without assuming that a new law proves a religion has changed its mind.

Measure the fall in Christian identity

In the 2011 census, 59.3 per cent of people in England and Wales described themselves as Christian. In 2021 the figure was 46.2 per cent. By what percentage did the Christian share fall, compared with its 2011 size? Give your answer to the nearest whole number.

Plan a response to a set statement

Your centre has chosen the same-sex relationships theme, with the statement "Places of worship should have to marry any couple the law allows to marry." Make the planning decisions.

• Which perspectives must your work cover?
• How should you use the 2013 law on same-sex marriage?
• How should you present Christian views?
• How should you finish?

Complete the law and belief links

Same-sex couples could form civil partnerships from _____, and same-sex marriage was allowed by an Act passed in _____. That Act lets each religious group _____ whether to hold same-sex weddings, so a change in the law does not force a change in religious _____.

Strengthen a theme answer

A student is working on the marriage, divorce and remarriage theme. Select the THREE moves that would most strengthen their answer.

• Comparing Catholic and Church of England practice on remarriage
• Including a Humanist view of divorce and the reasons behind it
• Linking no-fault divorce in 2022 to changing attitudes and to how religions responded
• Retelling the history of marriage ceremonies in detail
• Giving only their own opinion, without any religious perspective
• Writing about one Christian church as if it spoke for all Christians

Build a comparison sentence

Choose the option in each gap to build an accurate sentence comparing views on cohabitation.

Weigh law against teaching

"Religious teaching on marriage should change when the law changes." Evaluate this statement, using Christianity, the world religion you study and a non-religious perspective. Reach a justified judgement.

• A law change on marriage or divorce, with its date
• Two Christian positions that differ, and the reason for each
• The teaching of your world religion on the same issue
• A non-religious view and what it is based on
• How the changing landscape of belief connects to the law