Religious Studies

CHASTITY- being pure, abstaining from sex

CELIBACY-abstinence from all sexual intercourse 

FIDELITY-being faithful/loyal to someone

PROMISCUOUS/PROMISCUITY-many sexual partners without commitment 

ADULTERY-a married person having sex with someone their not married to (cheating)

FORNICATE-to have sex outside of marriage 

FOR MOST CHRISTIANS 

1. sex is a gift from God 

2. should ideally happen within marriage 

3. all christians disagree with promiscuity 

4. sex is giving someone over to another entirely so shouldnt be taken lightly

ROMAN CATHOLICS

1. Believe that you should abstain from sex untill you are married 

2. catholics believe that only when you are married should you totally give yourself to someone

CHURCH OF ENGLAND

1. believe that you need to be in a loving and commited relationship to have sex

2. they accept that many people may choose to have cohabit before marriage and therefore may wish to have sex to show their love 

MOST CHRISTIANS 

1. a christian wedding ceremony states that sex is a gift from God in a marriage so that a couple can have children

2. therefore the main purpose of sex is to have children so nothing should stand in the way of that

ROMAN CATHOLIC VIEWS 

1. do not allow the use of artifical contraception 

2. sex should always be open to pregnancy as a baby is a gift from God

3. only allowed to use natural methods of contraception 

CHURCH OF ENGLAND

1. are able to use all types of contraception as it allows couples to plan their family responsibly 

2. allow natural and artifical contraception as they all have the same intention- to stop pregnancy.

` BE FRUITFUL AND INCREASE IN NUMBER' GENESIS 1:28

`HE WHO SINS SEXUALLY SINS AGAINST HIS OWN BODY. DO YOU NOT KNOW THAT YOUR BODY IS A TEMPLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT...HONOUR GOD WITH YOUR BODY'

 1 CORINTHIANS 6

1. it is our duty as part of Gods creation and it will bring us closer to God - its a sacrament 

2. to reproduce and therefore continue the christian faith by passing the religion down to out children

3. to create a loving and committed partnership

Man should be head of the family, working and providing spiritual guidence.

wife should obey her husband 

`WIVES SUBMIT TO YOUR HUSBANDS AS TO THE LORD'  EPHESIANS 5

`A WOMEN SHOULD LEARN IN QUIETNESS...FOR ADAM WAS FORMED FIRST, THEN EVE' 1 TIMOTHY 2

They believe men and women are equal in the eyes of God 

`THERE IS NEITHER MALE NOR FEMALE FOR WE ARE ALL ONE IN CHRIST JESUS' GALATIANS 3

`WOMAN IS NOT INDEPENDENT OF MAN, NOR IS MAN DEPENDENT OF WOMEN. FOR AS WOMAN CAME FROM MAN, SO ALSO MAN WAS BORN FROM WOMAN' 1 CORINTHIANS 11

CHURCH- a wedding takes place in a church as promises are made before God and a church is seen as the house of God.

RINGS- the rings are a physical symbol of unending love and commitment between the husband and wife and that marriage should be for life.

VOWS- the couple make vows before God and the congregation to show the seriousness and sacredness of marriage

THE DECLARATION- the minister will ask if anyone knows why the couple shouldnot be married this is to show that the marriage is a legally binding contact.

WHITE DRESS- symbolises the purity of the woman

`...A MAN WILL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND BE UNITED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO WILL BECOME ONE FLESH' MARK 10:7

civil partnerships allow same sex couples the same rights as married couples- this has been legal since 2005.

the church do no see them as an offical marriage 

many christians believe the bible says that homosexuality is wrong- `the wicked will not recieve the kingdom of God. neither the sexually immoral...nor homosexual offenders' 1 corinthians 6

the catholic church rejects same sex relationships and the pope even said that he believed homosexuality was more of a problem for the future than climate change. 

many christians accept civil partnerships to receive a blessing.

view marriage as an eternal bond between the couple in the eyes of god and therefore should not be entered into or broken down lightly 

jesus taught that marriage is for life- he preaches the importance og forgiveness and therefore couples should try and work through their problems.

however, there is a lot if debate amongst christians as to wheather divorce is acceptable.

does not allow divorce under any circumstances. marriage is for a life long union so therefore a couple should work on repairing their marriage.

they may be permitted to live apart however once seperated they may not enter into any form of relationship as this is seen as adultery 

in exceptional cases a couple have an annultment- this is not a divorce it is a legal cancellation of the marriage. it can be granted if it fufills one or more of the following:

one of the couple were underage

the were forced to marry against their will

they were unaware of what they were doing due to diminished responsibility 

their marriage has not been consummated (they have not had sex) 

they believe that marriage is for life, they accept it does not always work out. 

a couple should should try to work out the problems and meet with a vicar or minister to resolve their difficulties 

in the church of england divorce is allowed as jesus taught that a couple may seperate if one commits adultery, but that must be a last resort 

STATISTICS

 almost half of the worlds children live in poverty (1 billion/2.2 billion) 

15 million children are orphaned each your by AIDS/HIV

nearly 1 billion adults around the world entered the 21st century unable to read or write their own name.

1.1 billion people in the world suffer with extreme poverty

LEDCs- less economically developed countries 

MEDCs- more economically developed countries 

absolute poverty- the lack of sufficient resources with which to keep body and soul together 

relative poverty- income or resources in relation to the average. it is concerned with the absence of the material needs to participate fully in accepted daily life.

christians have many differant beleifs about what causes poverty: hunger, disease, natural disasters and economic crisis.

1. poverty can also be seen as a product of the devil, causing people to suffer through po verty. the devil is the ultimate evil and the complete opposite of God

2. poverty, as a form of suffering can be a test of faith. just as job suffered extreme poverty. through the loss of his home, family and live stock, christians will try to keep their faith even in times of extreme poverty 

3.poverty could be seen as the result of bad choices and misuse of free will.

4. poverty is result of original sin, in genesis 3 God told adam that he would be punished through `painful toil' would man forever work from the land and therefore poverty could be seen as an extention of this punishment