Lesson video

Hello, my young scholars of religion.

My name is Miss Marx and I'm going to be your religious education teacher today.

Today we're going to be doing all about Christianity and marriage and looking at the nature and purpose of marriage and how and why it may differ from cohabitation.

So when you're ready, let's go.

So by the end of this lesson, you'll be able to explain Christian teachings on marriage, Christian marriage ceremonies and different Christian views on marriage.

So let's start with our key terms. Cohabitation, living together as partners and having a sexual relationship without being married.

Marriage, the legally and religiously recognised union of two people as partners in a personal relationship.

Sacrament, an outward sign of an invisible and inward blessing by God, for example baptism, the Eucharist.

Sanctity, something that's holy or sacred.

And a vow, a promise made during a marriage ceremony.

So look out for those in today's lesson.

So our lesson today will have three sections, Christian teachings on marriage, Christian marriage ceremonies and Christian views on marriage.

So let's start with our first section, Christian teachings on marriage.

Marriage is an important part of Christianity for many Christians.

So here we've got an image of couple getting married in a church and we've got the Eucharist being held up in front of them as part of this.

For many Christians, one purpose of life is to marry.

It is a sacrament that humans are expected to fulfil.

So not for all Christians, but for many Christians, they see this as a part of life and something that they're expected to do.

Christian sources of authority guide Christians as to its significant and purpose.

So the first source of authority we're going to look at is the Bible, which is a very important source of authority for all Christians, although it may be interpreted in different ways.

And this verse, this quotation, shows the importance of marriage and this is Jesus being quoted in Mark's gospel, in the New Testament, it says, "But at the beginning of creation, God made them male and female.

And for this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife and the will become one flesh.

So they're no longer two, but one flesh.

Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate." So this is a really handy quotation to use if you're doing an answer about divorce as well.

But here we have this idea of male and female being created to be put together and they become one flesh.

So this can be interpreted to mean that God made humans with the intention for them to marry.

This is from that very beginning and this is what happens from the very beginning here.

Some interpret this to mean that marriage is for heterosexual couples, a man and his wife, because it's saying here, "He will leave his mother and father and be united with his wife." So twice there we have this idea of that heteronormative or heterosexual couples.

And the last line is sometimes used and emphasises that sanctity within marriage.

So what God has joined together, let no one separate.

So for Christians, if you're married in a church for example with the church as the body of Christ, it's within God's eyes and God has joined you together within that ceremony.

So it's more than just a sort of legal marriage, it's something religious that's happened.

Let's do a quick check.

Fill in the missing word.

The Bible says that when a man joins to his wife to be married, they become one what? What do they become one? Pause the video and have a think and we'll see what you've come up with in a moment.

Well done, it's flesh.

So one purpose of marriage is to have a committed relationship in which to have sex and the Bible says, "But since sexual immorality is occurring, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife and each woman with her own husband." So this is Paul's letter to the Corinthians.

So how could this influence a Christian's view to do with the purpose of marriage then? Pause the video and have a think and you can talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

Well, most Christians believe this doesn't mean you should just get married to have sex, like that's the only reason you should get married.

It suggests that one purpose to have sexual relations with each other so there isn't sexual immorality, but what that means by sexual immorality is debated within Christian scholarship and there's different views as to what that might mean.

But it does seem to suggest that whatever sexual immorality is, that is less likely to happen if you're gonna be married and having sex within their married couple.

And although there are these teachings on marriage in the Bible, there are modern issues that arise that church leaders need to address, because the Bible was written around 2000 years ago, in a different time and in a different context, even in a different language.

So therefore then we need to have a way to apply it to modern issues and church leaders and church organisations can help with this.

So in recent year, some of the issues have been, should divorcees be able to remarry in a church? Should same sex marriages be carried out in a church? Should a couple that are not Christian be able to marry in a church? And I wonder if you can think of how church leaders have responded to this? Have a think and you can talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

Well, the General Synod is a national assembly of Church of England leaders, so sometimes called the Anglican Church, and they gather to consider these modern issues and they look at the Bible and the example of Jesus and then they look at different Christian teachings that have been passed down and think about how this can apply to modern issues, and one of these is marriage.

So some recent decisions have included, allowing individual church leaders to decide if they're willing to marry divorcees.

So before 2002, they were not allowed to remarry someone who'd been divorced, could remarry someone who was a widow or widower, the person had passes away, but couldn't remarry someone who was divorced.

From 2002, an individual church leader could decide if they felt that that was okay to do in their church, their Church of England church.

And in 2024, so more recently, there was an agreement in principle to take forward general proposals for the use of prayers in church services, asking for God's blessing for same sex couples.

So not having same sex marriages within the church, but being able to have prayers for blessing for same sex couples within that church.

So the Catholic Catechism for some Roman Catholic Christians, these are teachings and guidance around different modern issues, again, based on the Bible, the example of Jesus and the traditions that have been passed down, and there are some things in there to do with marriage, and it says, "The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership for the whole of life." So this shows that marriage is for opposite sex couples, 'cause it has this phrase, "Man and a woman," and it's a covenant, so it's that agreement and it's for life.

The Catholic church does not allow divorce.

Also, it says, "Married couples should regard it as their proper mission to transmit human life and educate their children." So this shows that one purpose of marriage is to have children and to look after them.

So the purpose to procreate and then to look after the children and also to pass on the faith to them.

Let's do a quick check.

Is this true or false? Sexual relations are important for Christian marriage.

Is that true or false? Pause the video and have a think and we'll see what you've done in a moment.

Well done, it's true, because the Bible says sexual relations are for married couples to stop sexual immorality and Christianity teaches the importance of having children.

Well done.

Let's do a practise task to see what we've learned.

Laura has been asked to answer this question on the purpose of marriage.

She has written two points, but needs help to develop them.

Develop them for her by including a Christian teaching.

And Laura says as an answer to this question, explain two different religious beliefs about the purpose of marriage, Laura has said, "Some Christians believe that one purpose of marriage is sexual relations," you're going to develop that and she also says, "Some Christians believe that one purpose of marriage is to bring a man and a woman together," and then you're doing to develop that.

So pause the video and have a go and we'll see what you've done in a moment.

Well done, I asked you to explain two different religious beliefs about the purpose of marriage using Laura's points by developing them.

And Laura's points were, "Some Christians believe that one purpose of marriage is sexual relations," and you could've developed that by saying, "the Bible says that each man should have sexual relations with his own wife and each woman with her own husband, showing that marriage is important for this reason." And Laura's second point was, "Some Christians believe that one purpose of marriage is to bring a man and a woman together," and you could've developed this by saying, "The Bible says they are no longer two but one flesh, which shows that marriage unites two people." Well done.

So on to our second section then, Christian marriage ceremonies.

So we've already talked about there being different denominations.

We've mentioned Roman Catholic and Anglican or Church of England, and you can see here on our denomination tree how they all kind of spring from the person of Jesus and the disciples of Jesus and so therefor the Bible and the teachings within the Bible and then we have different branches that come off which have formed these different denominations, which can have different interpretations of the life of Jesus and the text that we have in the Bible.

And a Christian marriage ceremony might differ within these denominations as well.

It might vary on things like the Christian denomination, the local cultural traditions, the timing of the wedding.

It means there may be different ways a wedding can be performed.

There will tend to be some core elements, but there can be great variety as to what happens within a wedding.

Many Christian wedding ceremonies will take place in a church in God's presence.

So they take place in a church, as in the literal building of the church, but also the sense of being with the church, the body of Christ, the Christians, they're witnessing and being part of this.

They are often led by a church leader, witnessing and officiating the sacrament, so particulary within the Roman Catholic church, this is seen as a sacrament of marriage, so it's going to be someone who is ordained and able to perform that practise.

So it will be a church leader who witnesses this and officiates it.

And often, it will include the exchange of rings, which are a symbol of love and commitment.

So whilst we haven't had the word ring there in those Bible texts that we looked at earlier to do with a man leaving his family and becoming one flesh with his wife, the ring is a sort of symbol of that, the love and commitment that's being made as part of the marriage ceremony.

So time for a quick check then.

Which one of these is not a common feature of a Christian wedding ceremony? A church building, exchanging rings, a church leader and the bride singing to the groom? Which one is not a common feature? Pause the video and have a go, we'll see what you've got in a moment.

Well done, the bride singing to the groom.

It may happen, but it's not necessarily a common feature of a wedding ceremony in Christianity.

Well done.

Another important part of wedding ceremonies is the vows.

So these are solemn promises which are said between the couple.

So that the promise that's made to each other that then the ring may be a sign of that commitment and that promise that's been made in front of others, in front of those witnesses.

And in the Church of England, these wedding vows are set out and they say, "I," say the name, "Take you," the other name, "To be my wife or husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, 'til death do us part, according to God's holy law.

In the presence of God, I make this vow." So there's that keyword again about that solemn, important promise that's being made.

What are the promises that are made in these vows then? Pause the video and have a think and you can talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

Well, we have here lots of promises that have been made as part of these vows.

To look after each other no matter what happens, to love and value each other and to stay married until they die.

So these promises are made for life.

How do these vows show that marriage is a promise with God as well though? Because some of these could be vows that are made in a non-religious or a legal wedding setting.

What is is about these vows that show that it's a promise made with God or in the eyes of God? Pause the video again and have another reread and you can talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

Well done, we've got that final sentence.

We've got, "According to God's holy law," but really that final sentence, "In the presence of God, I make this vow." The vows are made in front of God, it's in a church building and with a church leader as a witness and often members of the church as the body of Christ, and this emphasises that sanctity and real specialness and importance of marriage.

So we've seen there the vows that are made within the Church of England, or the Anglican Church, but also within the Orthodox Church, we have also got an emphasis on the importance of having children in marriage.

And Alexia says, "The Orthodox wedding ceremony emphasises the importance of having children in marriage, the priest says, 'Unite them in one mind, wed them into one flesh, granting them the fruit of their body and the procreation of fair children.

Graciously grant that they may see their children's children.

'" So here we have that sense of procreation and that union between two people, bringing life into the world as an important purpose for marriage there.

Let's do another check.

Which of the following is not a Christian wedding vow? For better, for worse, 'til death do us part, in sickness and in health, through thick and thin? Which of those is not part of those vows that we read earlier? Pause the video and have a go and we'll see what you've done in a moment.

Well done, through thick and thin.

Let's do another practise task to see what we've learned.

You're going to complete the table using a quotation from a source of authority to support each point.

And the points are, the Church of England teaches that a married couple should support each, Christian wedding vows are made in the presence of God, Christian teachings say that a couple should stay together for the whole of their lives, the Orthodox marriage ceremony emphasises the couple having children.

So using those sources of authority, so it could be the Bible or it could be the vows and the promises said within the church service, how could you back up each of these points? Pause the video and have a go and we'll see what you've done in a moment.

I asked you to complete the table using a quotation from a source of authority to support each of the points and you could've said, for the point, the Church of England teaches that a married couple should support each other, "The wedding vows say for better, for worse." Christian wedding vows are made in the presence of God, the Church of England vows say, "In the presence of God, I make this vow." Christian teachings say that a couple should stay together for the whole of their lives, the Church of England wedding vows say, "'Til death do us part." An Orthodox marriage ceremony emphasises the couple having children, the priest says, "Granting to them the procreation of fair children." Well done.

So on to our third and final section, Christian views on marriage.

Within Christian denominations though, there are different views on who can marry in a church.

Mixed marriages or inter-faith marriages are those with a member of a specific denomination with a partner that is not.

So it could be someone who's a completely different religion or it could that within Christianity, you have a denomination of someone as part one and then they marry someone who's part of a different denomination.

These can be called mixed or inter-faith marriages, and there's different views as to whether these can or cannot happen in different churches.

So let's see what the different churches have as their teachings.

In the Orthodox tradition, any Orthodox person can marry another Christian is an Orthodox church as long as they are baptised.

So they have to necessarily be an Orthodox Christian, but they need to be a baptised Christian.

Within the Roman Catholic church, anyone can marry a non-Catholic with special permission from the church, as long as they bring up their children to follow Catholicism.

So as long as they are vowing that their children will be raised into the Catholic faith, they can marry within that Catholic church.

And then other Christian denominations may discourage mixed marriages, citing the Bible, "Do not be yoked with unbelievers." That's in Paul's letter to the Corinthians.

So some Christian denominations might say you can only marry if you're both from this denomination or this group if they view other denominations as unbelievers.

Let's do a quick check.

Give one condition of a mixed marriage being allowed in the Catholic church.

Pause the video and have a go and we'll see what you've done in a moment.

You could've said, "Getting special permission from the church," or, "The couple agreeing to bring up their children to follow Catholicism." Well done.

So now we have Brandon who's a humanist and Danielle who's a Roman Catholic Christian, discussing the importance of marriage.

I wonder if you can think about what their views could be to do with marriage.

Pause the video and have a think and you can talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

Well, Brandon who's a humanist says, "I don't think you have to get married for a relationship to be committed.

You can cohabit with your partner and show commitment in other ways.

Marriage is one way to show commitment if you both choose to do it." And Danielle says, "I don't agree, because marriage is a sacrament.

It's not just a commitment to your spouse, but to God.

The marriage ceremony includes, 'What God has joined together,' which shows that God has an important part of marriage." So marriage may be important to both Brandon and Danielle, but for Danielle it has this added element of it being within the eyes of God and it is a sacrament.

And so now we have Zoe who's an atheist and Fergus who's an Anglican Christian discussing if marriage is even important in today's society.

And I wonder if you can predict what they're going to say? Pause the video and have a think and you can talk the person next to you or talk to me.

Well, Zoe says, "Marriage isn't as important as it used to be.

Data shows that the proportion of people getting married has decreased.

I cohabit with my partner without needing marriage." And Fergus says, "I think marriage is an important part of society.

My church leaders are now thinking about how marriage can be inclusive.

The Bible was written for its time, but we need to think about how society works today." So whilst there are less marriages happening, Fergus can see that there is still a future for marriage and that his church could be inclusive of even how society is changing today.

Thank you, Zoe and Fergus.

Let's do a quick check.

Marriage is important to everyone in society today.

Is that true or false? Pause the video and have a go and we'll see what you've done in a moment.

That's false to say it's important to everybody in society today, but why? Because some people believe you can have a committed relationship without having to get married.

So let's do a final practise task to see what we've learned.

Here is a full evaluation question using a statement about marriage.

Everyone should get married.

In the full answer, you would discuss the statement showing you've considered more than one point of view and refer to religion and belief in your answer.

What you're going to do is write one paragraph that supports this statement using Christian religious arguments.

So pause the video and have a go and we'll see what you've done in a moment.

Well done, some great thinking there.

So your answer might have included the following, some Christians will agree with this, because they believe the Bible is emphasising the sanctity of marriage when it says that God created men and women to marry each other and that married couples will become one flesh.

Marriage is thus important to Christians, because they believe that God has told them they should get married.

Some Christians will also agree with this, because they believe marriage is the correct place for sexual relations, as the Bible says this stops sexual immorality.

Marriage is therefore important to them as sex should only take place in the right kind of relationship.

So here we've got two bits of the Bible that are used in support.

We've got the idea that couples become one flesh when they get married and then also the idea that this might stop sexual immorality if people are married.

Some Christians also believe they should be married to have children.

The Catholic Catechism is particular says that having children is important, so getting married is essential to this.

Marriage is thus important for their faith.

So here we've got reference to the Catholic Catechism as a source of authority too.

So therefore, this shows why some Christians would say that everyone should get married.

Well done.

So let's summarise everything we've learned today then.

Marriage is important to Christians in different ways, including in allowing them to have children, become one flesh and have sexual relations.

Christian wedding ceremonies reflect the importance of marriage, such as in the vows.

Church leader nowadays seek to address modern issues about marriage that the Bible may not reference.

There are different Christian views regarding mixed or inter-faith marriages.

And there are debates as to whether marriage is still an important part of society today, although most Christians believe that it is.

So well done for your hard work today and I hope to see you again soon.

Bye, bye.