GCSE RS: Is marriage important in society
“Is marriage still important in Society?”
As an atheist I don’t believe marriage is still important to society. This is because (as written bellow) in this country the purpose of marriage has as recently as the 19th century been commonly used as a form of business, money power and survival. However the change in our society has made marriage considerably less important when compared to, for example two hundred years ago. Today, it is seen as socially acceptable to have children outside marriage and due to legal reasons divorces were uncommon. There were very few love marriages. Most in fact were driven by the prospect of money, for example since women had poor education they had little options so needed someone to support them. Men benefited financially as when they married their wife they had control of their inheritance including property and money. This contrasts directly with our 21st century ideology of marriage being to show commitment and love. Moreover in 2012, 47.5% of all UK births were outside marriage, this total made up only 4.2% of all births just 75 years ago showing how ideas about family and relationships have changed since then. Furthermore, the number of marriages has been steadily declining since the 1970’s to around half to just 232,443 in 2009.
The traditional Christian view states marriage is for procreation, to have a loving relationship and to be united in the eyes of God. This may be linked to bible passages such as the following “At the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female’, and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” This quote shows why Christians think marriage is important.
Additionally the Archbishop of Canterbury said “For Christians, marriage represents not only an unchanging ideal but forms the bedrock of society. We
As an atheist I don’t believe marriage is still important to society. This is because (as written bellow) in this country the purpose of marriage has as recently as the 19th century been commonly used as a form of business, money power and survival. However the change in our society has made marriage considerably less important when compared to, for example two hundred years ago. Today, it is seen as socially acceptable to have children outside marriage and due to legal reasons divorces were uncommon. There were very few love marriages. Most in fact were driven by the prospect of money, for example since women had poor education they had little options so needed someone to support them. Men benefited financially as when they married their wife they had control of their inheritance including property and money. This contrasts directly with our 21st century ideology of marriage being to show commitment and love. Moreover in 2012, 47.5% of all UK births were outside marriage, this total made up only 4.2% of all births just 75 years ago showing how ideas about family and relationships have changed since then. Furthermore, the number of marriages has been steadily declining since the 1970’s to around half to just 232,443 in 2009.
The traditional Christian view states marriage is for procreation, to have a loving relationship and to be united in the eyes of God. This may be linked to bible passages such as the following “At the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female’, and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” This quote shows why Christians think marriage is important.
Additionally the Archbishop of Canterbury said “For Christians, marriage represents not only an unchanging ideal but forms the bedrock of society. We