Religious Attitude Towards Marriage and Divorce

According to religion, marriage is an institution that unites two people male and female, who agree about living together faithfully. Marriage is believed to be a covenant, and the bible talks about it as an authority from God (Perry 5). When a man and woman marry both make a promise to God to live together and remain committed to each other until death separates. Christians view marriage as a sacrament that if the involved parties remain faithful to each other will earn God’s presence and blessing in their marriage life (Gay and Patrick 5).

Christianity argues that nothing should separate two people who have been united by the church in marriage. Other religions such as Islamic also view marriage as an institution that unites people of the opposite sex. This essay will examine the religious attitudes towards marriage, and other aspects surrounding the institution such as divorce, cohabitation, and civil partnership which supports same-sex marriage and how this view differ among various religions.

Christians view marriage as an event that occurs after a woman, and the man believes in their love and go before God for blessings and to be united. The marriage ties call upon for the couple to show commitment distinguish marriage as a means for starting a family which should not be taken for granted. According to Christianity marriage is part of the Christian life and therefore, before getting married couples should have been baptized, lived and served the church for more than six months. Marriage is a union witnessed by the Christians and God as well as bound by the law through the certificates issued during a wedding (Gay and Patrick 5). The Bible indicates that a man and a woman have different roles in marriage complement and live together. For instance, the view that that woman should be submissive to their husbands and that man is the head of the house. Religion supports Biblical rules of a wife being under command and subject to their husbands and be obedient. Both genders have different roles in church functions according to Gods commands.

Christians view marriage as a partnership between man and woman, where each of them should have an equal partnership. Unlike other religions such as Islamic where wives are required to be entirely submissive, Christians perceive that God’s intention for married people is to have a mutual submission, which is cited by the scriptures (Wilcox and Jeffery 9). Religions attitudes towards marriage show the value in creating oneness and a partnership characterized by wholesomeness, which portrays gender equality among the married couples (David and Laura 6). Most religions have eliminated the traditional translation of the Bible that a woman was meant to be a helper, which was perceived that men had the authority and women should only help in domestic chores.

In Catholicism couple are taught about the sanctity and are prepared to get married by their priest before marriage. Such practices are against cohabitation and view sex as sacred which should only happen after marriage (Perry 15). The view of coexistence varies among Christians; for instance, those from the church of England permit cohabitation if it will lead to marriage. The Roman Catholic religion also approves of marriage from members of the same denomination, Catholic. Those couples who marry and belong to different faith are considered to be less religious since they have not gone through the Catholic teachings (Wilcox and Jeffery 19). For a married couple from the same religion tend to attend church, read the bible together with their kids. Religion view marriage as an institution where couples should help each other grow spiritually. Married couples from the same religion send their kid to religious education and volunteer in church work; thus, laying their family foundation in God. Marriage is a reflection of Gods plan and image, and a couple is a witness to the world, allowed to reproduce.

In Islamic men can choose to marry other Muslims or someone from other religions such a Jew or a Christian. However, women can only choose their partners from their fellow believers. Unlike Christianity, Islamic permits polygamy, which is supported by the Quran, that men can have up to four wives (Willoughby and Heather 14). However, there is a rising support form of religion to support marriages among various races, denomination, and other faiths to eliminate marriage restrictions. The marriage stagnation general attitude is a change brought by inhabitants. The religious oppose couples to get married in their own choice but follow religious and traditional strategies. Religion encourages accommodation to married couples helping them ignore mistreats in various conditions. Religion values maintain strong attachments and relationship as husband and wife. Religion influence married couple to be truthful and solve problems together which impacts better relationships.

According to Christianity Marriage help, couples subdue the world which is better stewardship over the realm physically given by God. The spiritual power of a couple is to be soldiers of God and accomplish the intended mission to the world (David and Laura 10). Marriage is an intimate way a couple to show Christ’s love and provides a unique manner by which couples should show love to one another. Catholics believe marriage was authored and made sacred by God as a way to show love to his people to provide companionship between a man and a woman, which would lead to procreation. Marriage is divine and cannot be ruined by divorce if both couples are alive since married couples are considered by the church as bounded together by God. The catholic bonds marriage through a sacrament known as the holy ritual and say Jesus invented the sacrament at the wedding in Cana.

Religious attitudes towards marriage and divorce shape the way people view divorce. For instance, Christians are against divorce, and they hold to traditional and biblical views that married people should remain together until death separates (David and Laura 13). The presence of religious view has resulted in the creation of strict divorce laws that hardly approve people to carry on with divorce. The denominational and religious difference in practices and teaching about divorce significantly affect the formation of attitudes towards marital behaviors. For instance, the stability of marriage is believed to be influenced positively by religious attendance. Couples who attend religious teachings together are believed to have low chances for divorce (Hatemi and Lindon 3). The religious beliefs, attitudes and marital value are patterns of strategies of maintenance as mediators. Spouses who frequently participate in religious activities are believers and more committed to their partners. Differences in religion increase the risk of marriage dissolution. Therefore, Christians view religion as a strong factor in creating strong marriages.

The relationship between marriage and religion are due to the maintenance of strategies for divine conducts. Religious beliefs support understanding among married couples, positivity, assurance, self-disclosure, and forgiveness. The religion care strategies enhance spouse commitments and satisfaction to their marriages. Religion protects both commitments of a spouse to each other and their marriage through specific variance. Any marriage inspired by religious beliefs reflect principles such as repentance, love, prayer, forgiveness, faith, respect, compassion and hard work. Living by the law marriages grows dedicated with religious faith and commitments. The importance of building marriages under religious, social beliefs have helped reduce the levels of conflicts (Willoughby and Heather 20). Devotion in marriages are among strong values of religions commitments strategies, and strong religious beliefs guarantee commitments of partners.

In the Roman Catholic, Christians believe that only the church has the authority to grant annulment among married couples whose marriage is dysfunction. The church terms marriage as invalid if it does not meet the conditions of marriage (Hatemi and Lindon 4). For example, if the couples do not honor and love one another, or they did not marry freely, one of them does not accept children as God’s gift (Schnabel 3). The difference in marriage if presented before the church and the couples show the conditions have not been fulfilled, then the partners or one of them can ask for a decree of nullity, which nullifies the marriage making them free to marry in a church. However, the church requires married couples to work out their issues first before resolving to a divorce. The church of England allows divorce if all the methods tried through the intervention of the church have failed.

Marriage explanation from the religious view state couples has to nurture and secure the environment of their kids. The purpose of marriage as a union of two people bear children giving rise to a new generation of society (Willoughby and Heather 15). Religion identifies married couples as a primary, natural and important unit of the society. Marriage is promoted as a unique union of a woman and a man; however, relationships of the same sex are not identified as marriages in religion. According to marriage laws, it promotes the union of man and woman and same-sex fail to meet the rights. It is important to protect marriage uniqueness since children deserve to understand their roles in the future (Gay and Patrick 5). Any state which does not support the right marriages stand as a block to ideal and the irreplaceable love for children.

Attitudes towards same-sex marriage vary depending on religious ideologies and affiliation. For instance, evangelical religious traditions are intolerant of gay marriages while some protestant denominations have adjusted to the culture and are supportive of same-sex marriages. Other churches such as the Church of England are also supporting a civil partnership among same-sex couples (Schnabel 7). However, church leaders are prohibited from an active sexual relationship with members of the same sex and are also needed to remain faithful to their partners. Support for same-sex marriage is only seen in denominations and religions that are theologically liberal. The lack of diversity with some religions has resulted in the rise of cultural issues towards the view of gay marriages.

Conclusively, religion view towards marriage is different from the worldview; it has a significant impact in influencing individual view towards marital life. Religion has changed the way people view marriages concerning how married people should behave, a division of family work, disciplining and raising children. It has brought changes in marital practices, values, attitudes through factors of uniting married people. Religious beliefs and affiliation are independent of attitudes related to families’ relationships. The religious empowerment and support for marriages have increased, and the younger generation ought to be accommodating its facts than the old.

Works Cited

1. David, Prabu, and Laura Stafford. “A relational approach to religion and spirituality in marriage: The role of couples’ religious communication in marital satisfaction.” Journal of Family Issues 36.2 (2015): 232-249.
2. Gay, David A., John P. Lynxwiler, and Patrick Smith. “Religiosity, spirituality, and attitudes toward same-sex marriage: A cross-sectional cohort comparison.” SAGE Open5.3 (2015): 2158244015602520.
3. Hatemi, Peter K., Rose McDermott, and Lindon Eaves. “Genetic and environmental contributions to relationships and divorce attitudes.” Personality and individual differences 72 (2015): 135-140.
4. Perry, Samuel L. “A match made in heaven? Religion-based marriage decisions, marital quality, and the moderating effects of spouse’s religious commitment.” Social Indicators Research123.1 (2015): 203-225.
5. Schnabel, Landon. “Gender and homosexuality attitudes across religious groups from the 1970s to 2014: Similarity, distinction, and adaptation.” Social Science Research 55 (2016): 31-47.
6. Wilcox, W. Bradford, and Jeffrey Dew. “The social and cultural predictors of generosity in marriage: Gender egalitarianism, religiosity, and familism.” Journal of Family Issues 37.1 (2016): 97-118.
7. Willoughby, Brian J., Scott S. Hall, and Heather P. Luczak. “Marital paradigms: A conceptual framework for marital attitudes, values, and beliefs.” Journal of Family Issues 36.2 (2015): 188-211.

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