Key Terms

• marriage

  the legal union of a man and a woman
• divorce

  the legal ending of a marriage
• annulment

  declaration that a marriage is null and void
• sanctity of marriage

  the idea that marriage is a holy gift from God
• cohabitation

  living together in a sexual relationship but not married
• atheist

  someone who has no belief in the existence of God
• humanist

  a non-religious person who looks to reason and empathy in order to live a meaningful life
• abstinence


  refraining from having sex
• adultery

  when a married person has sex with someone other than their husband or wife
• promiscuity


  sexual relations with multiple partners with no form of commitment
• procreation

  to have sex and produce children
• nuclear family

  two parents and their children living together
• extended family

  parents, children and other relations living together
• blended family

  parents living together with children that one or both of them had in a previous relationship
• rites of passage

  events marking key stages in life e.g. baptism
• conception

  the moment when a sperm fertilises the egg creating an embryo
• contraception

  artificial and natural ways of preveting pregnancy also known as birth control
• situation ethics

  ethical decisions made according to what the most loving thing is
• equality

  treating people the same way regardless of their differences
• gender prejudice 


  making judgements about men or women on the basis of their gender
• gender discrimination

  acting upon your prejudice about someones gender
• ordination

  the appointment of men and women to professional ministry in the Church