OCR Relationships and Families

• Heterosexual


  Having/wanting sexual relations with someone of a different sex. E.g. Male and female.
• Homosexual


  Having/wanting sexual relations with someone of the same sex. E.g. male and male or female and female.
• Celibate


  Choosing not to have sexual relationships at all or for extended periods of time e.g. being a priest or nun.
• Chastity


  Choosing not to have sexual relationships for now e.g. waiting until you are married.
• Age of Consent


  When you are old enough by law to choose to have sex. It is 16 for anyone in the UK.
• Adultery


  Having an affair. Somebody who has a sexual relationship with somebody else when they are already married.
• Artificial Methods


  Contraceptive devices which are made and then used. They are actual physical things that can help prevent pregnancy.
• Natural Methods


  Contraceptive practices or behaviours aimed at limiting the chance of pregnancy.
• Permanent Methods


  Operations that prevent the production of sex cells (sperm and eggs). They last forever.
• Condom


  • Provides a barrier between the sperm and the egg
  • Can also prevent the spread of STD's
  • If used correctly, condoms are 98% effective
• The Pill


  • Hormonal pill which prevents the females egg from being released from the ovary
• Withdrawal Method


  • When a man withdraws his penis just before the sperm is ejaculated (released)
  • Can be very unreliable
  • Risk of not withdrawing in time
• Rhythm Method


  • Involves working out the fertility cycle of the woman to find out when pregnancy is most likely to happen
  • During the 'infertile' days you are less likely to get pregnant
  • Possibility of pregnancy is still there
• Sterilisation


  • The reproductive organs are operated on to prevent either sperm or an egg from being released
  • A surgical procedure performed by doctors
• Christian beliefs about sex

  • No sex before marriage
  • Fornication (sex between unmarried people) is wrong
  • Some Christians think it is all right to live together if it is a permanent commitment
  • Marriage is for the purpose of creating children within a stable relationship
  • Some Catholics believe sex should only happen to make children
  • Adultery is wrong
  • Lust is one of the 7 deadly sins
• Types of family


  • Nuclear family
  • Reconstituted (blended) family
  • Single Parent family
  • Extended family
• Nuclear family


  • Two parents and their children living together
• Reconstituted (blended) family


  • A family that has new people added to it, for example step parents or stepbrothers and sisters
• Single Parent family


  • One parent raising the children in a home where they are the only adult in the house
• Extended family


  • A family with more than one generation living together. Grandparents, aunts, uncles cousins etc. all living as a family
• Christian reasons for the purpose of the family

  • To educate the young
  • To have your first experiences of human society
  • To encourage children to follow religious ideas
  • To teach agape and forgiveness
  • To provide an example of community
  • As a way to care for the very young and elderly
• Marriage


  • A gift from God; it's part of God's plan for creation that men and women should live together
  • Provides a relationship through which husband and wife support each other
  • Relationship is built on love and faithfulness
  • Provides a secure environment for the bringing up of children
• It is the duty of Christian parents to raise their children in the faith
• Exodus 20:12: 'Honour your father and your mother.'
• Ephesians 6:4: 'Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.'
• Christian beliefs about the purpose of marriage

  • Procreation: men and women are created to have children
  • Union: a loving partnership of living together supporting each other
  • Rearing Children: Marriage is a place providing nurture and security
  • Pattern for society: To teach forgiveness, love and commitment
  • One flesh: Marriage is for sexual intimacy as an expression of love
  • Sacred: It is a contract blessed by God
  • Endless: Marriage should be a life-long faithful relationship
• 1 Corinthians: 'The Husband should fulfil his marital duties to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. The wife's body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband's body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife.'
• Mark 10:6-9: 'But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.'
• Elements of a Christian marriage ceremony

  • Hymn
  • Declaration
  • Promises or vows
  • Exchange of Rings
  • Proclamation
  • Prayers
  • The register is signed
  • Closing worship
• Cohabitation


  A couple living together as if married, but without a marriage license and without the same legal rights as a married couple
• Civil Marriage


  A marriage performed by a government official, without religious involvement
• Civil Partnerships


  A legal relationship between two people of the same sex, which gives them the same rights as a married couple
• Christian views on homosexual relationships

  • Roman Catholics believe homosexuality to be sinful, and that homosexuals have a duty to remain celibate
  • The Church of England is divided on the issue, with some accepting practicing homosexuals and others not
  • Quakers in the UK fully accept homosexuals into their community and do not condemn homosexual relationships
• Leviticus, Old Testament: 'No man is to have sexual relations with another man; God hates that'
• Genesis, Old Testament: 'Go forth and multiply.'
• Leviticus, Old Testament: 'You shall not lie with a man as with a woman...those that do shall be put to death'
• Jesus, New Testament: 'Love your neighbour as you love yourself'
• Jesus never spoke about homosexuality
• Agape


  Christian love
• Christian teachings supporting homosexuality say the Christian way to show love is to allow people to have loving relationships with each other no matter their gender