Model Exam Answer Topic 6 Religion and Human Relationships
In this part of the question you are being tested on your knowledge. You should include all relevant facts and expand upon them to get a good mark.
The first paragraph of your answer should summarise the main points you want to make:
There are different views about divorce in Christianity. First of all the teaching in the Bible on divorce is not clear. Secondly different churches say different things. The Roman Catholic Church teaches that divorce is always wrong. Other churches say that divorce can be allowed. However all Christians agree that marriage should be for life and everything possible should be done to help a couple who have problems in their marriage to stay together and not divorce.
The second paragraph should expand your first point:
When Christians want to know whether something is right or wrong the first source of authority they turn to is the Bible. Unfortunately the Bible is not clear about divorce. In Matthew's Gospel Jesus says that a man can only divorce his wife if she has been unfaithful to him. In Mark's Gospel Jesus says that divorce cannot be allowed under any circumstances.
The third paragraph should expand your second point:
Different churches teach different things about divorce. The Roman Catholic Church teaches that if a married couple do not get on they may separate and live apart. They cannot divorce because marriage is a sacrament. This means that it is something special done by God which cannot be undone. Sometimes, in very special circumstances, a marriage can be annulled. This means that the Roman Catholic Church recognises that the marriage bond never existed, possibly because one of the parties did not understand what was happening or because the couple were forced into marriage. Usually though a couple have to choose between staying married or getting a divorce without the agreement of the church. Roman Catholics cannot remarry if the first partner is still alive or marry someone who is divorced.
The fourth paragraph should expand your third point:
Other churches, including the Church of England, allow divorce if the couple are convinced that there is nothing more that they can do to save their marriage. Divorced people are free to remarry. They may be able to remarry in church. The priest or minister will decide whether or not they are taking marriage seriously before the marriage is allowed to take place in church.
The fifth paragraph should expand your fourth point.
All Christians agree that when a couple marry they should intend to stay together for life. Everything possible should be done to help a couple stay married and not divorce. Many churches run classes for people who are going to get married to prepare them for marriage. Sometimes churches have groups for married couples where they can talk about how to have a happy and successful marriage. Some churches offer counselling to couples who are thinking of separating or divorcing.
In this part of the question you are being tested on your understanding of the religion you are studying. Your answer must show clear links between the beliefs of Christians and the consequences that they have in family life.
The first paragraph of your answer should summarise the main points you want to make:
Christians have different beliefs about the roles of men and women. Some believe that although men and women are equal they have different roles. Others believe that the fact that men and women are equal means that they should have equal opportunities and responsibilities. These different viewpoints have consequences for family life.
The second and third paragraphs explains the first viewpoint and its affect on family life:
Some Christians believe that although men and women are equally valuable to God they were created for different purposes and have different roles. According to Genesis women were created to help and support men. Therefore the duties of a man should come first and his wife should support him. This means that a wife should stay at home and look after the children and do the housework. The husband should go out to work and provide for his wife and children. The wife should support her husband in his career. If her husband is offered a job which means moving home the wife should be willing to move.
In Genesis women are also seen as the weaker sex who are more likely to make mistakes. The letter of 1 Peter confirms and says that wives should submit to their husbands. For some Christians this means that when there are decisions to be made which affect the family the wife must accept that her husband has the final say. The husband should consider and respect his wife by listening to what she thinks but he should accept the responsibility of making important decisions.
The fourth paragraphs should explain the second viewpoint and its consequences:
Other Christians believe that the Bible teaches that both men and women were created in the image of God and that they are one in Christ Jesus. There should be no difference in their roles. This means that both husband and wife should share the responsibility for childcare and looking after the home. Both husband and wife should have to opportunity to go to work. If the husband is offered a job which means moving home he should not take it unless his wife agrees. She would be within her rights to refuse to go. The husband should also consider moving if his wife is offered a job elsewhere. When decisions have to be made that affect the family the husband and wife should try to make a joint decision. If there is still a disagreement then either the husband or the wife could have the final say.
Do you agree? Give reasons to support your answer, and show that you have thought about different points of view. You must refer to Christianity in your answer.
The final section of the question tests your ability to evaluate different points of view. The examiner is not interested in whether or not you agree with the statement or in whether you actually tell the truth about your opinion. You get marks for your ability to write a logical argument to support your opinion, for your ability to consider alternative points of view and for your understanding of how Christians might respond to the statement.
The first answer assumes that you agree with the statement.
The first paragraph should introduce the topic:
A variety of methods of contraception are available to people to use if they want to make love without the fear of pregnancy. Within Christianity there are a variety of opinions about whether or not people should be free to choose to use contraception.
As you are arguing in favour of the statement your second paragraph will be about the viewpoint of the Roman Catholic Church:
The Roman Catholic Church teaches that the use of artificial contraception is wrong. This is because Roman Catholics believe that the main purpose of sex is for a married couple to have children. Children are a gift from God. If a couple were to use contraception it would mean that they were trying to block God's gift and go against his will. If God does not want a particular couple to have a child then they will not conceive anyway. The only form of contraception that the Roman Catholic Church allows are natural methods, for example the couple might avoid having sex that those times in the month when the woman is most likely to conceive. The Roman Catholic Church teaches that having sex outside marriage is totally wrong and believes that the use of contraception is likely to encourage promiscuity and spread disease.
The third paragraph explains the viewpoint of other churches as they are in favour of allowing people to choose whether or not to use contraception:
Many Christians, including some Roman Catholics, disagree with this viewpoint. The Church of England and Methodist Church both believe that the main purpose of sex within a marriage is to strengthen the relationship between husband and wife and to give pleasure. The couple might well enjoy sex more if they did not have to worry about the woman getting pregnant. Therefore they can use any form of contraceptive including artificial contraceptives like the pill or condom, natural methods and even permanent methods like sterilisation and vasectomy if that is what they both want. Some Christians believe that sex is alright within a committed relationship even if the couple are not married. Using contraception might be the responsible thing to do in this situation and the couple are not being promiscuous.
The final paragraph gives your opinion:
I believe that these Christians have the strongest case. I agree that people should be free to choose whether or not to use contraception. I think that the most important reason for having sex is to strengthen the relationship between a couple and the risk of pregnancy might prevent this happening. I don't think that the use of contraceptives encourages promiscuity. If people are going to be promiscuous they are going to be so even if they don't use contraceptives. At least if they do use contraceptives they are less likely to bring unwanted children into the world. Using a condom protests against diseases. So even in these circumstances the use of contraception is responsible and people should be fee to choose to use it.
The second answer assumes that you disagree with the statement.
The first paragraph should introduce the topic:
A variety of methods of contraception are available to people to use if they want to make love without the fear of pregnancy. Within Christianity there are a variety of opinions about whether or not people should be free to choose to use contraception.
As you are arguing against the statement your second paragraph will be about the viewpoint of the Churches that agree with the use of contraception:
Many Christians believe that people should be free to choose whether or not to use contraceptives. The Church of England and Methodist Church both believe that the main purpose of sex within a marriage is to strengthen the relationship between husband and wife and to give pleasure. They think that the couple might well enjoy sex more if they did not have to worry about the woman getting pregnant. Therefore they can use any form of contraceptive including artificial contraceptives like the pill or condom, natural methods and even permanent methods like sterilisation and vasectomy if that is what they both want. Some Christians believe that sex is alright within a committed relationship even if the couple are not married. They would argue that using contraception might be the responsible thing to do in this situation and the couple are not being promiscuous.
The third paragraph explains the viewpoint of the Roman Catholic Church:
By contrast the Roman Catholic Church teaches that the use of artificial contraception is wrong. This is because Roman Catholics believe that the main purpose of sex is for a married couple to have children. Children are a gift from God. If a couple were to use contraception it would mean that they were trying to block God's gift and go against his will. If God does not want a particular couple to have a child then they will not conceive anyway. The only form of contraception that the Roman Catholic Church allows are natural methods, for example the couple might avoid having sex that those times in the month when the woman is most likely to conceive. The Roman Catholic Church teaches that having sex outside marriage is totally wrong and believes that the use of contraception is likely to encourage promiscuity and spread disease.
The final paragraph gives your opinion:
I agree with the viewpoint of the Roman Catholic Church. I don't think that people should be free to choose whether or not to use contraceptives. I think that using contraceptives encourages people to be promiscuous. If they are not so afraid of pregnancy then they are likely to treat sex casually and sleep with people just for the sake of it. Contraceptives aren't totally reliable and sooner or later there are likely to be unwanted children and diseases. I believe that sex should only happen within marriage and that married couples should want to have children. If they don't want children at a particular time they can always use natural contraception. Children bring a great deal of joy to people and bringing a child into the world gives a couple so much in common. Using contraceptives would deny them this joy and opportunity to strengthen their marriage.