The role of woman in the Christian marriage has changed quite significantly throughout the ages but a few things still remain the same. The woman is still recognised as a sexual partner, the word partner suggests an equal in the sexual side to the relationship, but this is quite a recent revelation. As in previous century’s woman have been known to be seen as a lower partner when it comes to sex and that they are just there to serve the husband and his wishes. As shown in the wedding vows by the use of the word ‘obey’ in the woman’s vows only. The main idea in a marriage is to procreate and the woman throughout the ages as been expected to be willing and able to have children. In the bible it stresses the importance of having kids and if a couple are unable to have children it is seen as the woman’s fault and not the man’s even though there is an equal chance of infertility. E.g.
Luke ch1 verse 7
‘Both of them were upright and devout, blamelessly observing all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord. But they had no children, for Elizabeth was Barren and both were well on in years.’
As you can see it was the woman who was seen to have the problem not the man. God’s judgement of woman being the lesser vessel could back date to the sin of Eve back in the beginning. E.g.
‘For Adam was created, and then Eve. And it was not Adam who was deceived it was the woman who was deceived and broke God’s law. But a woman will be saved through having children, if she perseveres in faith and love and in holiness, with modesty.’
Timothy ch2
In the wedding ceremony the wife is ‘given away’ from the father to the groom. This could suggest that the woman is an object and is being passed from one owner to another. In a Roman Catholic marriage the couple can not have sex before marriage which can create problems once the couple are married, if the couple haven’t had sex and on the wedding night they realise they aren’t compatible, then the roman catholic views on marriage say that they can’t divorce because of that reason and if they have consummated the marriage then they can’t apply for an annulment. An annulment is the cancellation of a marriage, if it has not been consummated and so is seen to have not existed. The only other way that a divorce can be acknowledged in the churches eyes is to get a dissolution. Dissolution occurs under circumstances and is the breaking of the bond of marriage that did exist. It can occur if for example if the marriage involves one partner who is not baptised and they refuse to live peacefully with the convert. The views of a woman’s role in a marriage have changed in society’s eyes though because now women seek careers and do not want to just settle down straight away and start a family. If a woman or man is infertile then this does not give one party cause for divorce unless they have sound, convincing reasons which can be argued in court. However most churches (e.g. Roman Catholic) still believe that a woman’s role is to have children and create a family. This is changing slowly though, women are starting to be recognised as having equal opportunities in the work place and at home.
A marriage can breakdown for many reasons these include reasons to do with the church and social reasons. Some of the possibilities are:
- Pressure to stick together, must not let God or the church down.
- Beliefs about Christianity can cause problems if the couple both believe different things.
- The temptation to cheat.
- Infertility
The vows made by the couple state that a couple should stay together through sickness, health and for richer or poorer but if one partner becomes ill it could be in the other persons best interest and that of the ill person if they separate. There is a lot of pressure to remain in a relationship. In an Orthodox marriage the guilty party in the divorce has to suffer a short period of excommunication from the community, so there is pressure to stay in the marriage to avoid blame and humiliation. If a couple finds that they cannot live together there are three main solutions:
- Desertion-one partner simply leaves the other to live elsewhere.
- Judicial-the courts grant a separation, meaning the couple are not allowed in any way to interfere in each other’s lives and then after a period of time one partner can apply for divorce without the consent of the other.
- Divorce-the marriage is officially declared by the courts to be at an end. After two years of living apart and if both partners are willing they may apply for a divorce.
Christian churches have different views on divorce. Since 1966 the Church of England has taught that divorce is acceptable. The Roman Catholic Church’s teaching is that in principle a marriage cannot be dissolved. However, there are some exceptions. The Roman Catholic church can annul a marriage.
The Protestant marriage says that divorce is allowed but not all remarriages are allowed in the church. They see marriage as a mutually beneficial covenant and so it can be broken. They don’t see marriage as a sacrament.
In conclusion, marriage affects the role of women because they are no longer seen as a single person but as part of a unit, depending on the version of the bible the role of a woman in a marriage varies but the most common view is that the woman is the weaker vessel and their main purpose is to stay at home and have a family. These views have changed in society but not very much in the view of the church, however women are starting to receive more liberty and are being recognised as equals. The church does not like to accept divorce however there are a few exceptions and some denominations (Church of England and Protestant) that allow divorce. The view of the Roman Catholic church is that everything must be done to try and save the marriage, guidance and counselling are provided, and that everything must be done in order to preserve the family unit.
