Explain why some Christians join communities and take vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.

GCSE Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)

Explain why some Christians join communities and take vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.

Most Christians live ordinary live pursuing a career, bringing up a family, etc… Some leave this state of living and choose to live in a religious community; many feel they have had a calling from god, obliging them to live in this specific way of life.

A calling from god is a vocation to a certain type of lifestyle. Some Christians believe that they have been called by god, to follow Jesus, his teachings and to make their pilgrimage here on earth. There are different ways in which god communicates: directly to them telling them (the Virgin Mary), some say god communicates indirectly to them through situations, visions, natural disasters or historical events. Mother Theresa felt that god called her through the parable of the sheep and goats and the dying in Calcutta. Martin Luther King had a vision of equality between blacks and whites, he followed his beliefs through because everyone is equal in the eyes of god.

There can also be a vocation to a specific way of life this could be devoting oneself to family life, nursing, teaching… traditionally people view this aspect in following a ‘Religious order’, being called to a specific way of life. Many of which join monasteries on nunneries to become Monks or Nuns.

Before an individual enters a religious order they take three vows of Poverty, Chastity and Obedience.

When the individual takes the vow of poverty. All possessions have to either be sold and that money to charity or directly to charity. They enter in a state ...

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Before an individual enters a religious order they take three vows of Poverty, Chastity and Obedience.

When the individual takes the vow of poverty. All possessions have to either be sold and that money to charity or directly to charity. They enter in a state of purification where no personal belongings are brought into the monastery. This shows their devotion and commitment to god where no physical items can compare to god. It also shows that money has no power over faith, as Jesus told the rich young man to ‘Sell your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven.

The vow of chastity emphasises that no sexual intercourse can take place, placing god unsurpassable than any pleasure in life. Although some people leave the religious order to marry and preach the teachings of god to the offspring.

The last vow an individual must take is the vow of obedience, this consists of obeying all rules and regulations set down by the superiors in the group. They do this to show they have surrendered themselves to god by obeying the commandments and the teachings of Jesus (he obeyed everything his father [god] had told him to do, in his journey on earth. They may feel by doing this they get closer to god).

The three vows a person takes before entering a religious community are there to show the individuals devotion and commitment to god and for their beliefs. By surrendering themselves to god when taking these vows they also choose to live isolated, obeying rules and regulations set down by the superiors, living in chastity and poverty. These all show that there is no need for luxuries, but to live worshipping god and to get closer to god by doing this.