Hindu teachings on marriage and divorce: they believe that sex is a gift from god, but they think it should only happen in marriage

Authors Avatar

Religion and Life

- The main features of a Hindu upbringing are: shrine in the home, daily puja with family, going to temple, children going to Hindu Sunday school and celebrating festivals at home and at the temple.

- Numinous: feeling of the presence of something greater than you, for example when you are in the temple or when you are praying.

- Conversion: feeling that there is something inside you wanting you to change your life and be more committed to your religion.

- Miracle: if a miracle happens in ones life, it must be through god. A belief that your prayers have been answered will start thinking that there is a super power that has helped you.

- Mystical: experiences were you feel that you have been in contact with god, by having a trance or having a vision.

- experience of the world and belief in god: the way DNA is carefully structured, a tiny fertilised human egg is the blueprint for an adult human being, the big bang and how it was designed in timing and size, laws of gravity and nature of matter that human life was going to evolve.

- Religion itself is evidence for god’s existence: idea of god as creator, possible to get in touch with god, moral rules for religions, miracles and visions and prayer.

- Evil and suffering are linked together because evil is wrong and most people think it is wrong for people to suffer. Usually evil causes suffering e.g. I do wrong by hitting someone with a bat, my evil action will cause their suffering.

- Moral evil: actions done by humans, which causes suffering,

- Natural evil: things which cause suffering but have nothing to do with humans e.g. earthquakes, tornadoes etc.

- Omnipotent: means that god is all powerful.

- Benevolent: belief that god is god and kind.

- Omniscient: belief that god knows everything that has happened and everything that is going to happen.

- Agnosticism: not being sure whether god exists.

- Atheism: believing that god does not exist.

- evil and suffering causes problems for religious believers if god is good he must get rid of suffering, if god is all knowing he must have known what suffering would result from creating the world and if god is all powerful he must be able to prevent or get rid of suffering.

- Hindus believe that suffering is an essential part of samsara. People are born in suffering and die in suffering until they attain moksha, which is a release from suffering. They follow the law of karma, whatever evil people do in this life will be paid back to them in the next, so they believe that the human beings are the main reason for evil and suffering. The majority of Hindus feel that it is there dharma (duty) to help those who suffer.

- Marriages that do not take part in a place of worship are called civil marriages (half in places of worship and half in registry offices).

- Cohabitation: living together without being married.

- Marriage: a man and a woman legally joined so that they are allowed to live together and have children.

- Premarital sex: sex before marriage.

- Promiscuity: having sex with a number of partners without wanting a relationship.

- Adultery: when you are married, having sex with someone other than your marriage partner.

- Remarriage: marrying again after being divorced or if your partner has died.

- Nuclear family: mother, father and children living as a unit.

- Extended family: children, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles all living as a unit together.

- Reconstitute family – two sets of children (step brother and step sister) become one family when their parents divorced and married again.

- Importance of marriage: live longer, they help each other in problems and health, have fewer financial worries: they earn enough money to support the family and less likely to need a treatment for mental health problems.

- Divorce has long-term effects on children: poor exam results and more health problems.

Join now!

- Hindu teachings on marriage and divorce: they believe that sex is a gift from god, but they think it should only happen in marriage. They do not allow living together outside of marriage.

- Hindu marriage ceremonies: lots of preparation, family would have helped looking for a partner, families arrange a priest meeting between the two couples, if the couple are good they consult a priest to look at their horoscopes to see if they are alright (arranged marriage, but Hindus call it assisted marriage).

- Ceremony is considered as one of the Sankars, which begins a new stage ...

This is a preview of the whole essay