Is Divorce Wrong or Right?

It is estimated that nearly one in three marriages in Britain end in divorce. There are many mixed views on divorce throughout the world but British society has been dominated in its attitude towards divorce by Christian teachings based on the New Testament. According to Christianity, a marriage should be loving, permanent, life long and committed. Such messages are found in the Bible:

'a wife must not leave her husband...and a husband must not divorce his wife' (1 Corin, 7:10-12)

Jesus taught that divorce was wrong and the Christian Church agreed. However, Jesus also taught to show forgiveness to others and the Church recognises that a marriage cannot always be ideal and can work out differently to how a couple intended it to be. This is why views on divorce in society are so mixed in different Christian dominations.

Christian Church Beliefs on Divorce

The Christian Churches recognise that we don't live in a perfect world and they have developed ways of trying to help people that are faced with a broken marriage. Couples can separate and remain married using any agency, either of the Church, or another, to try and bring about reconciliation. Ultimately, a couple may decide that they must divorce and put an end to their legal status as a married couple. This is done through the legal system but not recognised by many Churches who believe that marriage is a sacrament, it is binding for life and that a couple cannot be un-married.

'What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder' (Mark 10:9)
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Attitudes Towards Re-marriage in Different Christian Denominations

Attitudes towards divorce affect what people think about re-marriage. The Methodist Church teaches that if a divorced person wants to marry again in church, they must be interviewed by the Church minister, who must be willing to marry them.

However, the Church of England sees things slightly differently. They believe that divorce is a matter for law courts. The Church allows communion for those who are divorced and teach that individual Bishops should decide whether or not people are allowed to remarry in church or just to give the ...

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