Adultery (WJEC Eduqas GCSE Religious Studies): Revision Note

What is adultery?

• Adultery is voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and someone who is not their spouse (husband or wife)

• Adultery is not against the law in the UK

  • However, adultery may be reasonable “grounds for divorce” (a legally recognised reason to get divorced)

Christian views on adultery

• Christianity clearly teaches that adultery is wrong

• Sex is seen as a gift from God and it is therefore sacred and holy

  • The rightful place for sex is within marriage

  • It should be shared between the same two people for life

• Any type of extra-marital sex (when a married person has a sexual relationship with someone other than their marriage partner) is forbidden in the Bible

  • This includes adultery

• Jesus condemned adultery in the Gospels, and all Christians follow his teachings

• Adultery also goes against one of the Ten Commandments, which states:

• Other teachings in the Old Testament also condemn adultery. For example:

• Faithfulness within marriage is very important to Christians

• When a couple marry, they promise in their wedding vows to be faithful to each other, saying that they will “forsake all others”’ and be together “till death do us part”

  • Adultery breaks these vows

• Some Christians see marriage as a sacrament, a gift from God and a sign of God’s grace blessing the couple’s lives

  • To commit adultery would be to reject this gift

• Adultery also breaks the trust that the couple share and may destroy the family unit, which could have a negative effect on any children involved

Muslim views on adultery

• Muslims believe that sex is a gift from Allah

• The Qur’an teaches that the best place for a sexual relationship is within marriage

• Muslims believe that any sexual relationships outside marriage are forbidden

• Sex outside marriage is considered an “obscenity”, meaning a serious sin

• Muslims are taught to “guard their chastity” (Qur’an, Surah 23:5), which means remaining pure and avoiding situations that might lead to sin

• Adultery is condemned by Allah in the Qur’an

• Adultery breaks the vows promising faithfulness that the couple make during their wedding ceremony

• Adultery opens the door to other serious sins

• The Qur’an describes very severe punishments for adultery

• However, there are strict conditions attached

  • For example, four people must have seen the act of adultery for the punishment to apply

• For many Muslims, adultery is seen as a very serious sin because of the pain and disharmony it can cause in the ummah