Seperation, Annulment & Divorce (WJEC Eduqas GCSE Religious Studies): Revision Note

Reasons for marriage breakdown

• Within married relationships, there are often conflicts that can lead to marriage breakdown, including:

  • Adultery

  • Domestic abuse

  • Addiction

  • Illness or disability

  • Work or financial pressures

  • Religious differences

  • Too little time spent together

  • Different interests

  • Inability to have children

  • Falling out of love

What are separation, annulment & divorce

• When people argue or are in conflict, making up is essential. This is known as “reconciliation”

  • When the couple are religious, their community may try to help them reconcile if they are having problems in their relationship. This might include counselling or prayers

• Although all couples make a lifelong commitment when they get married, sometimes a relationship reaches a point where it cannot continue

• There are several ways to address a relationship breakdown

  • Separation is when the couple decide to live separately

  • Annulment is the “cancelling” of a marriage. This is a ruling that the marriage was never legal in the first place. It is especially important in the Catholic Church

  • Divorce is the legal ending of a marriage

  • In Britain, divorce is allowed after one year if the marriage cannot be saved

• In modern British society, divorce is acceptable and very common

  • An estimated 42 per cent of all marriages ended in divorce in England and Wales in 2012

• There are many reasons why the number of divorces has risen so dramatically

  • New laws have made divorce much cheaper and easier

  • Equal rights laws mean many more women are financially independent and can afford to live well after divorce 

  • Fewer people are religious, so religion is less of a factor in deciding to end a marriage than it was in previous generations

  • Changing attitudes have made divorce more socially acceptable

Christian views on separation, annulment & divorce

• All Christians believe that marriage is intended for life

• Jesus emphasised the lifelong nature of the commitment made in marriage 

  • He used the following words, which are repeated in Christian marriage ceremonies to this day

• All Christians either believe that divorce is wrong or should only happen as a last resort when everything else has been tried

• This follows Biblical teaching, where Jesus teaches against divorce

• Jesus taught that anyone who divorced and remarried, except for reasons of sexual immorality, was committing adultery

• St Paul said that Christians should not divorce, but if they do they must not remarry

• Today, there are different approaches to separation and divorce in different Christian denominations

• Roman Catholics are against divorce 

  • They see marriage as a lifelong sacrament 

  • The exchange of vows means that there are only two ways a marriage between baptised Catholics can end (religiously)

    • The death of one of the partners

    • The annulment of the marriage

  • An annulment is a Catholic Church ruling that the marriage was never valid and therefore cancels the marriage. To be valid, a marriage must be where both people, at the time of the marriage, enter it with “full freedom and commitment”

    • Catholics whose marriage has been annulled can remarry in church

  • If a baptised couple get a civil divorce, they are still considered to be married in the eyes of God because they have made lifelong vows before God that can never be broken

    • Therefore, there is no place in Catholic Church teachings for legal separation or divorce

    • This means that Catholics cannot remarry in church while their partner is still alive

• Most non-Catholic Churches think that divorce is wrong but allow it if the marriage has permanently broken down

• They believe that there are certain situations in which Christians must choose “the lesser of two evils”

  • If a marriage has really broken down, then the effects of the couple not divorcing would be a greater evil than the “evil” of divorce

• Christians believe that God is forgiving and offers a second chance if people confess their sins and are truly repentant

  • This belief in forgiveness should apply to divorce as much as anything else

• Non- Catholic Christians might support their views by saying that Jesus allowed divorce for cases of sexual immorality (Matthew 19:9)

Muslim views on separation, annulment & divorce

• Marriage is very important in Islam. The marriage contract (nikkah) is intended to keep people together for a lifelong bond that Allah created

• Divorce is allowed, but it should be the last resort

• The Hadith teaches that divorce is detestable to Allah, but it is lawful

• Reasons why a divorce may be allowed include:

  • Unfaithfulness

  • Abuse

  • Leaving the Muslim faith (called apostasy)

• There are three steps in the process of divorce

• Initiation stage: the start of the divorce proceedings

  • Either the husband or the wife may initiate a divorce

  • If the husband initiates, he must announce his intention to divorce his wife up to three times

  • If the wife initiates, she does not have to make this announcement, although it is more difficult for her to initiate divorce because she usually needs the consent of her husband

  • Shi’a Muslims and most Sunni Muslims believe that there must be a period of time between each declaration of intent so that the process is not rushed

• Reconciliation stage:

  • There is a three-month period of waiting called iddah, during which the couple live together but do not have sex

  • This is to see whether the wife is pregnant; if she is, the couple must wait until the baby is born before the divorce can proceed

• The Qur’an teaches that the couple should try to reconcile during this time, as “peace is best” (Qur’an, Surah 4:128)

• Completion stage:

  • If all efforts to reconcile the couple fail, the divorce can be completed

  • As the wife is often the more vulnerable person in the relationship, the rights of the woman are always properly protected in a divorce, and she will receive the final part of her dowry (Qur’an 2:229)

  • In Shi’a Islam, two witnesses are required to be present at the time of divorce to make sure it is done correctly

  • In the UK, there needs to be a legal civil divorce along with the Shari’ah divorce

• An annulment in Islam is not the same as a divorce; it is the declaration that the marriage was never valid at all

• Reasons why an annulment may be allowed include:

  • Not being able to conceive children

  • The husband being absent for a long time without contact