Marriage

In the marriage service of the Church of England, the couple getting married make vows to each other. The traditional marriage vows are:

I, take you,to be my wife [or husband].to have and to holdfrom this day forward;for better, for worse,for richer, for poorer,in sickness and in health,to love and to cherish,till death us do part,according to God’s holy law;and this is my solemn vow.

Marriage is important for Christians because:

it's a gift from God; it's part of God’s plan for creation that men and women should live together
it provides a relationship through which husband and wife support each other; this relationship is built on love and faithfulness
it provides a secure environment for the bringing up of children

The importance of marriage is emphasised by Jesus

But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.
Mark 10:6-9

Divorce, remarriage and cohabitation

The teaching of Jesus in the New Testament is against divorce (the legal ending of a marriage before the death of a spouse).

It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Matthew 5:31-32

Adultery (sex with someone who you are not married to) is also wrong according to the teachings of the Ten Commandments:

You shall not commit adultery.
Exodus 20:14

Many churches now allow divorce but a marriage can only be ended by an annulment in the Roman Catholic Church. This means that the marriage is regarded as never having taken place for special reasons.

In 1981 the Church of England allowed people to marry again after a divorce. Many other churches now hold this position.

The Roman Catholic Church is totally opposed to people cohabiting (living together without being married). Sexual intercourse outside of a marriage is a serious sin [Sin: Act of rebellion or disobedience against the known will of God. ] and couples who sin in this way cannot receive communion in church. Some Protestant churches accept cohabitation although they hope that the couple will choose eventually to be married in church.

Statistics

Total number of divorces in the UK:

Year	Number of divorces	Year	Number of divorces
1961	27,000	1993	180,000
1969	55,556	2004	167,138
1972	124,991	2005	155,052

Total number of marriages in the UK:

Year	Number of marriages	Year	Number of marriages
1961	350,000	2005	284,000
1991	340,000	2006	275,140

Total number of civil marriage ceremonies in the UK:

Year	Number of marriages	Percentage of marriages
1990	-	47% of all marriages
2004	184,910	68% of all marriages
2005	160,270	65% of all marriages

Question: What reasons can you suggest for the drop in numbers in each of the tables above?

Question: What connections between the figures in each of the tables can you identify?

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