Edexcel GCSE (9–1) Religious Studies B · Paper 1, Question 2 · Christianity Harlington School · Grade 9 Summit
All eight units

Marriage and the Family

Eight topics, one summit. The divergent views set side by side, the key ideas connected, and the (d) evaluated the Level-4 way, everything for the top of the mark scheme, in one place.

The
big
question

How should Christians love, marry and raise a family, and can the teaching survive modern Britain?

01

The divergent views explorer

Every (d) in this unit turns on the divergent views: set side by side, exactly as the examiner wants. Pick a topic, then tap a position to see what it claims. The Grade 9 move and the 7-minute discussion question travel with each topic.

Tap a circle, or use Tab and Enter, to explore each position.

The thread that ties it together

Grade 9 is not more content: it is three habits applied to every topic. Spot them and every (d) in this unit opens the same way.

Divergent views, side by side

Never one view at a time. Set them against each other: where they agree, and the exact point they part. That comparison IS the analysis.

The (d) regulation

Chain each point (claim → because → this means → therefore), steelman the other side, weigh BOTH arguments, a strength AND a limit, then justify the conclusion.

Textbook-first accuracy

A correctly named source beats a vague paraphrase. One learned line from each source, placed precisely, is worth more than a paragraph of drift.

02

Eight topics, one summit

Each panel is a topic’s key idea: the connective explanation that links the key words into one argument. Learn the chain, not the list.

Topic 1 · C09

Marriage

What do Christians believe marriage is for, and is it still more important than simply living together?
CREATION“God made them male and female” (Mark 10:6), marriage is God’s design, not just a social custom to redefine.
ONE FLESH“The two will become one flesh” (Mark 10:8), fused into one new unit, so what harms one harms both.
JOINED BY GOD“What God has joined together, let no one separate” (Mark 10:9), only God can end it, so divorce defies that bond.
THEREFORE“Anyone who divorces… commits adultery” (Mark 10:11), the conclusion of the chain, why Catholics forbid remarriage.
Topic 2 · C10

Sexual relationships

What do Christians teach about sex outside marriage and homosexuality, and who has the most sensible view?
TEMPLE“Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor 6:19). God dwells in it, so sex is never purely private.
NOT YOUR OWN“You are not your own”, so you can’t treat your body as private property to use however you choose.
BOUGHT AT A PRICE“You were bought at a price”: Christ’s death paid for it, so misusing it dishonours that sacrifice.
SO HONOUR GOD“Therefore honour God with your bodies”: a sexual choice is an act of worship, not just preference.
Topic 3 · C11

Families

Why do Christians value the family so highly, and does it matter more to them than to the non-religious?
CHILDREN“Obey your parents… honour your father and mother”. The duty runs upward, teaching respect for authority beyond home.
THE PROMISEIt is “the first commandment with a promise”, “that it may go well with you and you may live long” rewards obedience.
PARENTS“Fathers, do not exasperate your children” but “bring them up… of the Lord”, harshness and neglect both fail this duty.
THE POINTThe family is where children are “introduced to the faith”, get it right and the Church gains its next generation.
Topic 4 · C12

The parish

How and why does the local church try to support families, and can parents manage without it?
THE PROMISEAt baptism the clergy and congregation promise God to help parents raise the child in the faith, not just the parents alone.
THE DUTYThat promise becomes a DUTY: the parish must provide schools, Sunday schools and sacraments, not treat them as optional.
THE FAMILY“The family is where children are introduced to the faith”, if it fails, the parish’s teaching has nowhere to land.
THE STAKESIf the parish fails the family, “Christianity will not grow and the Church will have failed”. The next generation is lost.
Topic 5 · C13

Family planning

Is contraception against God’s intentions, or a responsible and loving choice?
TWO PURPOSESSex has a unitive (bonding) AND a creative (life-making) purpose that God joined together as one act.
THE RULEArtificial methods “render procreation impossible”: they actively SEPARATE the two purposes God intended.
THE LOOPHOLENatural methods (NFP) block nothing: they simply time sex to the woman’s infertile days, leaving both purposes intact.
SOWorking WITH God’s design is allowed; overriding it is not. Humanae Vitae (1968) draws that line, though many disagree.
Topic 6 · C14

Divorce

Should Christians ever divorce, and can a divorced person marry again?
THE BANIn Mark 10 Jesus bans divorce flat out, “what God has joined together, let no one separate”, the Catholic ‘never’ basis.
THE EXCEPTIONBut Matthew 19:9 adds “except for sexual immorality”, one escape hatch Jesus himself allows, which non-Catholics build on.
CATHOLICS TAKE THE BANMarriage is a covenant only death can dissolve, so no remarriage, ever, only annulment if it was never truly valid.
NON-CATHOLICS TAKE THE EXCEPTIONIf adultery can end it, divorce can be the “lesser of two evils”, and forgiveness allows a repentant couple a second chance.
Topic 7 · C15

Equality

Should men and women have equal roles in the family, or God-given different ones?
GENESIS 1“Male and female he created them” in God’s image (Gen 1:27), total equality, the text liberals rely on.
GENESIS 2–3Woman made second, from the rib; “he will rule over you” (Gen 3:16), subordination, the text Evangelicals rely on.
EPHESIANS 5“Wives, submit…”, yet the SAME passage says “husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church,” a duty owed back.
THE SPLITEach Church weights a different text: liberals take Genesis 1, Evangelicals Genesis 2–3 and Paul, so both claim ‘the Bible’.
Topic 8 · C16

Gender prejudice

Should Christians work against gender prejudice, and is refusing to ordain women discrimination or vocation?
1975General Synod agrees “there are no fundamental objections” to ordaining women, but waits 18 more years to act.
1978The Movement for the Ordination of Women wins over the laity and bishops, but the clergy still refuse to move.
1993The first women priests in the Church of England are ordained at Bristol Cathedral, ending centuries of male-only clergy.
2013 →The first C of E woman bishop follows, yet Rome still says no, so Catholic Women’s Ordination keeps fighting for change.
03

Your resources

Everything for the unit, in one place: each topic’s lesson, booklet pages and podcast episode, plus the unit-wide booklet editions, schemes of work and the guide.

Teacher setup: links aren't set yet. Open this file, find the LINKS list near the bottom, and paste each SharePoint share link once. Buttons with no link show as "Link not set".
04

How to revise this unit

Use the resources in this order: the same loop as the lessons, so revision feels like coming home.

Bell work first · retrieve before you re-read

Five recall questions from memory, self-scored /5. Then the come-back tracker: the same five at +1 week and +1 month.

Listen along to the episode

One six-minute podcast per topic. Capture the six mind-map branches as it plays. The episode does the exposition so you can do the thinking.

Work the booklet pages

Four pages per topic: the key idea, two source quotes, the divergent views side by side, and the full (d). The Key Idea edition adds the 7-minute discussion.

Write the (d) the Level-4 way

Chain · steelman · weigh both (strength AND limit) · justify. Check yourself against the Level 3-vs-Level 4 models on lessons 3 and 6.

The marks map · (a) (b) (c) · 12 marks
(a) 3 marks · outline three. Three crisp sentences, no development needed.
(b) 4 marks · explain two. Each point + one development.
(c) 5 marks · explain two WITH a named source: one learned line, placed exactly.
The (d) · 12 marks · half the question
What it is · a full evaluation: agree and disagree developed, the non-religious voice engaged where the question invites it.
The grade 9 gap · Level 3 asserts its judgement; Level 4 chains, weighs both sides, and justifies a conclusion that survives the strongest counter.
05

Watch: the whole unit in one go

A full review of Marriage and the Family: all eight topics as one argument. Best watched before you revise, then again to check recall.

Video not set

Teacher: paste the YouTube link in the VIDEO_URL line near the bottom of this file. The player then appears here automatically.

06

Flashcards · test yourself

Flip a card to check yourself. Switch between key terms (term → meaning) and divergent views (view → what it claims), and filter by topic.

Tap any card to flip ·