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Divorce in Christianity

Divorce in Christianity

In Christian law, marriage is a sacred institution. However, a variety of denominations have different approaches to divorce (the legal separation of a married couple).

Divorce in the Church of England

Divorce in the Church of England

Whilst the Church of England does not encourage divorce, it has the structure to help and sympathise with those who find themselves in such a situation.

Divorce and the Reformation

Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, his second wife

Until the 16th century CE, the Church in England recognised the Pope's authority. However, when Catherine of Aragon failed to produce a male heir for Henry VIII, and was considered too old to give birth to any more children, Henry wanted to divorce her. The Pope refused permission and so the only way for Henry to get what he wanted was to break away from the Vatican and make divorce legal. The Archbishop of Canterbury granted Henry a divorce in 1533 (under pressure) and Henry made himself head of the Church of England.

The Church of England's position on remarriage

By allowing himself to remarry, Henry made the same thing possible for his subjects. But just because remarriage is legally allowed, that doesn't mean couples have an automatic right to remarry in church.

Remarriage is always allowed if the couple's former spouses are dead. The matter becomes more complicated if one or both of the exes is still living.

The Church has had a clear stance on the subject of a Christian remarriage since the General Synod meeting of 2002. In a vote concerning marriage after divorce, the outcome was 269 votes to 83 in support of change.

Under civil law, clergy have the capacity to marry any two people (as long as the couple can legally marry). The Church advises clergy to think carefully before remarrying couples and to ask them questions to find out how committed they are. The final decision rests with the clergy member.

The Church's suggested questions concentrate on the intentions of the couple and whether allowing the remarriage would be harmful to anybody involved:

• Does the couple understand that divorce is a breach of God's will for marriage?
• Do they have a determination for the new marriage to be a life-long faithful partnership?
• Do they seem willing to explore and grow in the Christian faith?
• Has enough time passed since the divorce for everyone to have recovered, and are there complicating factors from previous marriages (court proceedings or child support payments, for example)?
• Has either of the parties been divorced more than once?
• Was their relationship a direct cause of the breakdown of a previous marriage?

Charles and Camilla

This last question became very pertinent when Prince Charles married the divorcée Camilla Parker Bowles in 2005. Had their adultery contributed to the failure of Camilla's first marriage? The Church thought so.

The royal couple could not marry in church. They had to marry in a civil ceremony, although church rules allowed their marriage to be blessed in church afterwards.

Divorce and the Catholic Church

'Divorce' in the Catholic Church

The Catholic Church has strict guidelines on divorce. The Church considers the bond of marriage to be a sacred bond, one that is based on life-long love, fidelity and family. Marriage is both a legal bond on earth and spiritual bond which God has witnessed. The latter cannot be broken using temporal laws.

What is permitted?

• A Catholic is not permitted to receive the Eucharist if s/he remarries.
• The Catholic Church maintains that all of its members are welcome to attend Mass. A remarried Catholic can take part in Mass but is barred from receiving Holy Communion.

This causes pain to many remarried Catholics because the Eucharist is central to their faith.

• A remarried Catholic may receive Holy Communion only if a marriage has been annulled by the Church.

Annulments

An annulment, known also as a Decree of Nullity, is not the same as a divorce. It is a declaration that the marriage was never valid in the first place.

An annulment will be considered if there is reasonable proof that the bond between the two parties was invalid from the first day of marriage. The annulment process can take between 9 - 24 months or sometimes longer. Over 50,000 annulments are granted every year throughout the world.

Grounds for an annulment include:

• Psychological incapacity to understand the commitment marriage entails
• One of the partners has hidden information such as a previous marriage, impotence or infertility

The annulment process is not arbitrary. There are strict Church guidelines which must be followed as part of a tribunal to establish whether marriage was present from the beginning or not. There are four main phases:

• Petition: A divorcee (petitioner) approaches a minister saying why they want an annulment. They give all the circumstances as to why they think their marriage was invalid. The previous partner (respondent) has the opportunity to put their story across.
• Evidence: Having collected the statements from each party, evidence for and against the argument must be gathered from family members, close friends and other interested parties.
• Discussion: An argument is made for the nullity of marriage on behalf of the petitioner and one is written on behalf of the marriage by a minister.
• Judgement: The diocese and bishops meet and read all the evidence to come to a decision. If the marriage is declared invalid, a second hearing will take place.

If the bond was not fully established when the marriage commenced, then the holy bond granted by God was not there to be broken.

Reasoning behind this doctrine stems from the teachings of Jesus: "What God has united, man must not divide". (Mark, 10:9). Even if a couple separates legally, they are still joined together spiritually: "He who made man from the beginning, made them male and female. And he said: For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and they two shall be in one flesh. Therefore now they are not two, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder" (Matthew 19:4-6).

Augustine

Divorce is not a new issue for the Catholic Church. In the 5th century AD, one of the most famous Catholic thinkers, St. Augustine of Hippo, made his and the Church's position clear. In his work, Of the Good of Marriage, Augustine was explicit: "The compact of marriage is not done away by divorce intervening; so that they continue wedded persons one to another, even after separation; and commit adultery with those, with whom they shall be joined, even after their own divorce."

Adultery is a sin, according to the Old Testament: "You shall not commit adultery" (Exodus 20:14). Therefore, using Augustine's reasoning, if a man and woman have been separated legally but not spiritually, they are still married in God's eyes.

Augustine wrote about divorce over 1,600 years ago. His ideas on the subject are still pre-eminent in today's Catholic doctrine.

2005 discussions

The subject of divorce was discussed at the Synod of Bishops in October 2005. There were 50 propositions to come out of the discussion. Proposition 40 was unequivocal in defining what it is to be a divorced Catholic: "According to the tradition of the Catholic Church, they cannot be admitted to Communion, finding themselves in conditions of objective contrast with the Word of the Lord who returned marriage to its original value of indissolubility."

With regard to those who have remarried without an annulment, Catholics are encouraged to attend Mass but should refrain from consummating their new union. Proposition 40 explains: "Blessing these relationships should be avoided, so that confusion does not arise among the faithful regarding the value of marriage." Those who do so are committing an act of adultery, because in God's eyes they are still spiritually married to their previous partner.

The Synod has drafted and redrafted the language used to describe Catholics who may no longer receive the Eucharist.

Divorce across Europe

General trends show that non-Catholic EU countries tend to have higher divorce rates.

Until February 27th 1997, divorce in Ireland was illegal. In 2001, Italy and Ireland had the lowest divorce rates in Europe (0.7%) and Spain had a comparatively low divorce rate (1.0%) compared with Belgium having the highest (2.9%).

The UK also has a high divorce rate (2.6%). Whilst France considers itself to be a Catholic country, its divorce rates are considerably higher (2.0%) than other European Catholic countries. (Figures are rates per 1,000 population - 2001).

Divorce in other Churches

Church of Scotland

The Church of Scotland is clear on remarriage of divorcées:

However, the minister will meet with a couple wishing to remarry in an attempt to establish whether or not the second marriage will suffer from the same problems which led to the downfall of the previous marriage.

Methodist Church

The Methodist Church asserts that marriage is a life-long union, but is understanding to those who have been divorced. Methodists take a more practical, logical approach to belief and allow for more figurative Bible interpretations. This includes accepting divorce and ordaining women priests.

In the Methodist Church policy on remarriage (1998) there is a clear acceptance and open mindedness to divorcées:

This is not to say that the Methodist Church regards divorce frivolously, but it does treat the situation with a sympathetic level of pragmatism.

Perhaps it is because of this more liberal approach to divorce that the majority of marriages in the Methodist Church involve at least one partner who has been divorced. In a 2001 survey, it was recorded that around 70% or marriages involved at least one divorced party.

Baptist Church

The Baptist Church has no centralised policy regarding divorce. Those who have been divorced are welcome to join. The decision to remarry a couple lies with the minister. Some feel that it is inappropriate and will not perform the ceremony whilst others will.

Find out more

• Churches' teachings about marriage
• Church of England
• Catholic Church
• Baptist Church
• Church of Scotland
• Methodist Church