SPCK

Funeral rites are arguably as old as humanity itself, with evidence of hundreds of thousands of years old bodies being found with a layer of flower pollen. There are many different types of funeral and different rites are practised depending not only on a person’s faith but also where they live, and their particular culture. In the Christian West most funerals comprise of three parts, the visitation or ‘wake’, the funeral, and finally the burial or cremation. It is more common in Catholic denominations to view the body of the person that has died during the wake than in any other Christian sect, though sometimes other sects do practise this. After the burial or cremation, it is also traditional to hold a gathering or meal for the funeral attendees and sometimes other friends and family. Generally, if the burial is on the day of the funeral, only the deceased’s closest relatives and friends are allowed to attend the burial service. If the funeral immediately follows the burial however, usually everyone is allowed to attend both.

Other types of funerals include Humanist funerals, which are legal and commonly practised in the United Kingdom. These ceremonies recognise no after life as such, and instead focus on the celebration of the life of the individual who has died. Humanist ceremonies are popular with people who do not affiliate with a particular religious belief or cultural obligation, which are becoming more common among people in modern society.

Marriage is a legal contract between a male and female that creates kinship. Marriage is an institution where interpersonal relationships such as intimate and sexual relationships are acknowledged in a variety of ways. The union of marriage is often celebrated with a wedding ceremony. There are many reasons of why a person gets married they include: legal, social, emotional, economical, spiritual and religious reasons. Other reasons may be due to arranged marriages and other family obligations. In the United Kingdom it is illegal for a person to marry more than one person at the same time and it is also illegal for a person to become married at the age of 16 without parental approval. In some cases people get married for unlawful reasons which include gaining citizenship to a country.

Many people enter into the union of marriage with the belief it will last forever, however, in some cases marriages break up and the couple become divorced. There are many reasons for this and they include adultery which is the violation of marriage. Adultery involved one partner of the marriage having relations with another person outside of the marriage.

In the United Kingdom couples of the same sex are not allowed to marry, however, they are allowed to enter into a civil partnership which many term as a marriage. This cannot take place in a church and is undertaken by a registrar. Even though same sex couples cannot enter a marriage contract they often have a wedding with their civil ceremony.

One of the most momentous occasions in a Christian child’s life, a christening is performed and celebrated for many different reasons, depending on what sector of the Christian church you follow. In addition not all Christians agree with the practise of christening, though the majority of them do, and the practise is commonly contrasted with adult baptism. Many of the groups that do not perform christenings stem from the Protestant church, including the Baptists, Pentecostals and Seventh Day Adventists. Others include Jehovah’s Witnesses and Latter Day Saints, and in addition Jews do not perform christenings either.

The christening ceremony varies between different Christian denominations, though many incorporate a prepared ceremony beforehand called a liturgy, and the rite used would be equal to the denomination’s rite for adult baptisms, by pouring or sprinkling water. A lot of Catholic sects practise full immersion in a baptismal font, and even when this is not specifically practised Catholics never sprinkle the water, as they pour instead. Many godparents choose to dress the child in a white gown which after the ceremony becomes a treasured keepsake, though this is not always practised and is not an integral part of the ceremony.

It depends on the sect of Christianity as to the reasons behind why they perform christenings. The Catholic Church considers christenings to be essential and that they should be performed as soon as possible, and if the child is close to death to also perform the ceremony quickly.

Religious Education is the term used to describe the teaching of religion; this includes the differences between different religious organizations and different religious backgrounds. Children are often taught about religion from a young age at school, for example the different religious festivals throughout the school are generally celebrated. A particular festival often celebrated is Diwali and is very popular amongst young pupils as schools commonly arrange for pupils to see Indian dress and sample Indian foods.

The main teaching about different religions comes when pupils begin Key Stage 3 at school and start secondary school. Pupils will gain knowledge in different religious organizations and gain a deeper insight into each different religion. At Key Stage 3 pupils are taught little about Christianity and more about Hinduism and Islam. This encourages pupils to have a broader mind to other religions and gain understanding into why people are different.

When pupils move into Key Stage 4 they begin learning more about Christianity, this is because GCSE examinations are based more heavily around Christianity teachings and morals. Religious Education is not a compulsory subject in every school at GCSE level; however, more schools are making the subject compulsory to their pupils. Religious Education does not just occur in schools, teachings of religion quite often occur at home with a person’s family and sometimes if that family belongs to a particular religion in their place of worship. For many people the teaching of religious education is very important as it allows different cultures to be understood and morals to be established.

Christianity is based upon the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in canonical gospels and the New Testament writings. Christianity is a monotheistic religion; however, there are several different groups within Christianity. The three largest groups within Christianity are: the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox churches and the various forms of Protestantism. Followers of Christianity are known as Christians and are taught that Jesus is the Son of God and God became human which in turn made him the savior of humanity.

Many people follow Christianity across the world and the religion is popular across most of Europe and the United States. Followers often visit churches or places of worship on a Sunday to take part in Sunday services on their day of rest. Churches are a place where people can go and worship God and Jesus Christ and there are different services throughout the week to include all members of the church. It is an often occurrence that children go to Sunday school whilst parents go to a Sunday mass. During a Sunday mass people will often take communion bread and wine to symbolize the body and blood of Christ.

Christianity is a religion that many people turn to in times of hardship to gain comfort and strength. Many people will pray each day and say Grace before eating a meal. Prayer is comforting for many followers and is part of everyday routines. Prayers can be in many forms and can be done alone or in groups. During church services the congregation will commonly take part in a group prayer.