First, let's dispense with this for the sake of any readers who don't like the assertions I'm about to make: We all know that the Pope's refusal of an annulment led to the separation of the English Church from the Roman Church. There's more to that history, and it's a separate issue from the one I'm raising here.
The Roman Church's position on marriage, divorce, and singlehood strikes me as overly prescriptive, if not inhumane.
We could say that, in practice, the Church isn't always as prescriptive as the letter of its law suggests. I guess some people are comfortable swimming in those waters of "we say ABC, but [hushed tone] it's really XYZ." That doesn't work for me. It's a significant issue that impacts many people's lives, and I'd rather there be a more transparent acknowledgment of these things.
From what I've read, the Anglican Church is much less prescriptive about these matters. What has your experience been?
The Roman Church's position on marriage, divorce, and singlehood strikes me as overly prescriptive, if not inhumane.
- Marriage: The Roman Church tends toward a prescriptive view of marriage that insists it's naturally ordered around having children and perpetuating certain predetermined roles. The Church goes as far as to say that a marriage without the intent to have children is invalid. That of course means that if a married couple who doesn't intend to have children are having sex, that sexual relationship is adulterous because they aren't in a valid marriage. It's also considered a sin because their sexual activity isn't ordered toward procreation. My view is that some people want the companionship of marriage, and they want their couplehood to have the legal protections of marriage; but they just don't feel called to have children. I don't think people who don't want children should be excluded from marriage or sexual intimacy within their marriage. They should be able to participate in their church community without being pestered about having children.
- Divorce: The Roman Church is well known for its position on divorce; to those who aren't conservatively Roman Catholic, the right word is probably notorious. It seems to me that too many first-time newlyweds are too young, inexperienced, and intoxicated with dreams of wedded bliss. For those who have a more realistic perspective, they can still grow apart to the point of the differences being irreconcilable. I lived for several years in a country that still has quite parochial views of things like marriage and divorce, and I met many people who were crushed by their horrible marriages that they felt stuck in. They seemed to feel like they were enduring unfulfilled lives, only to eventually be on their deathbeds looking back at nothing but misery.
- Singlehood: I mean here the choice to spend one's life single. The Roman Church doesn't explicitly see this as sinful, but there are certainly voices within the Church that imply it.
We could say that, in practice, the Church isn't always as prescriptive as the letter of its law suggests. I guess some people are comfortable swimming in those waters of "we say ABC, but [hushed tone] it's really XYZ." That doesn't work for me. It's a significant issue that impacts many people's lives, and I'd rather there be a more transparent acknowledgment of these things.
From what I've read, the Anglican Church is much less prescriptive about these matters. What has your experience been?
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