The Christian view of family and marriage is based upon an understanding of God’s intentions for people as expressed in the scriptures. While the form may vary families exist in every culture and Christians believe that family and marriage are gifts from God. Cultural variation does not mean that the notion of the family is purely subjective or a social construct or a human invention that can be re-formed at will.

 Marriage and family have been given special status in law by governments because of their unique role in providing for a stable and committed relationship between women and men and a setting for the raising and nurturing of children.

A family is a kinship group related by blood, marriage or adoption. It is within the covenantal bond of husband and wife that children are born and raised, cared for, and spiritually nurtured. Parents have a particular responsibility to care for their children but society as a whole also has the responsibility -

• to ensure that the social structures and the public policy which supports families, marriages and children are maintained and enhanced and
• to care for particular families, marriages and children in times of need.

The numbers of Australians living in poverty is considered to range between 2 and 3.5 million. 1 There are over 700,000 children growing up in homes where neither parent works. In an election period, when there is a tendency to focus on governmental responsibilities, it is well to remember that it would be an abrogation of the Christian’s social responsibilities to assume that it is entirely up to the government to deal with this. Many Christian churches, organisations and individuals are to be commended for being involved and all Christians should consider how they can help in this regard.

Nonetheless, government policies are important and housing, employment and income issues and policies are inextricably linked for people confronting poverty and voters should consider the effects of the various policies proposed in these areas.

There is one area of need for children where the policy itself denies certain children the right to a family life without stress and significant emotional and psychological danger. At present, all unauthorised asylum seekers, including children, are subject to indefinite, non-reviewable mandatory detention.

Over 2000 children have been detained, up to 842 at any one time although the number is now rapidly reducing due to changes in government action. The policy of mandatory detention for children breaches Article 37 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which states that the detention of a child shall be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest period of time.

Christians are to care for other people’s children as well as their own. It is contrary to the Christian notions of justice, love and hope for children to be held indefinitely in detention. Biblical justice 2 is a concept permeated by love and grace that calls for the defenceless, the innocent and the weak to be protected. Indefinite detention also destroys hope 3 and is psychologically crippling. 4

Marriage is of critical importance as a social institution. Not everyone will marry but everyone is the child of a relationship between two people of the opposite sex. While the primary responsibility for the health and strength of individual lives and for marriage and family relationships does not lie with legislators, nonetheless lives and relationships can be helped, protected and enhanced by appropriate legislation. But it must be recognised that marriage is not a legal construction or possession. Marriage is a pre-existing social and, primarily, religious institution recognised by all major religious faiths and groups as existing uniquely between a man and a woman 5 and it has only relatively recently been recognised by legislation.

The present government has introduced legislation (which may go through parliament prior to the election) to ensure that there can be no confusion about this and has proposed adding to the Marriage Act 1961 that marriage means ‘the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life.’ It also prevents homosexual unions solemnised in other countries from being recognised as marriages in Australia and originally sought to prevent adoption of children by two persons of the same sex. (Adoption is a state, rather then Commonwealth issue and this part of the legislation was dropped). This legislation is consistent with a Christian understanding of marriage and family and is to be commended.

Any attempt to re-define a long-standing social and religious institution like marriage to include ‘same-sex marriage’ cannot be defended as a human right. Marriage was defined and established and has contributed to society over millennia precisely as a relationship between two people of opposite sex and an alteration to include same-sex marriages would contradict one of the basic principles on which it is founded.

Same sex relationships exist and have rights, and the extension of superannuation property rights to same-sex couples and others in significant relationships is appropriate but same-sex relationships are not marriages. Marriages are the appropriate context for the bearing and raising of children and, as a matter of care and justice for children, it is appropriate that adoption rights not be extended to same-sex couples.

1. See the material on the biblical basis of marriage and family and discuss the implications of the six points defining marriage and family.
2. What kind of responsibility does the government have for families? How would you prioritise these responsibilities?
3. What kind of responsibilities do individuals and churches have for families?
4. What is your response to the statement ‘At the end of each day, we must ask ourselves whether the pain and suffering inflicted upon mothers, fathers and their children is a just trade-off in attempting to deter people from our shores.’ (John Henderson, see the National Program on Refugees and Displaced Persons)?
5. Discuss the implications of the claim that ‘Marriage was defined and established and has contributed to society over millennia precisely as a relationship between two people of opposite sex and an alteration to include same-sex marriages would contradict one of the basic principles on which it is founded.’

1 According to the report of the recent Senate enquiry into poverty entitled A hand up not a hand out: Renewing the fight against poverty, ( Commonwealth of Australia, 2004). This is available in various forms printed and on the internet, in full and in summary. A summary is available at

http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/clac_ctte/poverty/report/b1over.doc

2 Link to justice article.

3 Link to hope article.

4 The National Program on Refugees and Displaced Persons of the National Council of Churches in Australia provides more material.

5 See the Interfaith Coalition for Marriage and the Family, Canada, submission to the B.C. Court of Appeal.