Edexcel IGCSE section C

Note: there are some resources for this section but it is not complete.

Specification for section C

Human relationships:

The issues of, religious and non-religious beliefs/teachings about, and the (differing) attitudes of religious and non-religious people to: human sexuality and its purposes; and relationships between the sexes, including heterosexuality and homosexuality. (Differing) religious and non religious responses to changing patterns of relationships between the sexes.  

Christian beliefs/teachings about the principles of relationships, with particular reference to Christian teaching about love.

Marriage and partnership:

The issues of, religious and non-religious beliefs/teachings about, and the (differing) attitudes of religious and non-religious people to: marriage and its purposes; the roles and status of partners within marriage/civil partnerships; and the importance and role of marriage in religious communities and society. (Differing) religious and non-religious attitudes towards sex outside marriage (pre-marital sex, promiscuity and adultery) and to couples living together, including in long-term relationships, without being married (cohabitation).  

Christian beliefs/teachings about marriage and its purposes, with particular reference to the marriage vows and the principle of monogamy.

Go to summary notes for the marriage and partnership section.

Divorce and remarriage:

The issues of, religious and non-religious beliefs/teachings about, and the (differing) attitudes of religious and non-religious people to: divorce; and remarriage. (Differing) religious and non religious attitudes to the breakdown of marriage, and its implications for the individuals concerned, religious communities and society.  

Christian beliefs/teachings about annulment, divorce, and remarriage.

Go to summary notes for divorce and remarriage section.

Family structures and responsibilities:

The issues of, religious and non-religious beliefs/teachings about, and the (differing) attitudes of religious and non-religious people to: family life and its importance; responsibilities within the family, including those between different generations; the rights of children; the changing nature of family life (nuclear, extended and reconstituted families) and of the roles of men and women within the family; and the consequences, for the individuals concerned, religious communities and society, when family life breaks down. Ways in which religious communities and society can help to sustain family life, support the upbringing of children, and keep families together.  

Christian beliefs/teachings about family life and its importance. Ways in which Christian communities help to sustain family life, support the upbringing of children and keep families together, particularly through local churches.

Childlessness and celibacy:

The issues of, religious and non-religious beliefs/teachings about, and the (differing) attitudes of religious and non-religious people to: childlessness; decisions not to have children (and the reasons for such decisions); forms of genetic engineering to support successful conception; contraception; and celibacy (including reasons for and against it, and differing attitudes to it).  

Christian beliefs/teachings about childlessness; genetic engineering; contraception; and celibacy, including reasons for and against it.

Key vocabulary for section C:

Adultery: A married person having sexual relations with someone other than their marriage partner

Celibacy: Remaining unmarried and having no sexual relationships

Civil partnership (or civil union/registered or life partnership): A legal relationship between two people of the same sex, which gives the partners equal treatment with married couples in a wide range of areas

Cohabitation: Living together without being married

Contraception: A means of preventing a woman from becoming pregnant

Divorce: The legal ending of a marriage

Extended family: A number of different family relations, such as parents, children,grandparents, and other relations, living together as a unit or close to each other

Faithfulness (within marriage, a civil partnership or long-term relationship): Staying only with the partner and having sexual relations only with that partner

Genetic engineering: Changing the basic structure of human life by medical means

Heterosexuality: Being attracted to people of the opposite gender to yourself

Homosexuality: Being attracted to people of the same gender as yourself

Marriage: A man and a woman who have been legally joined together

Nuclear family: Mother, father and children living as a unit

Pre-marital sex: Having sexual relations before marriage

Promiscuity: Having sexual relations with a number of partners without any commitment

Reconstituted family: Children from different marriages becoming one family after their divorced parents marry each other

Remarriage: Marrying again after being divorced from a previous marriage

Rights of children: (The principle of) treating children fairly

Role (of men or women within marriage, a civil partnership, long-term relationship or within the family): The part a person plays (in the particular relationship or in the family)

Status (of partners within marriage, a civil partnership or long-term relationship): The importance of one partner in relation to the other