Practices in ChristianityRites of passage

The main function of a local church is as a place for Christians to worship together. Most churches hold services every Sunday and throughout the week, and also welcome visitors to engage in private prayer. Rites of passage, such as baptisms, marriages and funerals, are held in local churches. This important function of churches enables whole communities to be involved in these celebrations in the lives of Christians.

Marriage

Marriage is an important rite of passage that is seen by many Christians as the foundation of family life.

Christian wedding ceremonies

Many Christians marry in church, surrounded by family and friends. Christian wedding ceremonies reflect Christian ideas about the purpose of marriage and have features that are of great religious and spiritual importance, including:

• The congregation sing hymns and say prayers to thank and praise God and ask for his blessing on the couple.
• The priest gives a sermon on the theme of love and self-sacrifice.
• Rings are exchanged, symbolising eternal love and that marriage is a lifelong commitment.
• The couple make important promises, called vows, to stay committed to each other.
• The couple sign the marriage register, which is required by law in the UK.

A couple may choose to change some elements of the marriage ceremony. For example, some couples choose to omit the traditional vow where a bride promises to ‘honour and obey’ her husband. Instead, they might choose to use words that show a more equal partnership.

Some churches perform same-sex marriages, while some churches, such as the Roman Catholic Church, do not marry couples of the same sex.

The meaning and purpose of marriage

In these verses from the Bible, St Paul teaches that a married couple become ‘one flesh’, meaning that the union is a lifelong commitment, with the wife being obedient to her husband. According to this teaching, the husband should care for the wife just as God cares for the people of the Church. The idea of a husband being in charge of his wife is viewed by many Christians as contradictory to gender equality. They instead believe that both partners in a marriage should love and respect each other equally, with neither being in charge of the other.

Funerals

A very important function of a local church is as a place where funerals are conducted. In the Gospel of John, Jesus says: I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die (John 11:25). For this reason, Christian funerals, although sad for those who mourn the person who has died, are often seen as ‘celebrations of life’ because this person’s soul is believed to be joining God in Heaven.

Christian funerals differ according to denomination and specific beliefs about the afterlife. Some Christians believe in the resurrection of the body, so they prefer burial over cremation, which destroys the body. This is because the Apostles’ Creed says: I believe in … the resurrection of the body.

However, some Christians believe that resurrection will be spiritual, as St Paul stated in a letter in the Bible (1 Corinthians 15:44). For these Christians, both cremation and burial are acceptable.

Christian funerals bring comfort and hope of salvation to the friends and family of the deceased person. Practices that help to bring this comfort and hope include:

• singing hymns and saying set prayers to thank and praise God
• using flowers to decorate the church and the coffin
• using candles to remind mourners that Jesus is the ‘light of the world’
• praying for the deceased person’s soul (Catholic Christians)