Childlessness: a gift, not a right
The lessons Childlessness, Fertility Treatment and Genetic Engineering and Contraception, Celibacy, Adoption and Fostering explained the general ideas and what non-religious people think. This lesson looks at what Christians believe and why they sometimes disagree.
As The Christian Family and the Local Church showed, Christians see children as a gift from God. A gift cannot be demanded, so most Christians teach that a couple do not have a right to a child. This does not mean they are cold about childlessness. The Bible tells of Hannah, who prayed hard for a child and later had a son, Samuel (1 Samuel 1), and of Elizabeth, who was childless for many years before she had a son, John the Baptist (Luke 1). These stories show that Christians take the pain of childlessness seriously.
Churches offer prayer, listening and support. Many Christians also teach that life can be worthwhile without children, because everyone has a calling. A childless couple may serve God by caring for others, working in the community or helping children who are not their own.
Key terms:
- Calling: the purpose or way of life that a Christian believes God wants for them.
- Humanae Vitae: a letter written in 1968 by Pope Paul VI, the leader of the Catholic Church at the time, setting out Catholic teaching on contraception.
- Natural family planning: a natural method of spacing births, where a couple use the woman's fertile and infertile days to decide when to have sex.
- Monk and nun: a man or woman who lives in a religious community and promises to give their life to God.
Fertility treatment and genetic engineering
⛪ Catholic view
The Catholic Church teaches that a child should be conceived through the loving union of a married couple, not in a laboratory. It objects to IVF because it separates sex from conceiving a child, and because spare embryos are often frozen or destroyed. Catholics believe life begins at conception (see Sanctity of Life and Abortion: Christian Views), so they see embryo research as wrong. Treatments that help a couple conceive through their own act of love, such as treating an illness, can be accepted.
🩺 Other Churches
Many Protestant Churches, such as the Church of England (an Anglican Church), accept fertility treatment, including IVF, for a married couple. They say it uses God-given medical skill to help people have a family, and so it is an act of compassion. Many still ask that embryos are not wasted and that donors are used with great care, because a child may want to know where they came from. Childlessness, Fertility Treatment and Genetic Engineering explained IVF (a treatment where an egg is fertilised outside the body) and embryos.
On genetic engineering, some Christians welcome it where it prevents serious illness, because Jesus healed the sick and healing is a loving act. Others, including the Catholic Church, object when embryos are harmed. Most Christians fear "designer babies", where parents choose features like a child's looks, because it treats a child as a product rather than a gift.
Contraception
In Humanae Vitae (1968) the Catholic Church taught that artificial methods of contraception are wrong. It teaches that sex has two purposes, expressing love between husband and wife and being open to new life, and that these must not be separated. Catholics may use natural family planning to space births. Some Catholics disagree with the teaching and use contraception anyway.
Most other Churches accept contraception within marriage. In 1930 the Church of England's bishops, meeting at the Lambeth Conference, agreed it could be used in some cases, and today the Church of England accepts it. Their reasons are:
- It lets couples plan the size of their family and look after the children they have.
- It protects the health of the mother.
- It lets married love be expressed without a pregnancy each time.
Celibacy
Celibacy means choosing not to marry or have sex. In the Roman Catholic Church, priests normally promise to stay celibate. Monks and nuns do too, as part of their promises to give their lives to God. Christians give these reasons:
✅ For celibacy
Christians point out that Jesus is not recorded as marrying. Paul, an early Christian leader whose letters are in the New Testament, wrote in 1 Corinthians 7 that an unmarried person can give all their attention to serving the Lord, while a married person must also think about pleasing their partner. Without a family, a priest, monk or nun is free to serve God and others at any hour.
❌ Against celibacy
Genesis 2:18 says it is not good for a person to be alone. Celibate people may be lonely, and some argue that God made people for close relationships. Paul himself said that each person has their own gift from God, and that those who cannot control their desires should marry (1 Corinthians 7:7-9).
Not all Christians expect their leaders to be celibate. Protestant ministers, for example in the Church of England, can marry. In the Orthodox Church, a man may marry before he is made a priest, but bishops are chosen from those who are celibate. Many Christians say celibacy is a calling only for some.
Adoption and fostering
Christians see adoption and fostering as love in action. James 1:27 says that real religion includes looking after orphans in their distress. Many Christians also see Joseph as a kind of foster father to Jesus. Adoption has a special meaning too: Paul wrote that Christians are adopted into God's family (Romans 8:15). Christians who cannot have children may adopt or foster as their calling, and others do it because they want to give a child a home, whether for life (adoption) or for a time (fostering).
Common mistakes
- Saying all Christians are against contraception or IVF. Catholics and other Churches have different views.
- Saying all Christians must be celibate. Only some, such as most Catholic priests, monks and nuns, make the promise.
- Writing "Christians believe..." with no Church named when the question asks about differences.
Exam-style question
(a) Identify three groups of people in the Catholic Church who may choose celibacy or take a vow of it. [3 marks, AO1]
(b) Choose one religion. Outline two teachings about contraception in this religion. [4 marks, AO1]
(c) Explain why there are different Christian attitudes to fertility treatment. [6 marks, AO1 and AO2]
(d) "Catholic priests should be allowed to marry." Evaluate this statement, showing you have considered different points of view. In your answer you should refer to at least one religion. [12 marks, AO1 and AO2]
Model answer
(a) 1. Priests (1). 2. Monks (1). 3. Nuns (1).
(b) Christianity. The Catholic Church teaches that artificial contraception is wrong (1), as Humanae Vitae said, because sex must be open to new life (1). Most other Churches accept contraception within marriage (1), because it lets couples plan their family and protect the mother's health (1).
(c) Christian attitudes differ because Churches disagree about how far the embryo must be protected and whether IVF separates sex from conceiving a child. The Catholic Church believes life begins at conception, so it objects to IVF because spare embryos may be destroyed. It also teaches that a child should come from the married couple's own act of love, not a laboratory. Many Protestant Churches, such as the Church of England (an Anglican Church), accept IVF for a married couple. They see it as using God-given medical skill to help people to have a family. Christians who think healing is a loving act, as Jesus healed the sick, are more likely to accept treatment. So different Churches reach different views.
(d) Plan. For: Paul said those who cannot control their desires should marry (1 Corinthians 7:7-9); Protestant ministers can marry and Orthodox priests can be married men; marriage could remove loneliness; God made people for relationships (Genesis 2:18). Against: Jesus is not recorded as marrying and Paul praised the undivided service of the unmarried (1 Corinthians 7); a celibate priest is free to serve at any hour; the Catholic Church has kept this rule as a discipline for centuries; humanists may say it is a matter of personal choice. Conclusion. A strong answer could say that Catholic teaching treats celibacy as a calling that helps priests serve, but that other Christians show married clergy can serve well too, then decide which argument is stronger and why.
Exam tip
In part (c), when the question says "different attitudes", name at least two groups (for example Catholics and Church of England Christians) and give each group's reason, not just its conclusion.
Recap
- Christians see children as a gift, not a right, and support childless couples with prayer, care and other callings.
- Catholics object to IVF and embryo research; many other Churches accept fertility treatment within marriage.
- Humanae Vitae (1968) teaches against artificial contraception; most other Churches accept it.
- Celibacy is a calling for some, with reasons for (undivided service) and against (loneliness, marriage is good).
- Adoption and fostering show love in action (James 1:27).