Evangelical Christianity

The origin of the term religion, however, can shed some light on its early history. It lies in two understandings of the Latin verb, religio. It denoted a binding or fastening together and eventually came to indicate a reverence and fear of deity. Religio also denoted a restraining or holding back. While the former points to the reverential aspects of religion, the latter points to the ethical restraint role of religion's bridling of human motives and impulses. Hence, religion is seen etymologically as a force that reconnects human disjointedness, restrains errant impulses, and gives uniqueness, identity, and integrity to the individual.

Evangelical Christianity embodies these characteristics, and its understanding of the family exhibits a wide range of historical influences. From the ancient Jewish tradition, Christianity derives the convictions that sex is a good of creation ordained by God for procreation and pleasure; marriage and the family are human institutions and ordained by God and can be understood as a covenant; and women and men have dignified roles in marriage and family life. In addition to the themes from Hebrew scripture, the writings of the New Testament offer an abundance of thought on marriage and the family. As a result, the use of scripture can vary widely from one interpretation to the next and often depends on views of the authority and function of scripture developed independently from reflection on marriage and family life. Perhaps because it assumes an understanding of the Old Testament or because it is less predicated on the social structure of a single people, the New Testament has much less to say about the family as a sociological unit. Although not denying the value of strong internal ties in a traditional Jewish family (see Luke 1:17), Jesus would not permit such ties to stand in the way of one's decision to follow him (Matt. 10:35–36). Genesis 2:24 is cited with approbation twice in the Gospels (Matt. 19:5; Mark 10:8) and twice in the Pauline corpus (1 Cor. 6:16; Eph. 5:31) as indicating the close bonds between husband and wife and, therefore of the family unit. The Greco-Roman tradition influenced Christian thought through its contention that marriage is a secular contract entered by consent of the individuals and dissolvable by legal action and that any felt religious dimension to marriage and family life is a private matter.

The history of the church sheds more light on the construction of Christian belief as it relates to marriage and family. Augustine of Hippo, for example, proclaimed the family as a social institution ordained by God that helped to insure three goods: offspring, marital fidelity, and enduring commitment. Augustine's position greatly influenced later thought and is seen to have set the terms, if not the outcome, of theological debate. By the time of the Reformation, four criteria for a valid Christian marriage had emerged: consent, contract, Evangelical Christians give praise during an evening service in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico. They believe that marriage and family are ordained by God and entered into as a covenant. PHILIP GOULD/CORBIS church ceremony, and consummation. These were based chiefly on Augustine's synthesis and the laws and customs of medieval Europe. The foundational impact of the Reformation on the Protestant Christian understanding of marriage and family was to eliminate the requirement of a church ceremony and with it the sacramental (but not the symbolic) character of marriage. Family life was upheld by the Reformers as a secular reality especially blessed by God. From the sixteenth century onward, elements of romantic love involving personal fulfillment and physical pleasure became incorporated into a popular understanding shaping Christian thought to where it began to see the family as a means of self-expression. This became the precursor for modern psychology's influence on religion in general, Protestant Christianity specifically, and its shaping of Christianity's practice and view of marriage and the family.