How do natural law, situation ethics, Kantian ethics and utilitarianism approach premarital and extramarital sex and homosexuality, and how have changing religious beliefs shaped the debate?
Component 02 Applied ethics (sexual ethics): premarital and extramarital sex and homosexuality, the application of natural law, situation ethics, Kantian ethics and utilitarianism, and the influence of developments in religious belief.
An OCR A-Level Religious Studies Component 02 guide to sexual ethics. Covers premarital and extramarital sex and homosexuality, how natural law, situation ethics, Kantian ethics and utilitarianism apply, and the influence of developments in religious belief, with the AO2 evaluation the exam rewards.
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What this dot point is asking
OCR Component 02 requires you to apply the normative theories to sexual ethics, naming premarital and extramarital sex and homosexuality, and to consider how developments in religious belief have influenced the debate. You must show how natural law, situation ethics, Kantian ethics and utilitarianism approach these issues. This is a sensitive, contested area, and the exam expects an academically neutral treatment that sets out the theories fairly and evaluates them, not a personal verdict on anyone's relationships.
The answer
The issues
Natural law on sexual ethics
Situation ethics and Kantian ethics
Utilitarianism and developments in religious belief
Examples in context
Try this
Q1. "Kantian ethics is of little use when applied to sexual ethics." Discuss. [40 marks]
- What the marker wants. An AO2 essay weighing Kant (dignity, no using as means, universalisability) against situation ethics and utilitarianism on premarital and extramarital sex and homosexuality, judging how useful the duty framework is here. AO1 out of 25, AO2 out of 15.
Q2. Assess the extent to which developments in religious belief have changed approaches to sexual ethics. [40 marks]
- Cue. More liberal readings of scripture and the influence of autonomy and equality have shifted many believers, while conservative traditions hold the older teaching. Weigh how far belief has changed practice and judge.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of OCR exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
OCR H573/02 2019 (style)20 marksAssess the usefulness of natural law in dealing with the issues surrounding sexual ethics. (The full OCR tariff for this essay is 40 marks; the worked answer below is scaled to a 20-mark exemplar.)Show worked answer →
A 40-mark Component 02 essay on the six-level scheme (AO1 out of 25, AO2 out of 15). Applying the theory earns AO1; the higher levels reward judging its usefulness.
Explain (AO1). Natural law derives sexual morality from the primary precept of reproduction: sex has a natural purpose (procreation within marriage), so premarital and extramarital sex and homosexual acts, which fall outside that purpose, are judged wrong. Secondary precepts give clear, traditional rules.
Evaluate (AO2). Strengths: clarity, consistency and a principled defence of marriage and commitment. Weaknesses: it reduces sex to reproduction, ignoring love and union; it rests on a fixed view of human nature and a religious premise; it conflicts with modern understandings of sexuality and equality.
Judge. A top answer decides whether natural law's clear guidance outweighs its narrow account of sex, and defends the verdict.
OCR H573/02 2022 (style)20 marksCritically assess the view that situation ethics is the best approach to sexual ethics. (The full OCR tariff for this essay is 40 marks; the worked answer below is scaled to a 20-mark exemplar.)Show worked answer →
A levels-of-response essay testing AO1 understanding of situation ethics applied to sex and AO2 evaluation of it.
Explain. Situation ethics has no fixed sexual rules: Fletcher asks only what agape requires in the situation, so premarital sex, extramarital sex or a homosexual relationship could be right where it is the most loving and least harmful course, and wrong where it harms others.
Evaluate. Strengths: it respects persons and love over rigid rules, and treats people as ends. Weaknesses: agape gives little firm guidance, consequences are hard to judge, and it could be used to rationalise harmful or exploitative relationships.
Judge. A high-level answer weighs whether love-based flexibility is preferable to clear rules in this area, and reaches a justified conclusion.
Related dot points
- Component 02 Natural law: Aquinas's four tiers of law, the primary and secondary precepts, real and apparent goods, and the doctrine of double effect, with strengths and weaknesses as an ethical theory.
An OCR A-Level Religious Studies Component 02 guide to natural law. Covers Aquinas's four tiers of law, the five primary precepts and the secondary precepts derived from them, real and apparent goods, and the doctrine of double effect, with the strengths and weaknesses and the AO2 evaluation the exam rewards.
- Component 02 Situation ethics: Fletcher's agape, the four working principles (pragmatism, relativism, positivism, personalism) and the six fundamental principles, with strengths and weaknesses as an ethical theory.
An OCR A-Level Religious Studies Component 02 guide to situation ethics. Covers Fletcher's principle of agape, the four working principles (pragmatism, relativism, positivism, personalism) and the six fundamental principles, with the strengths, weaknesses and AO2 evaluation the exam rewards.
- Component 02 Kantian ethics: the good will and duty, the categorical imperative and its three formulations (universal law, ends in themselves, kingdom of ends), and the summum bonum, with strengths and weaknesses.
An OCR A-Level Religious Studies Component 02 guide to Kantian ethics. Covers the good will and acting from duty, the categorical imperative and its three formulations (universal law, ends in themselves, the kingdom of ends), and the summum bonum with the postulates of freedom, immortality and God, plus the strengths, weaknesses and AO2 evaluation the exam rewards.
- Component 02 Utilitarianism: Bentham's hedonic calculus, Mill's higher and lower pleasures and harm principle, and the contrast between act and rule utilitarianism, with strengths and weaknesses.
An OCR A-Level Religious Studies Component 02 guide to utilitarianism. Covers Bentham's principle of utility and hedonic calculus, Mill's qualitative distinction between higher and lower pleasures, the contrast between act and rule utilitarianism, and the strengths and weaknesses (calculation, the tyranny of the majority, justice) the exam asks you to evaluate.
- Component 02 Applied ethics (euthanasia): the sanctity of life and quality of life principles, voluntary and non-voluntary euthanasia, and the application of natural law and situation ethics to end-of-life decisions.
An OCR A-Level Religious Studies Component 02 guide to euthanasia. Covers the sanctity of life and quality of life principles, voluntary and non-voluntary euthanasia, the active/passive distinction, and how natural law, situation ethics and utilitarianism apply to end-of-life decisions, with the AO2 evaluation the exam rewards.
Sources & how we know this
- OCR A Level Religious Studies (H573) specification — OCR (2016)
- BBC Ethics Guide: Sexual ethics — BBC (2014)