Transcript Chapter 15, Families

Chapter 12, Families and Religion
Families
 Defining the Family
 Sociological Theory and Families
 Diversity Among Contemporary American
Families
 Marriage and Divorce
 Changing Families/Changing society
Chapter 12, Families and Religion
Religion
 Defining Religion
 The Significance of Religion in American
Society
 Sociological Theories of Religion
 Diversity and Religious Beliefs
 Religious Organizations
 Religion and Social Change
Features of Kinship Systems
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Number of marriage partners permitted at one
time.
Who is permitted to marry whom.
How descent is determined.
How property is passed on.
Where the family resides.
How power is distributed.
Functionalism and the Family
Families exist to meet particular societal needs:
 Socializing the young.
 Regulating sexual activity and procreation.
 Providing physical care for family members.
 Giving psychological support and emotional
security to members.
Functionalism and the Family
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When society undergoes rapid change,
families become disorganized and break down.
The high divorce rate and the number of single
parent households are the result of social
disorganization.
Conflict Theory and the Family
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Family relationships reinforce and reflect
inequalities in society.
Families in American society are shaped by
capitalism.
Families socialize children to be obedient,
subordinate to authority and good consumers.
Feminist Theory and the Family
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Family is one of the primary institutions
producing gender relations in society.
The family is a system of power relations and
social conflict.
The family is a gendered institution and critical
of perspectives that take women's place in
families for granted.
Symbolic Interaction
and the Family
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Analyze how people define and understand
family experience and negotiate family
relationships.
Emphasizes the construction of meaning within
families.
Roles within families evolve as participants
define their behavior toward each other.
Diversity Among Families
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Increase in female-headed households which
are more likely than others to live in poverty.
Gay and lesbian households are more
common and challenge traditional definitions of
the family.
Single people make up more of the population,
partly because people marry at a later age.
Female-headed Households
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Teen mothers are less likely to marry today
than in the past.
Social problems are caused by economic
stress rather than the absence of a husband.
Single fathers tend to get more help, typically
from women, than do single mothers.
Married Couple Families
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Most significant change has been the
participation of women in the labor force.
Both men and women are working a month
more per year than they did in 1970.
Women work a “double day” of paid
employment and unpaid work in the home.
Stepfamilies
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About 40% of marriages in the U.S. involve
stepchildren.
Blended families demand the learning of new
roles for both parents and children.
The lack of institutional support systems cause
stress resulting in high probability of divorce
among remarried couples with children.
Gay and Lesbian Households
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Tend to be less gender-stereotyped in
household roles than heterosexual couples.
Negatively affected by the denial of benefits
and privileges accorded legally recognized
marriages.
Only Hawaii and Vermont legally recognize gay
marriage.
Singles
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Number has increased from 29% of the
population in 1970 to 42% today.
People are marrying later partly due to longer
life expectancy, higher educational attainment
and cohabitation.
Changes in sexual attitudes and removal of
stigma of being single have contributed to the
happiness of singles.
Marriage
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The U.S. has the highest rate of marriage of
any Western industrialized nation.
Most marital conflicts are about finances and
housework, not sexual jealousy.
Most couples agree that childcare should be
shared, but only 38% of couples think that
housework should be shared.
Marriage
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Women continue to do more work at home and
have less leisure time than men.
Men are working longer hours, but primarily in
paid employment.
The majority of women in all social classes
experience stress over the amount of work
they have to do and their lack of free time.
Divorce
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Sociologists estimate that 1 in every 2
marriages made today will end in divorce.
Divorced men are more likely than women to
remarry and to remarry faster.
Despite the emotional pain and economic
struggle women experience following divorce,
most are glad that their marriages ended.
Family Violence
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The majority of domestic violence cases go
unreported.
It is currently estimated that 1 in 3 women will
be physically assaulted by her husband.
Belief that the batterer will change, financial
constraints, and mandatory arrest laws keep
the victim in the relationship.
Six Defining Elements of Religion
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Religion is institutionalized.
Religion is a feature of groups.
Religions are based on beliefs that are
considered sacred, as distinguished from
profane.
Six Defining Elements of Religion
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Religion establishes values and moral
proscriptions for behavior.
Religion establishes norms for behavior.
Religion provides answers to questions of
ultimate meaning, as distinguished from
secular beliefs.
Durkheim: The Functions of
Religion
Religion is functional for society:
 Reaffirms the social bonds between people.
 Creates social cohesion and integration
through religious rituals.
 Binds individuals to society by establishing a
collective consciousness.
Weber: The Protestant Ethic and
the Spirit of Capitalism
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The Protestant faith supported the
development of capitalism.
Material wealth meant one was favored by
God, motivating Protestants to work to confirm
their salvation.
Value judgments about those who haven’t
succeeded can be traced to influence of
religion.
Marx: Religion, Social Conflict, and
Oppression
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Religion legitimates the social order and
supports the ideas of the ruling class.
Oppressed people develop religion to soothe
them and it prevents them from rising up
against oppression.
Religion can be the basis for social change or
social continuity.
Three Types of Religious
Organizations
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Churches - formal organizations that are seen
by society as primary and legitimate religious
institutions.
Sects - groups that have broken off from an
established church.
Cults - religious groups devoted to a specific
cause or a leader with charisma.
Religion and Social Change
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Evangelical groups linked to conservative
political causes have influenced national
elections.
Religion has had an important part in the civil
rights movement and feminism.