Jaymie Ticknor Intro Sociology 1510 Sect 900 14 November 2013 Chapter 13 Families and Religion Family Ideal a father employed as the breadwinner and a mother at home raising children has long been the dominant cultural norm communicated through a variety of sources Defining the Family Social Institution established social system that emerges changes and persists over time Family refers to a primary group of people usually related by ancestry marriage or adoption who form a cooperative economic unit to care for offspring and each other and who are committed to maintaining the group over time Kinship System pattern of relationships that define people s relationships to one another within a family vary enormously across cultures and over time Generally be categorized by the following features how many marriage partners are 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 Polygamy practice of men or women having multiple marriage partners Polygyny one man having more than one wife Polyandry one woman having more than one husband extremely rare Monogamy practice of a sexually exclusive marriage with one spouse at a time Serial Monogamy individuals may over a lifetime have more than one marriage but only one spouse at a time Patrilineal Kinship trace descent through the father Matrilineal Kinship trace descent through the mother Bilateral Kinship bilineal kinship traces descent through both Matrilocal married couple resides live into wife s residence or family residence Patrilocal married couple resides live into husband s residence or family residence Extended Families Extended Families whole network of parents children and other relatives who form a family unit Othermothers grandmother sister aunt cousin or a member of the local community provides extensive child care and receives recognition and support from the community around her Compadrazgo among Chicanos is another example of an extended kinship system family is enlarged by the inclusion of godparents to whom the family feels a connection that is the equivalent of kinship result is an extended system of connections between fictive kin those who are not related by birth but are considered part of family and actual kin that deeply affects family relationships among Chicanos Nuclear Family married couple resides together with their children Nuclear Families Shift to wage labor was accompanied by an assumption that men should earn the Family Wage Family Wage System persisted and is reflected still in the unequal wages of men and women Sociological Theory and Families Functionalist Theory and Families Families meet the needs of society to socialize children and reproduce new members teach people the norms and values of society are organized around harmony of interests and experience social disorganization breakdowns when society undergoes rapid social changes Conflict Theory and Families Families reinforce and support power relations in society inculcate values consistent with the needs of dominant institutions are sites for conflict and diverse interests of different family members and change as the economic organization of society changes Feminist Theory and Families Families are gendered institutions that reflect the gender hierarchies in society are a primary agent of gender socialization involve a power imbalance between men and women and evolve in new forms as the society becomes more or less egalitarian Symbolic Interaction Theory and Families Families emerge as people interact to meet basic needs and develop meaningful relationships are where people learn social identities through their interactions with others are places where people negotiate their roles and relationships with each other change as people develop new understandings of family life Diversity Among Contemporary American Families Female Headed Households Feminization of Poverty under great strain most likely to be poor Married Couple Families Commuter Marriages work requires one partner in a dual career couple to reside in a different city separated by jobs too distant for daily commute Single People Cohabitation living together 25 percent of the population over age 15 are single 55 percent of men and 45 percent of women between 18 and 24 years old live at home with their parents Marriage and Divorce Marriage Divorce 28 percent equally share the housework among couples where both partners are employed Marriage rate is 7 5 marriages per 1 000 people and the divorce rate is 3 6 per 1 000 people Changing Families in a Changing Society Global Changes in Family Life Transnational Family defined as families where one parent or both lives and works in one country while their children remain in the country of origin Families and Social Policy Balancing Work and Family Family and Medical Leave Act FMLA adopted by Congress in 1993 meant to provide help for conflicts between family and work requires employers to grant employees a total of 12 weeks in unpaid leave to care for newborns adopted children or family members with serious health conditions first law to recognize the need of families to care for children and other dependents only 15 of workers have child care benefits available to them from employers Child Care Almost one half of families with children under age 13 have child care expenses typically taking 9 of their earnings single parent families pay larger percentage of earnings on child care cole maternelle system in France has almost all parents enroll young children in this where a place is guaranteed to every child aged 3 to 6 Care Work work that sustains life including child care elder care housework and other forms of household labor Defining Religion Religion institutionalized system of symbols beliefs values and practices by which a group of people interprets and responds to what they feel is sacred and that provides answers to questions of ultimate meaning Religion is institutionalized a feature of groups establishes values and moral proscriptions for behavior and establishes norms for behavior Religions are based on beliefs that are considered sacred Sacred that which is set apart from ordinary activity for worship seen as holy and protected by special rites and rituals Profane which is of the everyday world and specifically not religious Totem object or living thing that a religious group regards with special reverence Religion provides answers