Week 12 - November 1, 2007

Chapter 13 - Family and Religion. The family section of the chapter focuses on the family as a social institution, found in all societies, that unites individuals into cooperative groups that oversee the bearing and raising of children. Family ties are also called kinship, a social bond based on blood, marriage, or adoption. In the United States, most people regard a family unit as a social group of two or more people, related by blood, marriage, or adoption, who usually live together. Families form around marriage, a legally sanctioned relationship, usually involving economic cooperation, as well as sexual activity and childbearing, that people expect to be enduring. In preindustrial societies people take a broad view of family ties, recognizing the extended family, a family unit that includes parents and children as well as other kin. With industrialization, increasing social mobility and geographic migration give rise to the nuclear family, a family unit composed of one or two parents and their children.

Sociologist Emile Durkheim pointed out that, as human beings, we define most objects, events, and experiences as profane, that which is an ordinary element of everyday life. At the same time, we define some things as sacred, that which people set apart as extraordinary, inspiring a sense of awe and reverence. Religion is a social institution involving beliefs and practices based upon a conception of the sacred. The sacred is embodied in ritual, or formal ceremonial behavior. Religion is a matter of faith, belief anchored in conviction rather than scientific evidence. Sociology can investigate the social consequences of religious activity but can never assess the validity of any religious doctrine, precisely because religion is based on faith.