Family and Religion: Influence on People If you asked people to describe their families, some would describe single-household families, some would describe stepfamilies, some would describe gay or lesbian or adoptive families and many would describe divorced families. The word family has become a diverse institution it is very difficult to give it a meaning. In a wide sense especially in the biological sciences the term family refers to a group of individual beings linked by blood relations, having a whole line of ancestors and descendants. Aristotle defines the family as a community designed to attend to the basic and permanent needs of the household such as clothing food and shelter. In the past decades the traditional family
To functionalist, the family is shaped by template of society. Feminist Theory focuses on sociological analyses on women’s experience in the family. Also by making gender the main concept in analyzing the family as a social institution. The theory was created by the criticism of functionalist theory. Scholars argued that functionalist theory concluded that gender division of labor is acceptable in society. Additionally, feminist critics argue that, although the functionalist theory accept the gender division as being functional, it is based on stereotype of men and women roles in the family. Quite the contrary, feminists have noted that the family is a significant institutions producing the gender relations found in society. Feminist Theory gestate the family as a system of power relations and social conflict. The last sociological theory ; Symbolic Interaction Theory accent the definition people give to their behavior and others are basis of social interaction. Symbolic interactionists study how people negotiate family relationships such as who does what with housework and how to balance the demands of life and family. For example, when a couple get married, they form a new relationship and new identities with meaning given by society. Some of changes seem abrupt; a change of name or be called someone’s husband or wife. Symbolic interaction theory see marriage as a socially constructed relationship. Meaning it matures through the definition of society.