Social institutions provide people with essential functions that are necessary for humans’ full-fledged existence. Social institutions, namely family and religion, may take a central part in people’s moral values and foundations. Humans’ needs in procreation, protection, socialization, companionship, love, and support are possible to achieve only within the family. Religion, for its part, may encourage people to live in compliance with ethical and moral values, thereby providing people with a sense of purpose. Therefore, family and religion are cultural units of society represented in various forms of humans’ culture. However, the authority of such core components of people’s society has declined over the last century.
Generally speaking, social institutions are the patterned ways of people’s interaction and living together. Values and norms that are laid down in the institutions regulate humans’ conduction and behavior in society. Therefore, family institutions may be crucial in forming a person that will follow ethical and moral values while interacting and communicating with others. The family has been the major social institution since children have the strongest contacts, and the family may teach them to distinguish the wrong and the right and instill moral values. It is an essential unit of society, which shapes an individual to be ready to live in society, and thereby, to form this society. The significance of family institutions is proven by the fact that they may regulate such social rates as crime levels, for instance. LaFree (2018) argues that family institutions decrease crime by socializing their members to be law-abiding and honest and then assure their respect to social regulations. Moreover, families may protect their members from the criminal activities of other individuals. Thus, this institution may ensure social control and socialization within society.
However, influenced by substantial economic changes, the notion of a traditional family has changed during the last century. LaFree (2018) claims that following World War II during the 1960s and 1970s, a male-dominated nuclear family, which earlier was the patterned norm and foundation of most Americans, was criticized with sharp urgency. Furthermore, compared to white, black family institutions declined at a sharper rate during the postwar years. With the economic development, the family farm almost disappeared, and women began to join the paid labor force in significant amounts. The dissatisfaction with the traditional form of the family and the changes in the family being flued by the economy increased the number of Americans living in single-parent households, blended families, or outside of households (LaFree, 2018). The traditional notion of the nuclear family with two biological parents, which earlier dominated American society, began to change rapidly. As a result, the crime level has increased since families were no longer capable of representing a social unit that may ensure social control of its members.
An additional reason for the family institutions’ decline was substantial women’s emancipation within society. Women did not want to limit themselves only by the duty of raising children and living under the patriarchate. LaFree (2018) states that the pivotal regard of the feminist critique of the traditional family notion was its rejection of the uncontested husband and father dominance. Therefore, women have tried to escape the patriarchal system where the children and women’s status directly depended on the men. As women began to actualize themselves in society, they became more independent from men, which ultimately induce traditional family institutions’ decline.
Along with family institutions religion institutions’ authority has decreased as well over the last century. However, in modern society, religion may be one of the fundamental social institutions. The people’s desire to find answers to eternal questions, acquire moral support and follow ethical values explain the existence of religion within different societies. Although the value of religion in the United States remains higher than in some European countries, the secularization of American society happening. During the postwar years, in the era of global social changes, protests, and liberations, religious decline was obvious enough.
In the second half of the last century, religion was universally criticized, and more and more Americans claimed that they did not treat themselves as any religion. According to McCaffree (2017), the number of American citizens for whom religion remained important had dropped from 75% to 52% from 1952 to 1978 years. During the last century, the impact of society’s secularization was becoming more and more significant. McCaffree (2017) argues that the largest decline of weekly church attendance that had ever been recorded happened in the 11 years from 1958 to 1969 when the number dropped from 49% to 42%. The main driving force of secularization within American society remained the younger population.
One of the main reasons for such a decline of the religious institution may be the political view of younger people. They may be moving away from religion since they perceive it deeply intertwined with conservative politics, with whom they do not want to be associated. In addition, family institution decline may take its part as well. The delay of marriage and childbirth among young people may affect society’s connection with religious values.
To summarize, the existence of such core institutions of people’s society, such as family and religion, maybe rather important in forming full-fledged and conscious people. Family institutions provide humans with all need processes, such as socialization, protection, companionship, and support. Meanwhile, religion instills in people the moral and ethical values necessary for life and interaction with other individuals. The decline of these institutions may lead to a significant society aggravation.
References
LaFree, G. (2018). Losing legitimacy: Street crime and the decline of social institutions in America. Routledge.
McCaffree, K. (2017). The secular landscape: The decline of religion in America (1st ed. 2017 ed.). Springer Publishing.