Family and Religion: Key Concepts in Sociology

Family

A social institution uniting people in cooperative groups, including children.

Kinship

A social bond based on ancestry, marriage, or adoption.

Nuclear Family

Family of parents and their children.

Extended Family

Family including parents, children, and other kin.

Family of Affinity

People who consider themselves family without legal/biological ties.

Monogamy

Marriage uniting two partners.

Polygyny

One man with multiple wives.

Polyandry

One woman with multiple husbands.

Endogamy

Marriage within one's social group.

Exogamy

Marriage outside one's social group.

Bilateral Descent

Tracing kinship through both mother and father.

Patrilineal Descent

Tracing kin through men.

Matrilineal Descent

Tracing kin through women.

Structural-Functional Theory (Family)

Family provides socialization, regulation of sexuality, social placement, emotional support.

Conflict Theory (Family)

Family reinforces inequality through property, patriarchy, and race.

Symbolic-Interaction Theory (Family)

Family is created through daily interactions that build meaning and emotional bonds.

Courtship

The process of choosing partners through social norms or romantic love.

Homogamy

Marrying someone with similar social characteristics.

Infidelity

Sexual activity outside marriage.

Empty Nest

Stage where children leave home and parents adjust to new roles.

Divorce Causes

Individualism, fading love, stress, women's independence, acceptance, easy legal process.

Blended Family

Family formed through remarriage with step-relatives.

Cohabitation

Unmarried couples living together.

Single Parenthood

Raising a child without a partner, often linked to economic strain.

Family Violence

Abuse—emotional, physical, or sexual—within families.

Religion

A social institution involving beliefs and practices based on the sacred.

Sacred

Extraordinary, awe-inspiring, set apart.

Profane

Ordinary, everyday.

Ritual

Formal ceremonial behavior expressing the sacred.

Faith

Belief in convictions rather than scientific evidence.

Functionalist View (Religion)

Religion provides cohesion, control, and meaning.

Conflict Theory (Religion)

Religion legitimizes inequality; "opium of the people."

Symbolic-Interaction (Religion)

Religion is socially constructed through rituals and shared meanings.

Church

Large, well-integrated, formal religious organization.

Sect

Smaller group that rejects broader society; strict and exclusive.

Cult

New, unconventional religious group often led by a charismatic figure.

Secularization

Decline in the importance of religion.

Civil Religion

Quasi-religious loyalty to the nation.

Fundamentalism

Literal interpretation of doctrine and rejection of pluralism.

Religiosity

Importance of religion in a person's life.