Family values

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Family values, sometimes referred to as familial values, are traditional or cultural values that pertain to the family's structure, function, roles, beliefs, attitudes, and ideals. The concept of family values may also refer to the extent to which familial relationships are valued within people's lives.

Contents

In the social sciences and U.S. political discourse, the conventional term "traditional family" describes the nuclear family—a child-rearing environment composed of a leading father, a homemaking mother, and their nominally biological children. A family deviating from this model is considered a nontraditional family. However, in most cultures at most times, the extended family model has been most common, not the nuclear family, [1] and the "nuclear family" became the most common form in the U.S. in the 1960s and 1970s. [2]

Definition

Several online dictionaries define "family values" as the following:

In politics

Familialism or familism is the ideology that puts priority on family and family values. [6] Familialism advocates for a welfare system where families, rather than the government, take responsibility for the care of their members. [6]

In the United States, the banner of "family values" has been used by social conservatives to express opposition to abortion, birth control, environmentalism, feminism, pornography, comprehensive sex education, divorce, homosexuality, same-sex marriage, civil unions, secularism, and atheism. [7] American conservative groups have made inroads promoting these policies in Africa since the early 2000s, describing them as African family values. [8]

The phrase "family values" originated with the 1992 Republican National Convention, for their "Family Values Night," featuring Barbara Bush as the keynote speaker. In the short term the phrase was widely panned, and at the time the staying power of the idea was underestimated. [9]

Family values by region

Islam

Interpretations of Islamic learnings and Arab culture are common for the majority of Saudis. Islam is a driving cultural force that dictates a submission to the will of Allah. [10] The academic literature suggests that the family is regarded as the main foundation of Muslim society and culture; the family structure and nature of the relationship between family members are influenced by the Islamic religion. [11] Marriage in Saudi culture means the union of two families, not just two individuals. [12] In Muslim society, marriage involves a social contract that occurs with the consent of parents or guardians. Furthermore, marriage is considered the only legitimate outlet for sexual desires, and sex outside marriage (zina) is a crime that is punished under Islamic law. [13]

The Saudi family includes extended families, as the extended family provides the individual with a sense of identity. The father is often the breadwinner and protector of the family, whereas the mother is often the homemaker and the primary caretaker of the children. [14] Parents are regarded with high respect, and children are strongly encouraged to respect and obey their parents. [15] Often, families provide care for elders. Until recently, because families and friends are expected to provide elderly care, nursing homes were considered culturally unacceptable. [16]

United States culture

In sociological terms, nontraditional families make up the majority of American households. [17] As of 2014, only 46% of children in the U.S. live in a traditional family, down from 61% in 1980. [18] This number includes only families with parents who are in their first marriage, whereas the percentage of children simply living with two married parents is 65% as of 2016. [19]

See also

These groups are associated with "family values." Many of them are also listed as hate groups with the Southern Poverty Law Center as a result of their anti-LGBT activism.

Related Research Articles

Sharia is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and hadith. In Arabic, the term sharīʿah refers to God's immutable divine law and this referencing is contrasted with fiqh, which refers to its interpretations by Islamic scholars. Fiqh, practical application side of sharia in a sense, was elaborated over the centuries by legal opinions issued by qualified jurists and sharia has never been the sole valid legal system in Islam historically; it has always been used alongside customary law from the beginning, and applied in courts by ruler-appointed judges, integrated with various economic, criminal and administrative laws issued by Muslim rulers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zakat</span> Form of almsgiving obligatory in Islam

Zakat is a form of almsgiving, often collected by the Muslim Ummah. It is considered in Islam as a religious obligation, and by Quranic ranking, is next after prayer (salat) in importance. Eight heads of zakat are mentioned in the Quran.

Heteronormativity is the concept that heterosexuality is the preferred or normal sexual orientation. It assumes the gender binary and that sexual and marital relations are most fitting between people of opposite sex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saudi Arabia</span> Country in the Middle East

Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia and the Middle East. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about 2150000 km2, making it the fifth-largest country in Asia and the largest in the Middle East. It is bordered by the Red Sea to the west; Jordan, Iraq, and Kuwait to the north; the Persian Gulf, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to the east; Oman to the southeast; and Yemen to the south. Bahrain is an island country off its east coast. The Gulf of Aqaba in the northwest separates Saudi Arabia from Egypt and Israel. Saudi Arabia is the only country with a coastline along both the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, and most of its terrain consists of arid desert, lowland, steppe, and mountains. The capital and largest city is Riyadh; the kingdom also hosts Islam's two holiest cities of Mecca and Medina.

Child marriage is a marriage or domestic partnership, formal or informal, between a child and an adult, or between a child and another child.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Culture of Saudi Arabia</span>

The cultural setting of Saudi Arabia is greatly influenced by the Arab and Islamic culture. The society is in general deeply religious, conservative, traditional, and family-oriented. Many attitudes and traditions are centuries-old, derived from Arab civilization and Islamic heritage. However, its culture has also been affected by rapid change, as the country was transformed from an impoverished nomadic society into a rich commodity producer in just a few years in the 1970s. This change has also been affected by and the result of a number of factors including the communications revolution and external scholarships. The most recent ruler or king of Saudi is King Salman of Saudi Arabia.

A love marriage is one which is driven solely by the couple, with or without consent of their parents, as opposed to arranged marriage. While there is no clear definition of love marriage, the term was in common use globally during the Victorian era. It is still used in the Commonwealth countries of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, as well as Nepal and Egypt.

Gender roles in Islam are based on scriptures, cultural traditions, and jurisprudence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sociology of the family</span> Branch of sociology

Sociology of the family is a subfield of the subject of sociology, in which researchers and academics study family structure as a social institution and unit of socialization from various sociological perspectives. It can be seen as an example of patterned social relations and group dynamics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women in Islam</span> Womens role in Islamic culture

The experiences of Muslim women vary widely between and within different societies. At the same time, their adherence to Islam is a shared factor that affects their lives to a varying degree and gives them a common identity that may serve to bridge the wide cultural, social, and economic differences between them.

Diya in Islamic law, is the financial compensation paid to the victim or heirs of a victim in the cases of murder, bodily harm or property damage by mistake. It is an alternative punishment to qisas. In Arabic, the word means both blood money and ransom, and it is spelled sometimes as diyah or diyeh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Family</span> Group of related people

Family is a group of people related either by consanguinity or affinity. It forms the basis for social order. The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as members mature and learn to participate in the community. Historically, most human societies use family as the primary purpose of attachment, nurturance, and socialization.

Milk kinship, formed during nursing by a non-biological mother, was a form of fostering allegiance with fellow community members. This particular form of kinship did not exclude particular groups, such that class and other hierarchal systems did not matter in terms of milk kinship participation.

Familialism or familism is an ideology that puts priority to family. The term familialism has been specifically used for advocating a welfare system wherein it is presumed that families will take responsibility for the care of their members rather than leaving that responsibility to the government. The term familism relates more to family values. This can manifest as prioritizing the needs of the family higher than that of individuals. Yet, the two terms are often used interchangeably.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Family in the United States</span> Overview of American family models

In the United States, the traditional family structure is considered a family support system involving two married individuals providing care and stability for their biological offspring. However, this two-parent, heterosexual, nuclear family has become less prevalent, and nontraditional family forms have become more common. The family is created at birth and establishes ties across generations. Those generations, the extended family of aunts and uncles, grandparents, and cousins, can hold significant emotional and economic roles for the nuclear family.

Rufayda Al-Aslamia, was an Arab medical and social worker recognized as the first female Muslim nurse and the first female surgeon in Islam. She is known as the first nurse in the world.

Arranged marriage is a type of marital union where the bride and groom are primarily selected by individuals other than the couple themselves, particularly by family members such as the parents. In some cultures, a professional matchmaker may be used to find a spouse for a young person.

Work–family balance in the United States differs significantly for families of different social class. This differs from work–life balance: while work–life balance may refer to the health and living issues that arise from work, work–family balance refers specifically to how work and families intersect and influence each other.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">African-American family structure</span> Matter of national public policy interest

The family structure of African Americans has long been a matter of national public policy interest. A 1965 report by Daniel Patrick Moynihan, known as The Moynihan Report, examined the link between black poverty and family structure. It hypothesized that the destruction of the black nuclear family structure would hinder further progress toward economic and political equality.

Childbirth in China is influenced by traditional Chinese medicine, state control of reproductive health and birthing, and the adoption of modern biomedical practices. There are an estimated 16 million births annually in mainland China. As of 2022, Chinese state media reported the country's total fertility rate to be 1.09. In 2023, there were 7.88 million births.

References

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  5. "family values". Oxford Dictionaries. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on January 8, 2014. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
  6. 1 2 Emiko Ochiai, Leo Aoi Hosoya (2014). Transformation of the Intimate and the Public in Asian Modernity. The Intimate and the Public in Asian and Global Perspectives. BRILL. pp. 20–1. ISBN   9789004264359.
  7. Dowland, Seth (2015). Family Values and the Rise of the Christian Right. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN   9780812247602.
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  13. Lemu, A; Heeren, F (1992). Women in Islam. Leicester, England: The Islamic Foundation.
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  15. Ghazwi, F.; Nock, L. (1989). "Religion as mediating force in the effects of modernization on parent–child relations in Jordan". Middle Eastern Studies. 25 (3): 363–369. doi:10.1080/00263208908700786.
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  17. Panasenko, N (2013). "Czech and Slovak Family Patterns and Family Values in Historical, Social and Cultural Context". Journal of Comparative Family Studies. 44 (1): 79–98. doi:10.3138/jcfs.44.1.79.
  18. "Fewer than half of US kids live in 'traditional' family". December 22, 2014. Archived from the original on 11 April 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
  19. "The Majority of Children Live With Two Parents, Census Bureau Reports". The United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 16 July 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
  20. "American Family Association". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
  21. "Family Research Council". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
  22. "Active U.S. Hate Groups in 2006: Colorado". Southern Poverty Law Center. 2007. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved October 22, 2007.
  23. "The rise and fall of the Traditional Values Coalition". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
  24. "World Congress of Families". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved 2024-03-20.

Further reading