In sociology, social structures established the foundations that enable the continued existence of society. The paper will focus on four of these functions: family, religion, healthcare, and marriage. The institution of a family, which can be described as the relations that exist between two individuals, connected by birth, marriage, adoption or in strong ties of intimacy. The family is experiencing dynamic structures and organizations that determine the overall changes witnessed today. In a family, there are common viewpoints that show the family’s position in the institution. The conflict theory construes family as a setup that is private, distinct and focuses where matters of inequalities or discrepancies are realized (Furseth & Repstad, 2017). In the functionalist view, families take on individualized positions whereby it is expected of them to take care of specific tasks to enable the development and success of a society. Mobilization and socialization are critical in families with children who are supposed to be raised appreciating the social values, beliefs, and backgrounds of the time. The interactionism view understands and recognizes the endless changes in the world in different eras and consequently concentrates majorly on the symbols and implications behind “family.” Therefore, interactionism perspective makes sense as the parents are expected to protect and nurture the child so that they can participate constructively to the future society.
The institution of religion acts as a system of unity among those that have faith in the supernatural. Many people or families have built their belief around the aspect of heaven, constituting their belief system. Popular religions include Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Judaism (Furseth & Repstad, 2017). Most people believe they will attain heaven if they practice their religion strictly. According to functionalists, religions have different purposes, is a remedy to mystical aspects, offer emotional comfort and encourage social interaction. They think that religion is about forming networks and groups. Conflict theory insists that religion is intended to sustain different patterns of social inequality like power, wealth, and gender favoritism. Interactionist suggests that the daily interactions of people are what causes something to be sacred, and not just beliefs and practices. Conflict viewpoint describes faith in a better way since most religions like Islam indicate that when we do well with others, the same comes out the way and vice versa. It is the perspective that proposes that people should appreciate their faith and encourages others to join them.
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Another social construction focuses on the US healthcare system. Sociological understanding insists on the place on an individual’ social backgrounds in regards to the quality of their health and how they get care. The culture of a society determines the health of individuals and their healthcare. The functionalist perspective indicates that good health and health care are critical of a functioning society. The conflict approach points out to the inequalities in the quality of health and healthcare being provided (Hareven, 2018). On the other hand, the interactionist view is that health and illness are social structures; mental and physical circumstances have no or little purpose. They are thought to be healthy or unhealthy circumstances as construed by the society or the people. Functionalist is the most preferable to portray what is happening to US population in terms of their health. The theory explains that if people in America are sick, it is because of their unhealthy habits of eating. If the lifestyle is changed, the people will be healthier and only serious illnesses that will bother the nation.
Marriage creates the union of two members of a society to form a family relationship. It is through marriage that a family and a society are ultimately well integrated. Functionalists find it difficult to differentiate between families and marriage (Hareven, 2018). It marriage that leads to a family, which is tasked with the functions of reproduction, emotional support, and parameters of sexual relationships through social beliefs. Conflict theorists believe that the family is a social agreement that is more advantageous to men than women are. Therefore, marriage brings up the relationship of a family (Furseth & Repstad, 2017). The interactionist believes that marriage reinforces and refresh family relationships. It breeds up ties and relationships between the related individuals. Conflict theorists make more sense in terms of the understanding of marriage by emphasizing that man benefits the hope. Indeed the women only come as a helper to man’s numerous responsibilities.
References
Furseth, I., & Repstad, P. (2017). An introduction to the sociology of religion: Classical and contemporary perspectives . Routledge.
Hareven, T. K. (2018). Families, history and social change: Life course and cross-cultural perspectives . Routledge.
