MARRIAGE AND FAMILY IN BRITAIN

Marriage and family in Britain

Marriage and family in Britain

Marriage and family in Britain

Introduction

The objective of this assignment is to understand the comparison between tradition and modern British marriage and family system, and try to figure out how the idea of individual choice and freedom influence their structure and future outlook.

The study also take into account the historical emergence of those factors which gave rise to these social structures in society, and also attempt o analyze and assess how religion, class, gender and ethnicity have influenced these social institutions both in the past and present social and cultural contexts.

One major thing which we have understood from this research assignment is that the definition of marriage and family are quite flexible in nature, and depends upon the socio-economic conditions of society in these time periods.

Historical Outlook

The emergence of the renaissance age and the advent of the scientific revolution have transformed British society. The unprecedented change caused in the last few generations has faded traditional power structures and creating a new form of social practices. The British marriage and family system are one of those areas where the effect of changing social environment is highly evident and easy to evaluate (Giddens, 2000, pp, 24-32).

Prior to renaissance, the typical British family consisted of a husband, wife, children, and grandparents. In those days' men was considered the main decision makers, someone who works for family well being, and is responsible for putting food on the table. On the other hand, the women had a secondary role, she was considering as a housewife, whose sole responsibility was to look after the house and take care of the family in any way possible. The responsibility of the elderly was to provide guidance to the family on the basis of their experiences, and children were supposed to help their parents in their respective work (Giddens, 2000, pp, 24-32).

However, the advent of the renaissance age and the scientific revolution in the 1600's change western society in general and British society in particular. The emergence of the scientific age gave rise to reason and rationality as part of one's daily routine and prompted people to base their everyday decision on scientific understanding instead of irrational traditions and unfounded dogma (Giddens, 2000, pp, 24-32).

In addition, the age gave rise to individualism and compels men and women to think more in terms of an “I”, as compare to the collective “we”. Before the inception of rational society people use to have collective identities. They use to think in terms of collectives rather than in terms of an individual level. The renaissance age taught them the values of freedom and individualism and compels them to prefer individual choice over the communal one (Giddens, 2000, pp, 24-32).

The idea of individualism suppose that people in a given society are free to act in any way they desire, and there is no one who has a right to interfere or invade their personal ...