An Initial Working Definition of Family: Garland Chapter 2 Discussion Example

Discussion: An Initial Working Definition of Family (Garland, Chapter 2)

Garland states that the family is a powerful political concept: everyone is “profamily,” yet there is sharp disagreement over what family is and what supporting it means. American culture views family as the basic unit of civil society, nearly everyone has been shaped by family experience and beliefs about gender, children and aging are intertwined with religious beliefs and personal experience. Much of the debate centers on a lack of consensus about how to define family.

Using Garland, Chapter 2, propose a working definition of family and describe its essential elements as you understand them now. Support your proposal concisely with course and outside sources. Then reflect on your own experience as a family member and compare it with the perspectives you have encountered so far.

Original example for study purposes (about 440 words). Add page numbers from Garland and your own family reflection; the reflection here is a sample.

Proposed working definition. At this stage, I define a family as a network of two or more people bound by marriage, birth, adoption or enduring covenant commitment, who share a sense of belonging, history and identity and who take ongoing responsibility for one another’s care, growth and well-being across the life span.

Why this definition. Garland (2012) shows that definitions of family generally fall into two broad types. Structural definitions identify family by its form, such as a married couple and their children or people related by blood, marriage or adoption. Functional definitions identify family by what its members do for one another, such as providing care, shared resources and emotional support. Structural definitions are clear and are used by most laws and agencies; for example, the U.S. Census Bureau (n.d.) defines a family household as two or more people related by birth, marriage or adoption who live together. However, structural definitions can exclude relationships that function as family, such as grandparents raising grandchildren in a different household, foster families or “fictive kin” in many cultural communities. Functional definitions are more inclusive but can become so broad that almost any close relationship counts. My definition combines both approaches, anchoring family in recognized bonds (marriage, birth and adoption) while recognizing enduring covenant commitments, such as long-term foster or kinship care, that serve the same functions.

Essential elements. As I understand them now, the essential elements of family are (1) commitment that is intended to last rather than being conditional; (2) care and responsibility, including nurturing children and supporting dependent or aging members; (3) belonging and identity, the shared history, rituals and stories that make people feel they are “ours”; and (4) development over time, since families change as members are born, grow, marry, age and die. These elements also fit a biblical picture of family as a place of covenant faithfulness and care, in which believers are told to provide for their relatives (1 Timothy 5:8).

Personal reflection. [Sample.] I grew up in a two-parent household, but my grandmother lived with us for most of my childhood, and two family friends were “aunt” and “uncle” to me even though we were not related. My experience fits a combined definition: my family was defined by marriage and blood, but it functioned through a wider circle of committed caregivers. Compared with the readings, my experience shows why a purely structural definition feels incomplete to me, while a purely functional one would not capture how important my parents’ marriage was as the center of our family’s stability. I expect this definition to grow as the course introduces family life cycle and ministry perspectives.

References

Garland, D. R. (2012). Family ministry: A comprehensive guide (2nd ed.). IVP Academic.

U.S. Census Bureau. (n.d.). Subject definitions: Family. https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/technical-documentation/subject-definitions.html

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