Understanding Social Groups

• Social groups are collections of individuals sharing characteristics and exhibiting cohesion.
• Social groups have norms, values, sanctions, motives, goals, and potential hierarchies.
• Social groups can be categorized by structure and reasons for formation
• Sociologists are mainly interested in larger groups, as they greatly affect the dynamics of the social networks and society at large

Categories of Social Groups

• Primary groups have long, emotional face-to-face interactions (e.g., family, close friends).
• Secondary groups are larger, more impersonal, and goal or task-oriented (e.g., organizations).
• In-groups are those to which an individual feels they belong.
• Out-groups are those to which an individual feels they do not belong to and may experience competition with.
• Task-oriented groups are formed to solve problems, promote a cause, or generate ideas/information.
• Relational-oriented groups promote interpersonal connections and quality interactions for the well-being of the group.
• Reference groups are groups that people compare themselves to for a standard of measurement.
• Social networks are social structures between actors (individuals or organizations).

Types of Organizations

• Informal organizations lack a formal structure and defined rules/roles.
• Formal organizations are large secondary social collectives regulated for efficiency by structured procedures (e.g., bureaucracy, schools, government).
• Elements of formal organizations include hierarchy, rules/regulations, written documentation, specialization, technical knowledge, impersonality, discipline, and awareness of time.

Social Institutions: Family

• The family is a social institution found in all societies, uniting people to care for one another, especially children.
• Family ties/kinship are social bonds based on ancestry, marriage, or adoption.
• Marriage is a legal relationship involving economic cooperation, sexual activity, and childrearing.
• Kinship varies across cultures and has changed throughout history.
• Families evolve as individuals grow up and form their own families.
• The State recognizes the Filipino family as the foundation of the nation, as stated in the Article XV of the PH Constitution.
• The State shall strengthen the family's solidarity and actively promote its total development, as stated in the Article XV of the PH Constitution.
• Marriage, as an inviolable social institution, is the foundation of the family and shall be protected by the State, as stated in the Article XV of the PH Constitution.

Diverse Familial Patterns

• Marriage patterns entail cultural norms/laws to identify suitable partners (e.g., monogamy, polygamy).
• Societies designate where a couple lives, establishing residential patterns (e.g., patrilocality).
• Patterns of descent define how kinship is traced over generations (e.g., patrilineal, bilateral descent).
• Families are characterized by motives and goals, division of labor, and social status relationships.
• The defining characteristic of any family is the recognized authority figure who can make decisions.

Social Theories About the Family

• Structural Functionalism emphasizes that families primarily socialize children, regulate sexual activity, and provide members with social identity.
• Social Conflict theory suggests that families reinforce economic inequality and repeat societal patterns (e.g., reinforcement of patriarchy).
• Symbolic Interactionism views family life as intimacy and shared understanding, with different styles based on social location, and courtship/marriage as negotiation.

Social Institutions: Religion

• Religion involves the concepts of the sacred and the profane.
• The profane includes ordinary elements of daily life, while the sacred is extraordinary and worthy of reverence.
• Setting the sacred apart from the profane is the essence of all religious belief.
• Religion is a social institution with beliefs and practices based on recognizing the sacred.
• Religion deals with ideas that transcend everyday experience and focuses on faith rather than scientific evidence.
• The separation of Church and State shall be inviolable.
• Citizens have the right to religious freedom and that the government should not use public funds to support any particular religion or religious group.
• Religious institutions and leaders should be treated equally regardless of their religious beliefs.

Legal Framework for Religion

• No law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof
• The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship (w/o discrimination or preference) shall forever be allowed, as stated in the Legal Framework.

Social Theories About Religion

• Structural Functionalism states religion is a unified system of beliefs and practices related to sacred things and that social cohesion binds people together, and social control promotes behavior consistency.
• Religion provides order, organization, opportunities for social intervention, strength/comfort, and recognition of the sacred.
• Social Conflict theory proposes that religion supports the economic base, perpetuating social inequality and distracting from social issues.
• Symbolic interactionism states people turn to sacred symbols in uncertainty, and meanings have greater bearing when labeled as sacred or divine.

Religion and Social Change

• Religion can be an agent of social change (Max Weber and The Protestant Ethic).
• Protestant-Calvinist beliefs catalyzed industrial capitalism via prosperity as a symbol of pre-determined salvation.
• Liberation theology combines Christian theology with political activism.
• Faith is the imperative for social action, catering to the oppressed as Jesus did.