Institutions of society examples. Social institution: concept, types, functions

Institute. Most often, this word is used in the sense of a higher educational institution (pedagogical, medical institute). However, the word “institute” is ambiguous. "Institute" is a Latin word. Translated it means “institution”.

IN social sciences The term “social institution” is used.

What is a social institution?

There are several definitions of this concept.

Here is one of them, easy to remember and containing the essence of this term.

Social Institute is a historically established, stable form of organization joint activities people who perform certain functions in society, the main one of which is satisfaction social needs.

EXPLANATION.

A social institution, to put it more simply, is such formations in society (an institution, a government body, a family and many, many other entities) that make it possible to regulate some relationships and actions of people in society. Allegorically speaking, this is the door through which you will enter to resolve some issues.

1. You need to order a passport. You will not go anywhere, but to the passport office - the institution of citizenship.
2. You got a job and want to know what your specific salary will be. You where will you go? In the accounting department, it was created to regulate salary issues. This is also the salary institute network.

And there are a huge number of such social institutions in society. Someone somewhere is responsible for everything, performing certain functions to satisfy people’s social needs.

I will provide a table in which I will indicate the most important social institutions in each area public relations.

Social institutions, their types

Institutes by spheres of society.	What is regulated	Examples
Economic institutions	Regulate the production and distribution of goods and services.	Property, market, production
Political institutions	They regulate social relations using authority.	The main institution is the state. Authorities, parties, law, army, court
Social institutions	They regulate the distribution of social positions and public resources. Provide reproduction and inheritance.	Education, healthcare, leisure, family, social protection
Spiritual institutes	They regulate and develop the continuity of the cultural life of society and spiritual production.	Church, school, university, art

Social institutions are a constantly evolving structure. New ones arise, old ones die off. This process is called institutionalization.

Structure of social institutions

Structure, that is, the elements of the whole.

Jan Shchepalsky identified the following elements of social institutions.

• Purpose and scope of activity of a social institution
• Functions
• Social roles and statuses
• Facilities and institutions performing the functions of this institute. Sanctions.

Signs of social institutions

• Patterns of behavior, attitudes. For example, an educational institution is characterized by the desire to acquire knowledge.
• Cultural symbols. So, for a family it’s wedding rings, a marriage ritual; for the state - coat of arms, flag, anthem; for religion - icon, cross, etc.
• Oral and written codes of conduct. So, for the state - these are codes, for business - licenses, contracts, for families - a marriage contract.
• Ideology. For a family it means mutual understanding, respect, love; for business - freedom of trade and entrepreneurship; for religion - Orthodoxy, Islam.
• Utilitarian cultural traits. So, for religion - religious buildings; for healthcare – clinics, hospitals, diagnostic rooms; for education - classes, gym, library; for a family - a house, furniture.

Functions of social institutions

• Satisfying social needs is the main function of every institution.
• Regulatory function- that is, regulation certain types public relations.
• Consolidation and reproduction of social relations. Each institution has its own norms and rules that help standardize people's behavior. All this makes society more sustainable.
• Integrative function, that is, cohesion, interconnection of members of society.
• Broadcasting function— the opportunity to transfer experience and knowledge to new people who come to a particular structure.
• Socialization— the individual’s assimilation of norms and rules of behavior in society, methods of activity.
• Communicative- this is the transfer of information both within an institution and between social institutions as a result of the interaction of members of society.

Formal and informal social institutions

Formal institutions— their activities are regulated within the framework of current legislation (authorities, parties, courts, family, school, army, etc.)

Informal institutions- their activities are not established by formal acts, that is, laws, orders, documents.

Material prepared by: Melnikova Vera Aleksandrovna

Lecture:

Concept and types of social institutions

Remember that the subsystems of society are the economic, political, social and spiritual spheres of life. Each of us is included in all these areas. How? Let's look at the example of ninth-grader Andrei. Before going to school, Andrey’s mother asked him to take out the trash (social sphere). In a chemistry lesson, he learned a lot of new and interesting things about the types of covalent bonds (spiritual sphere). After school, Andrei went to the passport office of the Federal Migration Service and received a passport (political sphere). And on the way home I bought fruit at the market (economic sphere). The listed areas differ from each other in the nature of social relations, types of activities and social institutions.

In this lesson we will look at what a social institution is. What's there to take apart? After all, it is clear to everyone that an educational institution is called an institute! In fact, this concept is much broader. Social institutions are organizations (family, party, state), institutions (school, bank, police), and relationships (buying and selling, upbringing, education). There are a lot of institutions and each of them has its own significance for an individual and society as a whole. Because each institution performs certain functions to satisfy human needs, which are very diverse. For example, the institutions of marriage and family satisfy the need for procreation and raising children; an institution of the state in organizing people's life and ensuring order. Thus, institutions have developed historically and are in demand by society. Remember the lesson term:

Social Institute- is a sustainable form of organizing people’s life activities, aimed at meeting the needs of society and people.

Examples of social institutions by area:

Economic sphere: production, distribution, exchange, consumption, property, market, bank, firm, money, etc.

Political sphere: state, power, party, laws, parliament, government, court, citizen, etc.

Social sphere: family, marriage, motherhood, fatherhood, childhood, nation, school, university, healthcare, etc.

Spiritual sphere: religion, art, science, education, media, morality, etc.

Characteristic features of social institutions

Despite the fact that each social institution performs specific functions corresponding to it, they are also characterized by common features:

Firstly, any social institution organizes, streamlines and coordinates human activity by establishing rules and patterns of human behavior. For example, a school regulates the relationship between teachers, students and their parents using the Charter.

Secondly, each social institution monitors compliance with rules and patterns, and applies sanctions to their violators - punitive measures, from legal to moral and ethical. For example, for violating the norms of the school's Charter, sanctions may be applied to a student, ranging from a warning to expulsion from school.

The importance of social institutions in the life of society and people is great. In subsequent topics, you will become familiar with the main social institutions in detail.

Exercise: Using social science knowledge, formulate your definition of a social institution. Write your answer in the comments 📝

The foundation on which the entire society is built are social institutions. The term comes from the Latin “institutum” - “charter”.

This concept was first introduced into scientific circulation by the American sociologist T. Veblein in his book “The Theory of the Leisure Class” in 1899.

A social institution in the broad sense of the word is a system of values, norms and connections that organize people to satisfy their needs.

Externally, a social institution looks like a collection of persons and institutions, equipped with certain material means and performing a specific social function.

Social institutions have historical origin and are in constant change and development. Their formation is called institutionalization.

Institutionalization is the process of defining and consolidating social norms, connections, statuses and roles, bringing them into a system that is capable of acting in the direction of satisfying some social need. This process consists of several stages:

1) the emergence of needs that can only be satisfied as a result of joint activities;

2) the emergence of norms and rules governing interaction to meet emerging needs;

3) adoption and implementation in practice of the emerging norms and rules;

4) creation of a system of statuses and roles covering all members of the institute.

Institutes have their own distinctive features:

1) cultural symbols (flag, coat of arms, anthem);

3) ideology, philosophy (mission).

Social institutions in society perform a significant set of functions:

1) reproductive – consolidation and reproduction of social relations, ensuring order and framework of activity;

2) regulatory – regulation of relationships between members of society by developing patterns of behavior;

3) socialization – transfer of social experience;

4) integrative - cohesion, interconnection and mutual responsibility of group members under the influence of institutional norms, rules, sanctions and a system of roles;

5) communicative – dissemination of information within the institute and to the external environment, maintaining relationships with other institutions;

6) automation – the desire for independence.

The functions performed by an institution can be explicit or latent.

The existence of latent functions of an institution allows us to talk about its ability to bring greater benefits to society than initially stated. Social institutions perform functions in society social management and social control.

Social institutions guide the behavior of community members through a system of sanctions and rewards.

The formation of a system of sanctions is the main condition for institutionalization. Sanctions provide for punishment for inaccurate, careless and incorrect performance of official duties.

Positive sanctions (gratitude, material rewards, creation of favorable conditions) are aimed at encouraging and stimulating correct and proactive behavior.

The social institution thus determines the orientation of social activity and social relations through a mutually agreed upon system of expediently oriented standards of behavior. Their emergence and grouping into a system depend on the content of the tasks being solved by the social institution.

Each such institution is characterized by the presence of an activity goal, specific functions that ensure its achievement, a set of social positions and roles, as well as a system of sanctions that ensure the encouragement of desired behavior and the suppression of deviant behavior.

Social institutions always perform socially significant functions and ensure the achievement of relatively stable social connections and relationships within social organization society.

Social needs unsatisfied by the institution give rise to new forces and normatively unregulated activities. In practice, the following ways out of this situation can be implemented:

1) reorientation of old social institutions;

2) creation of new social institutions;

3) reorientation of public consciousness.

In sociology, there is a generally accepted system of classifying social institutions into five types, which is based on the needs realized through institutions:

1) family – reproduction of the clan and socialization of the individual;

2) political institutions - the need for security and public order, with their help political power is established and maintained;

3) economic institutions - production and livelihood, they ensure the process of production and distribution of goods and services;

4) institutions of education and science – the need for obtaining and transferring knowledge and socialization;

5) the institution of religion - solving spiritual problems, searching for the meaning of life.

2. Social control and deviant behavior

As already indicated, one of the main functions of social institutions is to ensure social control. Social control is the normative regulation of people’s behavior in social systems.

This is a maintenance mechanism public order, including norms and sanctions.

So, the main mechanisms of social control are norms and sanctions.

Norm- a rule, standard, pattern of behavior existing in a given society and accepted by an individual that determines how he should behave in a given situation. Norms are socially approved invariants of behavior.

Norm is the range of acceptable actions. Norms can be formal or informal.

Sanctions– rewards and punishments associated with compliance with norms. Sanctions can also be classified into several types:

1) formal;

2) informal;

3) positive;

4) negative.

Phenomena that do not fit within the framework of social norms are called deviation.

Deviant behavior is the actions, activities of a person, social phenomena that do not correspond to established norms in a given society.

In the sociological study of deviant behavior, the influence of a person’s value orientations, his attitudes, features of the formation of the social environment, the state of social relations, and institutional forms of ownership are analyzed.

As a rule, social deviations are associated with a persistent distortion of value orientations typical of society and social groups.

The main direction of sociological research into the problem of deviation is aimed at identifying its causes.

Within the framework of sociology, the following theories have developed on this issue.

1. Charles Lombarzo, William Sheldon believed that certain physical personality traits predetermine personality deviation from the norm.

So Sheldon divides people into 3 types:

1) endomorphs – overweight, not prone to deviant behavior;

2) mesomorphs - athletic build, can be characterized by deviant behavior;

3) ectomorphs are thin and are unlikely to be prone to deviant behavior.

2. Z. Freud saw the reason for deviations in the fact that conflicts constantly occur within each personality.

It is internal conflict that is the source of deviant behavior.

In any person there is an “I” (conscious beginning) and a “super-ego” (unconscious). Conflicts constantly arise between them.

The “I” tries to keep the unconscious in a person. If this fails, then the biological, animal essence breaks through.

3. Emile Durkheim. Deviation is determined by the process of socialization of the individual.

This process can be successful or unsuccessful.

Success or failure is associated with a person’s ability to adapt to the system of social norms of society.

Moreover, what more people shows creative activity, the greater the chances of living your life successfully. Social institutions (family, educational institution, fatherland) influence success.

4. R. Merton believed that deviant behavior is a consequence of inconsistency between generated social structure and culture goals and socially organized means of achieving them.

Goals are something to strive for, a basic component in the life of all segments of society.

Means are assessed from the point of view of the possibility of achieving the goal.

They must be portable and efficient. Based on this premise, deviant behavior occurs only if the balance between goals and means of achieving them is disturbed.

Thus, the main cause of deviation is the gap between the goals and the means of achieving these goals, which occurs due to unequal access to the means of different sections of groups.

Based on his theoretical developments, Merton identified five types of deviant behavior depending on the attitude towards goals and means of achieving them.

1. Conformism– an individual’s agreement with the generally accepted goals and means of achieving them in society. The classification of this type as deviant is not accidental.

Psychologists use the term “conformism” to define a person’s blind following of someone else’s opinion, so as not to create unnecessary difficulties in communicating with others, to achieve the assigned goals, sometimes sinning against the truth.

On the other hand, conformist behavior makes it difficult to assert one's own independent behavior or opinion.

2. Innovation– the individual’s acceptance of goals, but a preference to use non-standard means to achieve them.

3. Ritualism– rejection of generally accepted goals, but the use of standard means for society.

4. Retreatism– complete rejection of social attitudes.

5. Mutiny– changing social goals and means in accordance with one’s will and elevating them to the rank of socially significant ones.

Within the framework of other sociological theories, the following types are distinguished as the main types of deviant behavior:

1) cultural and psychical deviations– deviations from cultural norms. May be dangerous or non-hazardous;

2) individual and group deviations - an individual person, an individual rejects the norms of his subculture. Group – illusory world;

3) primary and secondary. Primary – prank, secondary – deviant deviation;

4) culturally acceptable deviations;

5) superintelligence, supermotivation;

6) culturally condemned deviations. Violation moral standards and breaking the law.

Economy as a social institution is a set of institutionalized modes of activity, patterns of social actions that form various types of economic behavior of people and organizations to meet their needs.

The core of the economy is work. Job- this is the solution of problems associated with the expenditure of mental and physical effort, with the goal of producing goods and services that satisfy human needs. E. Giddens identifies six main characteristics of work.

1. Money. Salary or salary for most people is main source meet their needs.

2. Activity level. Professional activity is often the basis for the acquisition and implementation of knowledge and capabilities.

Even if the work is routine, it offers some structured environment in which the person's energy can be realized.

Without work, the ability to realize knowledge and abilities may decrease.

3. Variety. Employment gives access to situations outside of the everyday environment. In a work environment, even when tasks are relatively monotonous, an individual may derive satisfaction from performing duties that are not similar to those at home.

4. Structuring time. For people with regular jobs, the day is usually organized around the rhythm of work. Although this can be overwhelming at times, it provides a sense of direction in daily activities.

For those who are deprived of work, boredom is a big problem; such people develop apathy towards time.

5. Social contacts. The work environment often breeds friendships and opportunities to participate in collaborative activities with others.

In the absence of contacts at work, a person’s circle of friends and acquaintances decreases.

6. Personal identity. Busyness is usually valued for its sense of personal social stability which she gives.

In historical retrospect, the following main types are distinguished: economic activity:

1) in primitive society - hunting, fishing, gathering;

2) in slave-owning and feudal societies - farming;

3) in an industrial society – commodity and industrial production;

4) in post-industrial society - information technology.

In the modern economy, three sectors can be distinguished: primary, secondary and tertiary.

The primary sector of the economy includes agriculture, mining and forestry industry, fishing, etc. The secondary sector includes enterprises that convert raw materials into manufactured goods.

Finally, the tertiary sector is associated with the service industry, with those activities that, without directly producing material goods, offer others some services.

Five primary types of economic systems or types of economic activity can be distinguished.

The state economy is a set of national enterprises and organizations working for the benefit of the entire population.

Every modern society has a public sector of the economy, although it specific gravity different.

World practice shows that total nationalization of the economy is ineffective, since it does not give the desired economic effect, just like the general privatization of enterprises.

The private economy dominates in modern developed countries.

It arose as a result of the industrial revolution at the stage of industrial society.

Initially, the private economy developed independently of the state, but economic disasters raised the question of strengthening state regulation of the private sector in the economy.

Barracks economy- this is the economic behavior of military personnel, prisoners and all other people living in a confined space, “barracks” form (hospitals, boarding schools, prisons, etc.).

All these forms are characterized by the “camp collectivity” of their life, mandatory and compulsory performance of functions, and dependence on funding, usually from the state.

The shadow (criminal) economy exists in all countries of the world, although it belongs to criminal activity. This type of economic behavior is deviant, but it is closely related to the private economy.

The English sociologist Duke Hobbes in his book “Bad Business” develops the idea that it is impossible to draw a clear line between professional economic behavior and everyday business activity.

Banks in particular are sometimes rated as "elegant robbers." Among the traditional forms of mafia economic activity: trade in weapons, drugs, live goods, etc.

Mixed (additional) economy is a person’s work outside the scope of his professional employment.

Sociologist E. Giddens calls it “informal”, noting the “bifurcation” of labor into professional and “additional”, for example, the work of a doctor for personal plot which is conducted at an unprofessional level.

Additional work sometimes requires a person to spend a huge amount of time and energy, but the result is low.

The economy as a social institution is designed to satisfy, first of all, the material needs of man.

Politics as a social institution is a set of certain organizations (government and management bodies, political parties, social movements), regulating the political behavior of people in accordance with accepted norms, laws, and rules.

Each of the political institutions carries out a certain type of political activity and includes a social community, layer, group specializing in the implementation of political activities to manage society. These institutions are characterized by:

1) political norms governing relations within and between political institutions, and between political and non-political institutions of society;

2) material resources necessary to achieve the goals.

Political institutions ensure reproduction, stability and regulation of political activity, preservation of the identity of a political community even when its composition changes, strengthen social ties and intra-group cohesion, and exercise control over political behavior.

The focus of politics is on power and control in society.

Main carrier political power acts as a state that, relying on law and law, carries out forced regulation and control over social processes in order to ensure the normal and stable functioning of society.

The universal structure of state power is:

1) legislative bodies (parliaments, councils, congresses, etc.);

2) executive bodies(government, ministries, state committees, law enforcement agencies, etc.);

3) judicial authorities;

4) army and state security agencies;

5) state information system, etc.

The sociological nature of the activities of the state and others political organizations connected with the functioning of society as a whole.

Policy should contribute to the solution social problems, at the same time, politicians tend to strive to use state power and representative bodies to satisfy certain pressure groups.

The state as the core of the sociological system provides:

1) social integration of society;

2) life safety of people and society as a whole;

3) distribution of resources and social benefits;

4) cultural and educational activities;

5) social control over deviant behavior.

The basis of politics is power associated with the use of force and coercion in relation to all members of society, organizations, movements.

The basis of subordination to power is:

1) traditions and customs (traditional domination, for example, the power of a slave owner over a slave);

2) devotion to a person endowed with some higher power (charismatic power of leaders, for example, Moses, Buddha);

3) conscious conviction in the correctness of formal rules and the need to implement them (this type of subordination is characteristic of most modern states).

The complexity of sociopolitical activity is associated with differences in social status, interests, positions of people and political forces.

They influence differences in types of political power. N. Smelser gives the following types of states: democratic and non-democratic (totalitarian, authoritarian).

In democratic societies, all political institutions are autonomous (power is divided into independent branches - executive, legislative, judicial).

All political institutions influence the formation of state and government structures and shape the political direction of the development of society.

Democratic states are associated with representative democracy, when the people transfer power to their representatives through elections for a certain period of time.

These states, mostly Western, are characterized by the following features:

1) individualism;

2) constitutional form boards;

3) the general consent of those who are governed;

4) loyal opposition.

In totalitarian states, leaders strive to retain power by keeping the people under complete control, using a unified mono-party system, control over the economy, the media, the family, and carrying out terror against the opposition. In authoritarian states, approximately the same measures are carried out in softer forms, in the context of the existence of the private sector and other parties.

The sociopolitical subsystem of society represents a spectrum of different vectors of power, management, and political activity.

In the entire system of society, they are in a state of constant struggle, but without the victory of any one line. Crossing the limit of measure in struggle leads to deviant forms of power in society:

1) totalitarian, in which the military-administrative method of management dominates;

2) spontaneously market, where power passes to corporate groups that merge with the mafia and wage war on each other;

3) stagnant, when a relative and temporary balance of opposing forces and control methods is established.

In Soviet and Russian society You can find manifestations of all these deviations, but totalitarianism under Stalin and stagnation under Brezhnev were especially clearly manifested.

The education system is one of the most important social institutions. It ensures the socialization of individuals, through which they develop the qualities necessary for essential life processes and transformations.

The Institute of Education has a long history from primary forms transfer of knowledge from parents to children.

Education serves the development of personality and contributes to its self-realization.

At the same time, education is crucial for society itself, ensuring the fulfillment of the most important tasks of a practical and symbolic nature.

The education system makes a significant contribution to the integration of society and contributes to the formation of a sense of common historical destiny, belonging to a given single society.

But the education system also has other functions. Sorokin notes that education (especially higher education) is a kind of channel (elevator) through which people improve their social status. At the same time, education exercises social control over the behavior and worldview of children and adolescents.

The education system as an institution includes the following components:

1) educational authorities and institutions and organizations subordinate to them;

2) network educational institutions(schools, colleges, gymnasiums, lyceums, universities, academies, etc.), including institutes for advanced training and retraining of teachers;

3) creative unions, professional associations, scientific and methodological councils and other associations;

4) educational and scientific infrastructure institutions, design, production, clinical, medical and preventive, pharmacological, cultural and educational enterprises, printing houses, etc.;

5) textbooks and teaching aids for teachers and students;

6) periodicals, including magazines and yearbooks reflecting the latest achievements of scientific thought.

The Institute of Education includes a certain field of activity, groups of persons authorized to perform certain managerial and other functions on the basis of established rights and responsibilities, organizational norms and principles of relations between officials.

The set of norms regulating the interaction of people regarding learning indicates that education is a social institution.

A harmonious and balanced education system that ensures the satisfaction of modern needs of society is the most important condition for the preservation and development of society.

Science, along with education, can be considered as a social macroinstitution.

Science, like the education system, is a central social institution in all modern societies and represents the most complex area of ​​human intellectual activity.

Increasingly, the very existence of society depends on advanced scientific knowledge. Not only the material conditions of society’s existence, but also its members’ ideas about the world depend on the development of science.

The main function of science is the development and theoretical systematization of objective knowledge about reality. The purpose of scientific activity is to obtain new knowledge.

Purpose of Education– transfer of new knowledge to new generations, i.e. youth.

If there is no first, then there is no second. That is why these institutions are considered in close connection and as a single system.

In turn, the existence of science without training is also impossible, since it is in the process of training that new scientific personnel are formed.

A formulation of the principles of science has been proposed Robert Merton in 1942

These include: universalism, communalism, disinterest and organizational skepticism.

The principle of universalism means that science and its discoveries are of a single, universal (universal) nature. None personal characteristics individual scientists (gender, age, religion, etc.) do not matter when assessing the value of their work.

Research results should be judged solely on their scientific merit.

According to the principle of communalism, no scientific knowledge can become the personal property of a scientist, but must be available to any member of the scientific community.

The principle of disinterest means that the pursuit of personal interests is not a requirement of the professional role of a scientist.

The principle of organized skepticism means that a scientist should refrain from formulating conclusions until the facts fully correspond.

A religious institute belongs to a non-secular culture, but plays a very important role in the lives of many people as a system of norms of cultural behavior, that is, serving God.

The social significance of religion in the world is evidenced by the following statistics on the number of believers at the beginning of the 21st century: out of 6 billion population globe more than 4 billion are believers. Moreover, about 2 billion profess Christianity.

Orthodoxy within Christianity ranks third after Catholicism and Protestantism. Islam is professed by a little more than 1 billion, Judaism by more than 650 million, Buddhism by more than 300 million, Confucianism by about 200 million, Zionism by 18 million, and the rest profess other religions.

Among the main functions of religion as a social institution are the following:

1) an explanation of the past, present and future of a person;

2) regulation of moral behavior from birth to death of a person;

3) approval or criticism of social orders in society;

4) uniting people and supporting them in difficult times.

The sociology of religion pays great attention to clarifying the social functions that religion performs in society. As a result, sociologists have formulated different views on religion as a social institution.

Thus, E. Durkheim believed that religion- a product of a person or social group, necessary for moral unity, an expression of a collective ideal.

God is a reflection of this ideal. Durkheim sees the functions of religious ceremonies in:

1) bringing people together - a meeting to express common interests;

2) revitalization - revitalizing the past, connecting the present with the past;

3) euphoria – general acceptance of life, distraction from the unpleasant;

4) order and training - self-discipline and preparation for life.

M. Weber paid special attention to the study of Protestantism and highlighted its positive influence on the development of capitalism, which determined such values ​​as:

1) hard work, self-discipline and self-restraint;

2) increasing money without waste;

3) personal success as the key to salvation.

The religious factor influences the economy, politics, government, interethnic relations, family, to the area of ​​culture through the activities of believing individuals, groups, organizations in these areas.

There is an “overlay” of religious relations on other social relations.

The core of a religious institution is the church. The church is an organization that uses a variety of means, including religious morality, rites and rituals, through which it obliges and forces people to act accordingly.

Society needs the Church because it provides spiritual support for millions of people, including those seeking justice, distinguishing between good and evil, and gives them guidelines in the form of moral norms, behavior and values.

In Russian society most of The population professes Orthodoxy (70%), a significant number of Muslim believers (25%), the rest are representatives of other religious faiths (5%).

Almost all types of beliefs are represented in Russia, and there are also many sects.

It should be noted that in the 1990s, the religiosity of the adult population had a positive trend due to socio-economic transformations in the country.

However, at the beginning of the third millennium, a decrease in the trust rating in relation to religious organizations was revealed, including the Russian Orthodox Church, which enjoys the greatest trust.

This decline is part of a decline in trust in other public institutions as a reaction to unfulfilled hopes for reforms.

About a fifth pray daily, visit a temple (mosque) at least once a month, i.e. about a third of those who consider themselves believers.

At present, the problem of unifying all Christian movements, which was heatedly discussed during the celebration of the 2000th anniversary of Christianity, has not been resolved.

The Orthodox Church believes that this is possible only on the basis of the faith of the ancient, indivisible church, of which Orthodoxy considers itself to be the successor.

Other branches of Christianity, on the contrary, believe that Orthodoxy needs to be reformed.

Various points of view indicate the impossibility of uniting Christianity on a global scale, at least at the present time.

The Orthodox Church is loyal to the state and maintains friendly relations with other faiths to overcome interethnic tensions.

Religious institutions and society must be in a state of harmony, interacting with each other in the formation of universal human values, preventing social problems from escalating into interethnic conflicts on religious grounds.

Family is a social-biological system of society that ensures the reproduction of community members. This definition contains the main purpose of the family as a social institution. In addition, the family is called upon to perform the following functions:

1) socio-biological – satisfaction of sexual needs and needs for procreation;

2) education, socialization of children;

3) economic, which manifests itself in the organization of the economic and everyday life of all family members, including the provision of housing and the necessary infrastructure;

4) political, which is associated with power in the family and management of its life activities;

5) sociocultural - regulation of the entire spiritual life of the family.

The above functions indicate the need for a family for all its members and the inevitability of uniting people living outside the family.

The identification of types of families and their classification can be carried out on various grounds:

1) according to the form of marriage:

a) monogamous (marriage of one man with one woman);

b) polyandry (a woman has several spouses);

c) polygyny (marriage of one man with two or more wives);

2) by composition:

a) nuclear (simple) - consisting of a husband, wife and children (complete) or with the absence of one of the parents (incomplete);

b) complex – include representatives of several generations;

3) by number of children:

a) childless;

b) single children;

c) small children;

d) large families (three or more children);

4) by stages of civilizational evolution:

a) patriarchal family traditional society with the authoritarian power of the father, in whose hands is the solution to all issues;

b) egalitarian-democratic, based on equality in the relationship between husband and wife, on mutual respect and social partnership.

According to the forecasts of American sociologists E. Giddens And N. Smelser In post-industrial society, the institution of family is undergoing significant changes.

According to Smelser, there will be no return to the traditional family. The modern family will change, partially losing or changing some functions, although the family’s monopoly on regulation intimate relationships, childbearing and caring for young children will continue into the future.

At the same time, there will be a partial disintegration of even relatively stable functions.

Thus, the function of childbearing will be carried out by unmarried women.

Child education centers will be more involved in socialization.

Friendly disposition and emotional support will be available not only in the family.

E. Giddens notes a steady trend of weakening the regulatory function of the family in relation to sexual life, but believes that marriage and family will remain strong institutions.

The family as a socio-biological system is analyzed from the perspective of functionalism and conflict theory. The family, on the one hand, is closely connected with society through its functions, and on the other, all family members are interconnected by consanguinity and social relations.

It should also be noted that the family is a bearer of contradictions, both with society and between its members.

Family life is associated with resolving contradictions between husband, wife, children, relatives, and surrounding people regarding the performance of functions, even if it is based on love and respect.

In a family, as in society, there is not only unity, integrity and harmony, but also a struggle of interests.

The nature of conflicts can be understood from the perspective of exchange theory, which implies that all family members should strive for equal exchange in their relationships. Tension and conflict arise because someone does not receive the expected “reward.”

The source of the conflict may be the low salary of one of the family members, drunkenness, sexual dissatisfaction, etc.

A severe disturbance in metabolic processes leads to family disintegration.

In 1916, Sorokin identified a trend of crisis in the modern family, which is characterized by: an increase in the number of divorces, a decrease in the number of marriages, an increase in civil marriages, an increase in prostitution, a drop in the birth rate, the release of wives from the guardianship of their husbands and a change in their relationships, the destruction of the religious basis of marriage, weakening of state protection of the institution of marriage.

Problems of modern Russian family generally coincide with the global ones.

All of these reasons allow us to talk about a certain family crisis.

Among the causes of the crisis are:

1) reducing the dependence of wives on husbands in an economic sense;

2) increased mobility, especially migration;

3) changes in family functions under the influence of social, economic, cultural, religious and ethnic traditions, as well as the new technical and environmental situation;

4) cohabitation of a man and a woman without marriage;

5) a decrease in the number of children in a family, as a result of which even simple population reproduction does not occur;

6) the process of nuclearization of families leads to a weakening of ties between generations;

7) the number of women in the labor market is increasing;

8) growth of social consciousness of women.

The most pressing problem is dysfunctional families arising for socio-economic, psychological or biological reasons. The following types of dysfunctional families are distinguished:

1) conflict – the most common (about 60%);

2) immoral - oblivion of moral standards (mainly drunkenness, drug use, fights, foul language);

3) pedagogically insolvent – ​​low level of general culture and lack of psychological and pedagogical culture;

4) asocial family - an environment of disregard for generally accepted social norms and requirements.

Dysfunctional families deform the personalities of children, causing anomalies in both the psyche and behavior, for example, early alcoholism, drug addiction, prostitution, vagrancy and other forms of deviant behavior.

To support the family, the state forms a family policy, which includes a set of practical measures that provide families and children with certain social guarantees for the purpose of family functioning in the interests of society. Thus, in a number of countries, family planning is carried out, special marriage and family consultations are created to reconcile conflicting couples, the terms of the marriage contract are changed (if previously the spouses had to take care of each other, now they must love each other, and failure to fulfill this condition is one of the most compelling reasons for divorce).

For solutions existing problems The institution of the family needs to increase spending on social support for families, increase the efficiency of their use, and improve legislation to protect the rights of the family, women, children and youth.

LECTURE No. 17. Social institutions

1. The concept of a social institution
2. Types of social institutions
3. Functions of social institutions
4. Basic characteristics social institutions
5. Development of social institutions and institutionalization

1. The concept of a social institution

Social institutions - sustainable forms of organization and regulation public life. They can be defined as a set of roles and statuses designed to satisfy certain social needs.
The term “social institution”, both in sociology and in everyday language or in other humanities, has several meanings. The totality of these values ​​can be reduced to four main ones:
1) a certain group of persons called to perform matters important for living together;
2) certain organizational forms a set of functions performed by some members on behalf of the entire group;
3) a set of material institutions and means of activity that allow some authorized individuals to perform public impersonal functions aimed at satisfying the needs or regulating the behavior of group members;
4) sometimes institutions are called certain social roles that are especially important for the group. For example, when we say that a school is a social institution, then by this we can mean a group of people working in the school. In another meaning - organizational forms of functions performed by the school; in the third meaning, the most important for the school as an institution will be the institutions and means that it has to perform the functions assigned to it by the group, and finally, in the fourth meaning, we will call the social role of the teacher an institution. Consequently, we can talk about different ways of defining social institutions: material, formal and functional. In all these approaches we can, however, highlight certain common elements, which form the main component of a social institution.

2. Types of social institutions

There are five fundamental needs and five basic social institutions:
1) needs for reproduction of the family (family institution);
2) needs for security and order (state);
3) needs for obtaining means of subsistence (production);
4) the need for knowledge transfer, socialization of the younger generation (institutions public education);
5) needs for solving spiritual problems (institute of religion).
Consequently, social institutions are classified according to public spheres:
1) economic (property, money, regulation money circulation, organization and division of labor) that serve the production and distribution of values ​​and services. Economic social institutions provide the entire set of production connections in society, connecting economic life with other areas of social life. These institutions are formed on the material basis of society;
2) political (parliament, army, police, party) regulate the use of these values ​​and services and are associated with power. Politics in the narrow sense of the word is a set of means and functions based mainly on the manipulation of elements of force to establish, exercise and maintain power. Political institutions (state, parties, public organizations, courts, army, parliament, police) express in a concentrated form those existing in a given society political interests and relationships;
3) kinship institutions (marriage and family) are associated with the regulation of childbirth, relations between spouses and children, and the socialization of youth;
4) educational and cultural institutions. Their task is to strengthen, create and develop the culture of society, to pass it on to next generations. These include schools, institutes, art institutions, creative unions;
5) religious institutions organize a person’s attitude to transcendental forces, i.e., to supersensitive forces operating outside of a person’s empirical control, and attitude to sacred objects and forces. Religious institutions in some societies have a strong influence on the course of interactions and interpersonal relations, creating a system of dominant values ​​and becoming dominant institutions (the influence of Islam on all aspects of public life in some countries of the Middle East).

3. Functions of social institutions

Social institutions perform the following functions or tasks in public life:
1) create the opportunity for members of society to satisfy various types of needs;
2) regulate the actions of members of society within the framework of social relations, i.e., ensure the implementation of desirable actions and carry out repression in relation to undesirable actions;
3) ensure the sustainability of public life by supporting and continuing impersonal public functions;
4) carry out the integration of the aspirations, actions and relationships of individuals and ensure the internal cohesion of the community.

4. Basic characteristics of social institutions

Taking into account E. Durkheim’s theory of social facts and based on the fact that social institutions should be considered the most important social facts, sociologists have derived a number of basic social characteristics that social institutions should have:
1) institutions are perceived by individuals as external reality. In other words, an institution for any individual person is something external, existing separately from the reality of thoughts, feelings or fantasies of the individual himself. In this characteristic, the institution has similarities with other entities of external reality - even trees, tables and telephones - each of which is located outside the individual;
2) institutions are perceived by the individual as an objective reality. Something is objectively real when any person agrees that it really exists, regardless of his consciousness, and is given to him in his sensations;
3) institutions have coercive power. To some extent this quality is implied by the previous two: the fundamental power of an institution over the individual consists precisely in the fact that it exists objectively, and the individual cannot wish it to disappear at his will or whim. Otherwise there may be negative sanctions;
4) institutions have moral authority. Institutions proclaim their right to legitimation - that is, they reserve the right not only to punish the violator in some way, but also to impose moral censure on him. Of course, institutions vary in the degree of their moral force. These variations are usually expressed in the degree of punishment imposed on the offender. In extreme cases, the state can take his life; neighbors or co-workers may boycott him. In both cases, the punishment is accompanied by a sense of indignant justice among those members of society who are involved in it.

5. Development of social institutions and institutionalization

The development of society occurs largely through the development of social institutions. The wider the institutionalized sphere in the system of social connections, the greater opportunities society has. The diversity of social institutions and their development is perhaps the most reliable criterion of the maturity and reliability of a society. The development of social institutions is manifested in two main options: first, the emergence of new social institutions; secondly, the improvement of already established social institutions.
The formation and formation of an institution in the form in which we observe it (and take part in its functioning) takes quite a long time. historical period. This process is called institutionalization in sociology. In other words, institutionalization is the process by which certain social practices become sufficiently regular and long-lasting to be described as institutions.
The most important prerequisites for institutionalization—the formation and establishment of a new institution—are:
1) the emergence of certain social needs for new types and types of social practice and the corresponding socio-economic and political conditions;
2) development of necessary organizational structures and related norms and rules of behavior;
3) the internalization by individuals of new social norms and values, the formation on this basis of new systems of personal needs, value orientations and expectations (and therefore, ideas about the patterns of new roles - their own and those correlated with them). The completion of this process of institutionalization is the folding the new kind social practice. Thanks to this, a new set of roles is formed, as well as formal and informal sanctions to implement social control over relevant types of behavior. Institutionalization, therefore, is the process by which a social practice becomes sufficiently regular and long-lasting to be described as an institution.

Social Institute- a historically established or created by purposeful efforts form of organization of joint life activities of people, the existence of which is dictated by the need to satisfy the social, economic, political, cultural or other needs of society as a whole or part of it. Institutions are characterized by their ability to influence people's behavior through established rules.

It is believed that Giambattista Vico (1668–1744), an Italian philosopher and historian, the predecessor of modern sociology, was the first to use the term “institution” in the social sciences. In 1693 he wrote several works on civil institutions. In sociological literature, the concept of “institution” began to be used since the formation of sociology as a science, and the institutional approach traces its pedigree to the founders of sociology - Auguste Comte and Herbert Spencer. Representing society as a social organism in social statics, O. Comte names such as family, cooperation, church, law, and state as its most important organs. The institutional approach to the study of social phenomena was continued in the works of G. Spencer. In his work “Fundamentals” (1860-1863), he especially emphasizes that “in a state, as in a living body, a regulatory system inevitably arises... With the formation of a more durable community, higher centers of regulation and subordinate centers appear.”

In modern society there are dozens of social institutions, among which we can highlight key: inheritance, power, property, family.

• The need for reproduction of the family (family institution)
• Need for security and order (state)
• The need to obtain a means of subsistence (production)
• The need for the transfer of knowledge, socialization of the younger generation (institutes of public education)
• Needs for solving spiritual problems (institute of religion)

Spheres of life of society

There are a number of spheres of society, in each of which specific public institutions and social relations are formed:
− Economic- relations in the production process (production, distribution, consumption of material goods). Institutions related to economic sphere: private property, material production, market, etc.
− Social— relations between different social and age groups; activities to ensure social security. Institutions related to the social sphere: education, family, healthcare, social Security, leisure, etc.
− Political- relationships between civil society and the state, between the state and political parties, and between states. Institutions related to the political sphere: state, law, parliament, government, judicial system, political parties, army, etc.
− Spiritual- relationships that arise in the process of forming spiritual values, their preservation, distribution, consumption, and transmission to next generations. Institutions related to the spiritual sphere: religion, education, science, art, etc.

− Institute of kinship (marriage and family)- are associated with the regulation of childbirth, relations between spouses and children, and the socialization of youth.

Goals and functions of social institutions

Each social institution is characterized by the presence activity goals and specific functions, ensuring its achievement.

Functions	Key institutions	Spheres of society	Main roles	Physical Traits	Symbolic features	Other institutions in this sphere of society
Caring, raising children	Family, Inheritance	Social (family and marriage relations)	Child	Situation	Engagement Contract	Marriage, blood feud, motherhood, paternity, etc.
Getting food, clothing, shelter	Own	Economic sphere	Employer Employee Buyer Salesman		Money Trade	Money, exchange, economic relations, etc.
Maintaining laws, regulations and standards	Power State	Political sphere	Legislator Subject of law	Public buildings and places		Power, state, separation of powers, parliamentarism, local government, etc.
Promoting conciliar relations and attitudes, deepening faith	Religion	Spiritual realm	Priest Parishioner
Socialization of people, familiarization with basic values ​​and practices	Education	Spiritual realm	Teacher Student			Public opinion, media, etc.

Within the fundamental social institutions there are very distinct divisions into small institutions. For example, economic institutions, along with the basic institution of property, include many stable systems of relations - financial, production, marketing, organizational and management institutions. In the system of political institutions modern society, along with the key institution of power, the institutions of political representation, presidency, separation of powers, local self-government, parliamentarism, etc. are distinguished.

Social institutions in public life perform the following functions or tasks:

• provide the opportunity for individuals, social communities and groups to satisfy their various needs;
• regulate the actions of individuals within social relations, stimulating desirable and repressing undesirable behavior;
• determine and maintain the general social order by the system of their social regulators and carry out the reproduction of impersonal public functions(that is, those functions that are always performed in the same way, regardless of the personal characteristics and interests of humanity);
• They integrate the aspirations, actions and relationships of individuals and ensure the internal cohesion of the community.

The totality of these social functions develops into the general social functions of social institutions as certain types social system. These functions are very diverse. Sociologists of different directions sought to somehow classify them, present them in the form of a certain ordered system. The most complete and interesting classification was presented by the so-called. "institutional school". Representatives of the institutional school in sociology (S. Lipset, D. Landberg, etc.) identified four main functions of social institutions:

• Reproduction of members of society. The main institution performing this function is the family, but other social institutions, such as the state, are also involved.
• Socialization is the transfer to individuals of patterns of behavior and methods of activity established in a given society - institutions of family, education, religion, etc.
• Production and distribution. Provided by economic and social institutions of management and control - authorities.
• Management and control functions are carried out through a system of social norms and regulations that implement the corresponding types of behavior: moral and legal norms, customs, administrative decisions etc. Social institutions control individual behavior through a system of sanctions.

In addition to solving its specific problems, each social institution performs universal functions inherent to all of them. The functions common to all social institutions include the following:

1. The function of consolidating and reproducing social relations. Each institution has a set of norms and rules of behavior, fixed, standardizing the behavior of its participants and making this behavior predictable. Social control provides the order and framework within which the activities of each member of the institution should take place. Thus, the institution ensures the stability of the structure of society. The Code of the Family Institute assumes that members of society are divided into stable small groups - families. Social control ensures a state of stability for each family and limits the possibility of its disintegration.
2. Regulatory function. It ensures the regulation of relationships between members of society through the development of patterns and patterns of behavior. A person’s entire life takes place with the participation of various social institutions, but each social institution regulates activities. Consequently, a person, with the help of social institutions, demonstrates predictability and standard behavior, fulfills role requirements and expectations.
3. Integrative function. This function ensures cohesion, interdependence and mutual responsibility of members. This occurs under the influence of institutionalized norms, values, rules, a system of roles and sanctions. It streamlines the system of interactions, which leads to increased stability and integrity of the elements of the social structure.
4. Broadcasting function. Society cannot develop without the transfer of social experience. Each institution for its normal functioning needs the arrival of new people who have mastered its rules. This happens by changing the social boundaries of the institution and changing generations. Consequently, each institution provides a mechanism for socialization to its values, norms, and roles.
5. Communication functions. Information produced by an institution should be disseminated both within the institution (for the purpose of managing and monitoring compliance with social norms) and in interaction between institutions. This function has its own specifics - formal connections. This is the main function of the media institute. Scientific institutions actively absorb information. The commutative capabilities of institutions are not the same: some have them to a greater extent, others to a lesser extent.