A social institution is a term used to describe a group of people who have come together for a common purpose. The five basic social institutions are family, religion, the economy, education, and the government. Each institution has its own goals and roles for members, culture (way of life), and symbols.
What Is A Social Institution?
A society is a community of people with a common identity. The group will have similar beliefs, traditions, and institutions. A society is a community of people with a basic common identity.
Consider your own society. It is made up of various groups of people with different functions, which you will likely see as you go about your day. A social institution is a term used to describe a group of people who have come together for a common purpose.
The 5 Fundamental Social Institutions
The five basic social institutions are family, religion, the economy, education, and the government. Other institutions include science, the media, and medicine.
Each institution has its own goals, roles for members to fulfill those goals, culture (way of life), and symbols. The different institutions interact in ways but also have separate lives.
Let’s Look at Each
We will now individually discuss the five main social institutions.
[1] Family
A family is a group of individuals who love, hate, trust, question, need, console, and depend on one another as they grow and mature and learn to give a little more, take a little less … all in the same environment, whatever or wherever it may be.
Lynn Johnson, “For Better or For Else” (family comic strip)
The most basic social institution is the family.
Family comes in many different forms. It is an intimate association that can arise from adoption, marriage, and many other ways in which different people blend together to form a family (such as a commune). The basic mom, dad, and biological child unit are but one form.
A family form smaller units of people who work and care for each other. They share values, including with their children. When a member is in need, the others (ideally) work to help. Primitive societies, including hunter-and-gatherers, are primarily made up of family units.
The film Four Weddings and a Funeral helpfully shows different family types (gay/straight, married/unmarried, friends, siblings), celebrations (film’s title), and symbols (wedding rings).
[2] Religion
Religion is a system of beliefs, often involving the supernatural and the afterlife, that provide meaning to our lives and provides guidance on how to be a good person and obtain happiness.
A theocracy is a society where religion plays the primary role in government. We have a separation of church and state. Religious institutions play an important part in spreading values and addressing the needs of society. But, they do not directly control all of society.
Some examples of religious societies would be Catholic priests and nuns, Buddhist temples, and ethical societies that do not believe in a specific god. Religions have a range of beliefs, celebrations, and symbols (such as the Trinity). They take up a “sacred” spot in our lives.
[3] The Economy
The economy involves the distribution of goods and services, both by private actors (individuals and businesses) and the government. The word originally arose from the management of the household. Over time, the economy became a worldwide interconnected market.
There are different types of economies, including traditional economies focused on local community market economies (capitalism) and command economies (communism). The U.S. has a mixed economy, with a free market that is also heavily regulated by the government.
Aspects of the economy include banking, real estate, malls, and the stock market. Money is a means of exchange and a basic symbol of the economy. The economic sphere is also where many adults spend much of their lives, some finding meaning, others struggling to survive.
[4] Education
Today, education is perhaps the most important function of state and local governments. Compulsory school attendance laws and the great expenditures for education both demonstrate our recognition of the importance of education to our democratic society.
Human language allows us to communicate with each other. It is a basic means of education, the spreading of knowledge and values. Human lives are complex. We need a lot of education.
In traditional societies, families served as the primary means to educate children and adults who needed to learn various things. As society became more complex, separate institutions arose to educate people. Religious institutions have their own schools.
Students and teachers know very well that schools bring with them their own culture and traditions. Education is a major way we socialize and is a basic part of a successful society.
[5] Government
Government involves the authority (power) to set forth the rules that dictate our private and public lives. We are divided into different countries, each with a separate government. Government institutions provide the means to do the governing itself.
There are different types of government, including monarchy (kings and queens), theocracy (religion), and democracy (rule by the people themselves). You can learn more about a baker’s dozen here. The United States has a republican democracy.
The government has a range of its own separate institutions to carry out its functions, which over time resulted in a large bureaucracy. Different groups of people collect money (tax collectors), protect the people (military, police, prisons), make laws (parliaments), and interpret the laws (courts). And, each group has its own culture and symbols.
Institutions as Communities
Social institutions provide the needs of society. They provide us with a means to live the most successful lives possible. To quote the Declaration of Independence, they are essential to the “pursuit of happiness.” Institutions are communities, groups of people with special jobs.
It should be remembered that communities are rarely isolated from each other. They interact in many ways. The First Amendment protects free speech, the press, religious freedom, assembly, and the right to petition the government.
Count all the institutions involved there and consider how they all work together.