A. What are Social Institutions?

The previous lessons discussed how an individual becomes a member of society as well as how
society is organized. Of primary concern in society is the concept of social order and stability, in
order for its members to have a harmonious and peaceful coexistence.
Social institutions play a vital role in achieving social order. Atienza et al in 2016 defined social
institution as “organized sets of elements such as beliefs, rules, practices, and relationships that
exist to attain social order.” The authors further described said institutions as established and
structured relationships between groups of people that are regarded as fundamental components
of society’s culture, the primary transmitters of culture, and the most important agents that
determine the character and personality of the members of society. (p.84)
Atienza et al (2016) further presented the different perspectives in studying the elements of
social institutions, as follows: the institutional approach posits that social institutions are
“ordered sets of rules, norms, beliefs or values that organize human behavior;” the relational
approach looks into “social relations rather than rules, norms, beliefs, or values.”
 Social Institutions
The Family, Marriage, and Kinship
The family is the fundamental unit of society, as provided by the 1987 Philippine Constitution as
it declared that “the State recognizes the sanctity of family life and shall protect and strengthen
the family as a basic autonomous social institution…” (Art. II, Section 12).
 The family, as defined by Atienza et al (2016), is a group of people who are related by birth,
marriage, and a shared residence.” The authors further classified the kinds of families, namely:
nuclear families which are composed of parents and children; extended families which are
composed of the nuclear family and other relatives such as grandparents, aunts, uncles, and
cousins; and, reconstituted families composed of spouses and their children from previous
marriages. (p. 84)
The Filipino family, Atienza et al (2016) argues, experienced transformation due to social
changes recently, thereby redefining the conventional image of a nuclear family. This
transformation includes the emergence of families with a single-parent, absentee-parent/s, same-
sex spouses, adopted children, separated or divorced parents, and other unconventional family
arrangements. (p. 85)
The family is also the basis for kinship which, according to Atienza et al, refers to “a social
structure defined by relations among individuals linked by blood or marriage ties.” Kinship, as
further discussed by the authors, greatly influences how the status of an individual is defined in
some societies. It can be classified as follows: matrilineal kinship, where one’s descent is based
on the female line; patrilineal kinship, where one’s descent is based on the male line,
and bilineal inship, where the descent system is based on both the male and female lines. (p. 85)
Another significant concept related to the discussion of the family is marriage. Marriage, as
defined by the Family Code of the Philippines (1987) in Article 1, is “a special contract of
permanent union between a man and a woman entered into in accordance with law for the
establishment of conjugal and family life. It is the foundation of the family and an inviolable
social institution.” Based on the book of Atienza et al (2016), marriage can be monogamous,
where a person cannot have more than one spouse; polygamous, where a person can have more
than one spouse. In the Philippines, monogamy is practiced, except in the case of the Filipino
Muslim community where polygamy is allowed. There are two types of polygamous marriage
among the Muslims: polygyny, where a husband could take many wives; and polyandry, where
a wife can have many husbands. (p. 85) 
 The Economy
Atienza et al (2016) stated that the Economy is an institution that addresses questions regarding
limited resources of society. The economic questions that must be addressed according to the
authors are: What should be produced? How are these products going to be produced? How
much are these products? (pp. 85-86)
Liberal economists, as cited by Atienza et al (2016), provides that the answers to the important
questions regarding the resources of the society should be determined by the market (“free-
market or Laissez-faire), which is a self-regulating mechanism according to Adam Smith. The
laws and other processes of the market determine the number of goods that will be made
available to the members of society, as well as their prices in the market. Free competition and
non-state intervention in the economy are major components of the free market economy. (p. 86)
Socialists, as explained by Atienza et al (2016), believe that the bourgeoisie or the social class
that largely controls the means of production has an overwhelming control over the free-market
economy, and, only the bourgeoisie benefits from the market system. As further explained by
Atienza et al (2016), Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels argued that the market and the state
should be under the control of the proletariat or the laborers. According to Marx, the free
market system has alienated the proletariat since they do not have the capital and resources to
thrive in it unlike the bourgeoisie. In the same book, Atienza et al cited Marx and argued
that private Property- should be abolished and must be under the direction of the state to
promote equal distribution of economic resources according to the needs of the people and
regardless of class. (p.86) The solution according to Marx is communism.
 Educational and Health Institutions
  These two institutions, according to Atienza et al (2016), uphold basic human rights. The
authors explained that educational institutions do not only ensure that individuals are
functionally literate; they also transmit culture. Educational institutions are like cultural
institutions that serve as depositories and preservers of culture. Likewise, they feed the economy
with skilled and competent individuals as in the case of the K-12 curriculum. K to 12 (also K-12)
is a program under the Department of Education that aims to enhance learners’ basic skills,
produce more competent citizens, and prepare graduates for lifelong learning and employment.
Health institutions, as further argued by Atienza et al, are established to ensure public health and
to provide universal health services. Presently, the world and the Philippine health care system is
being challenged by the Covid-19 pandemic. As our health care system is on the forefront of this
disease, so is our educational institution. (p. 89)
Atienza et al, presented two kinds of health systems: western health systems are based on
science and the skills of health workers are standardized and learned from health science schools;
and traditional or alternative health systems that have been in existence even before the
introduction of western health systems. In the Philippines, the traditional health system is
prevalent, acknowledging beliefs like binat and pasma, which the western health system does not
recognize. (p. 89)
 Religion
Atienza et al (2016) defines religion as an institution that involves a set of beliefs and practices
of a particular social group. Beliefs of religious groups affect the behavior of their members,
thus, the need to know how the beliefs of a religion affect actions of its members. The authors
stated that religion may be organized into a group that has universal membership
called Church, or it could be organized into an exclusive group called sect. Atienza et al
classified religion into: monotheistic, which refers to religions that believe in only one god,
and polytheistic, which refers to religions that believe in many gods. They also contended
that animism is not a religion but a belief system that holds that both animate and inanimate
things have spiritual essence. Animists venerate objects such as rocks, lakes, plants, and other
natural elements. (pp. 89-90)
Marx, as cited by Atienza et al, argued that religion reinforces social control and is the “opiate of
the masses.” Its role is to justify the sufferings experienced by the proletariats or members of the
lower classes, particularly the wage-earners. While Max Weber, as cited by the same authors,
believed that religion is a factor for economic development.  It teaches frugality and hard work
that contribute to the accumulation of capital, which is important to industrialization. (pp. 90-91)
Atienza et al also cited August Comte who said that the dominance of religion is part of the
theological phase of the development of society. Comte advanced the secularization theory,
which predicts the decrease in the influence of religion and organized churches in social affairs.
(p. 91)
The Philippines observes the principle of separation of church and state based on the 1987
Philippine Constitution. However as stated by Atienza et al, other societies are strongly
influenced by religion giving rise to Theocracies or States with governments that are under the
power of religious leaders. (p. 91)
 
LET’S REMEMBER THESE:
 
 Social institutions are organized sets of elements such as beliefs, rules, practices, and
relationships that exist to attain social order.
 Family, economy, education, health, religion and other non-state institutions are
examples of social institutions.
 Social institutions are considered as fundamental components of a society and have major
influences in shaping human behavior.
 Understanding social institutions require two approaches, institutional and relational
approach.
 Family is the fundamental unit of society or the basic social institution of society.
 Liberalist economist embraces the free market economy (laissez-faire) characterized by
nongovernment intervention in the economy.
 Socialists advance the idea that private property should be abolished and the factors of
production should be under the control of the workers or the proletariat.