University of Santo Tomas

Faculty of Arts and Letters

A.Y. 2023-2024

Compilation of Set A Prelim Requirements for

Christian Vision of Marriage and Family

Aldiano, Keith Rachelle

Calica, Martina Nieyandra
Deyro, Norin Jei
Mangat, Florence Seiichi
Natividad, Alicia Bernadette

1JRN1
 Summative Test 1 and 2: Thoroughly explain the functionalist theory of family (together
with its dimensions) and connect or contrast this with the Catholic Church’s position on
family.

Functionalism posits that the family plays a crucial role in society, providing roles and
functions for betterment and solidity. It is the basic unit of society, fostering children's behavior,
values, virtues, and perception of life circumstances. Family provides a form of economic
cooperation, with each member having specific roles and responsibilities. As the meaning of the
family varies, it is essential to note that family must be the haven of each member. Establishing a
good relationship with open communication, providing emotional support, and a sense of
belonging is essential in building a solid foundation, especially in understanding the definition of
family.

Functionalist and Catholic Church theories emphasize the importance of family stability
and organization. It perceives family as a stabilizing societal factor, while the Catholic Church
views it as a fundamental moral and spiritual strength unit. The family is responsible for
introducing God, experiencing Him, and demonstrating His virtue through blessings, inspiration,
and volunteering. Likewise, the Catholic Church recognizes the family as the primary institution
for imparting religious and moral principles to future generations. At the same time,
functionalists emphasize the role of families in creating and passing cultural norms and values.

In contrast, Functionalist theory is a secular sociological perspective emphasizing the

family's societal responsibilities. At the same time, the Catholic Church views the family as a
sacramental institution and a means to fulfill God's purpose. Both approaches acknowledge the
importance of growth, but functionalist theory views it from a demographic and societal
sustainability perspective, while the Catholic Church views it as a divine purpose.

To conclude, Functionalist theory highlights shared values, transparent communication,

family stability, and a moral foundation for well-being, while the Catholic Church's position is
rooted in religious doctrines.
 Course Inquiry Project: The Analysis of Marriage and Separation
Studies in the Philippines

Humans are taught about the concept of marriage at the very beginning of their existence,
especially by older people. How one should be intelligent and wise enough to choose the 'one’
they'll spend their life with, how love isn't sufficient to declare marriage, and many more
anecdotes presented to oneself. These construct ideas of excitement and fear to a child's mind
that they'll undoubtedly bring when they can assess the difference between right and wrong.
However, these ideas cannot be presented well enough from the child's perspective if the adults
or parents surrounding their existence are emotionally unavailable, which is the opposite of what
the Functionalism Theory promotes in the concept of marriage and family, where it is viewed as
necessary for the preservation and continued production of society (Fowler, 2007). This theory
has long been the lens and basis of what the ideal family and marriage should be structured;
however, even though the Philippines is considered one with the Vatican, it is very traditional,
and the bill about divorce hasn't been legalized (Emery, 2013), a single law cannot hinder the
interchanging effects and influence of what the concept of marriage is in accordance with
functionalism.
The majority of Filipinos perceive marriage as a connection with forming a family. Based
on the data in the study by Kuang (2019), the results discovered that Filipinos associate marriage
with childbirth and with love and security of both the partners’ relationship and their children’s
future. The function of marriage in this study is based on family-centric culture which is still
applicable today. However, since marriage in the Philippines is such a complex contract to exit,
the data in Kuang’s study emphasized that Filipinos often choose cohabitation—hence, the
increase in cases in which partners cohabitate. Cohabitation is an arrangement where unmarried
people live together. It also functions similarly to marriage, a relationship arrangement associated
with childbirth and built out of love to provide security, except legally binding. One of the major
reasons as to why cohabitation is widely accepted is due to allowing not only opposite-sex
partners but also same-sex partners to experience companionship akin to married life. The
function of marriage relating to family and love remains relevant today as Filipinos perceive
marriage as more romantically enduring and fulfilling rather than cohabitation. Still, the
existence of cohabitation that fulfills almost the same function but less complex, has also become
an option to partners before committing to marriage.
In a further analysis of Kuang’s study, data responses have mentioned childbirth too
many times; this provides an expectation for married couples to undergo child planning once
they enter marriage. Although this expectation may still be alive in culturally traditional families,
the function of childbirth in marriage has also grown entirely irrelevant today. According to
Anglo et al. (2023), married couples often opt for a childless marriage due to reasons such as
concerns about their bodies and age, being career-focused, anxiety about the responsibilities of
parenthood, socio-economic considerations, and observations of childbearing marriages. Older
Filipinos often believe that a childless marriage does not bring any joy and positive outcomes to
married couples; however, respondents from Anglo et al.’s study claim childless marriage also
brings them joy by letting them experience contentment, unwavering commitment, a sense of
peace, and increased quality time.
 According to Williams et al. (2016), in their investigation of the Philippines' attitudes
towards marriage, they pointed out a 'mixed acceptance' of the suggestion of separation to
couples seen as not working out. This is because the country is predominantly Catholic or
because the practice of cohabitation before marriage has been experienced already. However,
even if research pointed out mixed perspectives, the data gathered further highlighted that
remarriage is acceptable if a person has previously been divorced or separated and that marriage
brings greater happiness than other living arrangements. The figures represented and obtained
contrast with what functionalist theory encourages' since this institution is considered sacred by
the church and a very structured institution in society. Separation and remarriage aren't aligned
with the theory presented in the study as this further empties the gaps that should be filled when
a couple decides to be in union. This attitude towards marriage in the Philippines creates the
growing irrelevance of the functionalist theory in marriage and families since one cannot be
dictated anymore by society to stick with one descent.
Following the study conducted by Abalos (2017), the continuous increase in the trend of
separation in the Philippines has been observed even with the lack of laws corresponding to it,
such as divorce or even the one accessible in the state, annulment. The functionalist theory of
this study is seen and considered to be out of the picture and ineffective because of union
dissolutions. Additionally, the Filipino woman's childhood residence significantly impacts her
chances of going through separation, and it is seen that those raised in urban areas experience
this more frequently than the rural side and climbing rates of cohabitation push separation to its
peak. The researcher stressed that the woman's capacity to attain higher levels of education or
have better-educated individuals had gained the perspective of acquiring more economic
resources rather than staying in a bad marriage.
Marriage in the Philippines remains in constant development. As new concepts regarding
marriage emerge, Filipinos are also on a stage of accepting and being open to these new ideas.
The traditional idea of marriage is slowly being replaced; however, it does not have any negative
connotation as society is always on the constant cycle of change for the betterment, meaning
there should be more ideas of how marriage should work, especially considering how huge of a
stabilizing force it is in society. The current attitude of Filipinos in terms of how they accept new
ideas of marriage should only be encouraged to provide the Philippines with a better marriage
system that functions following the Filipinos’ needs.
 Prelim Examination: The Catholic Social Teaching on “Call to Family”
1. Gabor Maté’s notion of trauma reveals how our early childhood days can influence our
mental, psychological, and emotional development and how impactful our past
experiences have been on us within our family. “All trauma must be treated with
compassion, but he is adamant that it isn’t an excuse for not taking personal
responsibility.” ​(Bramley, 2023) Integrating Maté’s notion, families and the Catholic
Church can foster and promote empathy, compassion, and understanding, leading
individuals to heal and work on their traumas.

With this concept, the church and families can look at sin and experiences differently.
The church can be more understanding about the origin of traumatic events and
incorporate God's love in assuring the masses that God will be there for us no matter
what. Lastly, families can use this concept to create a safe space that can build
relationships in each family. Openness should start at home before it starts with
anybody else.

1. "Because there is neither an 'essence' that gender expresses or externalizes nor an

objective ideal to which gender aspires; because gender is not a fact, the various acts of
gender create the idea of gender, and without those acts, there would be no gender at all.
Gender is, thus, a construction that regularly conceals its genesis" ("Performative" 273).
Judith Butler's notion contributes to cultivating an "openness to a diversity of people." by
oppugning the traditional mindset of gender, his view promotes and embraces the diverse
gender identities. He believes that Gender is performative. With this in mind, it implies
that social norms should not construct us and welcome the fluidity and spectrum of
gender.

Judith Butler's gender theory helps widen the horizon of understanding Gender, the roles
of Gender, the importance of Gender, and the rich diversity we have yet to discover.
Gender identity can be fully understood by a person depending on their environment.
This theory creates a deeper understanding of how different concepts and ideas about
Gender coexist with the old principles we learned growing up. With this theory, we would
be able to understand Gender and its concept fully and adequately and know how to
interact with them respectfully.
 References

Ellie Violet Bramley. (2023, April 12). The trauma doctor: Gabor Maté on happiness,

hope and how to heal our deepest wounds. The Guardian; The Guardian.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/apr/12/the-trauma-doctor-gabor-mat

e-on-happiness-hope-and-how-to-heal-our-deepest-wounds#:~:text=Mat%C3%A9%

20says%20trauma%2C%20from%20the,says%2C%20is%20the%20good%20news.

Felluga, Dino. "Modules on Butler: On Gender and Sex." Introductory Guide to Critical

Theory. Jan. 31, 2011. Purdue U. March 2, 2024

<http://www.purdue.edu/guidetotheory/genderandsex/modules/butlergendersex.html

>.

Abalos, Jeofrey B. “Divorce and separation in the Philippines: Trends and

correlates.” Demographic Research 36 (2017): 1515.

Emery, Robert E., ed. Cultural sociology of divorce: An encyclopedia. SAGE publications,

2013.

Fowler, Ana Carolina. “Love and marriage: Through the lens of sociological

theories.” Human architecture: Journal of the sociology of self-knowledge 5, no. 2

(2007): 6.

Williams, Lindy, M., M. Kabamalan, and N. B. Ogena. “Attitudes toward marriage in the

Philippines.” Population Association of America Annual Meeting, Los Angeles,

California. 2006.

Kuang, Bernice. “Is Marriage ‘Just a Paper’? Focus Group Perceptions of Cohabitation
 and Marriage in the Philippines.” Population Association of America Annual

Meeting, Austin, Texas. 2019.

Anglo, Jesserie Grace C., A.M.Q. Quiocho, S.M. Tubera, M. Yagin, and B.M.S. Gorospe.

“The Lifeworld of Voluntary Childless Married Couples”. Migration Letters 20 (8).

2023.