Bogoslovska smotra, Vol. 69 No. 2-3, 1999.
Pregledni rad
Recent Changes in Living and Understanding of Marriage and the Family
Karlo Koračević
; Katolički bogoslovni fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Sažetak
The article takes a detailed look at the theme of the institutions of marriage and the family and their development from the 1960s to today. The established facts of these institutions and people's attitudes towards them are observed in their dynamics across this period. We have tried to treat these problems in three logical steps.
In the first part we describe the state of the institutions of marriage and the family in western European countries and in Croatia, and how this is revealed by empirical research and official statistical data. These reveal, first of all, a crisis in the above-mentioned institutions in their traditional forms. Symptoms of this crisis are a consistent drop in the number of members per household, an increase in the number of households without children, in the number of divorces and single people living alone. Parallel to the crisis of the traditional model, is growth in the number of unmarried couples living either together or separately, as well as noticeable changes of motives for getting married, and changes in the distribution of roles within marriage or common-law marriage.
The second part is explicative in nature. It looks for causes of the above-mentioned changes, factors which have influenced this process. First to be discussed are the geneses of modern society which are a result of the processes of industrialisation, urbanisation, the segmentation of social structure, pluralism and secularisation. The following factors have had a particular influence on marriage and the family in recent times: technological improvement of methods of birth control, sexual emancipation of women, employment of women outside the home, changes in understanding of sexuality and procreation, changes in male-female roles within marriage. At the end, the general state of the spirit is discussed, and limitations of perspectives and values within which people decide to marry or live in matrimony. Characteristics of these perspectives are aggression and omnipresence, but predominantly unfavourable media towards marriage and the family, widespread distrust in the above-mentioned institutions and the need for these, fear of the consequences of an unsuccessful marriage, consumer mentality, liberalism and general tolerance for various forms of communal living. All of this points to the complicated multi-causal nature of the above-mentioned changes.
The third part of the article suggests directions of thought and concrete applications in pastoral work with people who are preparing for marriage or married already. First, it claims that the Catholic ideal of marriage is attractive and feasible, but requires a much more mature and conscious decision and preparation. Therefore, emphasis is on the necessity of political action for the creation of better social hypotheses for stability of marriage and the family. It further calls for qualitative and quantitative changes to the existing model of preparation for marriage. Pastoral work does not come to an end when a young couple comes before the alter; they need to be accompanied and assisted through all phases of their shared life. The final recommendation considers the danger of romantic flights of fancy and painful sobering up in youths' expectations, their understanding of love and married life. Bringing youths' expectations into a healthy balance, and realistic observation of the brighter and darker sides of marriage and family life, are the prerequisites for a mature and well-thought-out decision for this way of life.
Ključne riječi
marriage; tradition; worth; society; pastoral families
Hrčak ID:
31495
URI
Datum izdavanja:
22.12.1999.
Posjeta: 2.925 *