Family values is a political and social concept used in various cultures to describe values that are believed to be traditional in that culture and in support of the idea that families are the basic units of culture. The phrase has different meanings in different cultures. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the term has been frequently used in political debate, especially by social and religious conservatives, who believe that the world has seen a decline in family values since the end of the Second World War. Conservatism is a term used to describe political philosophies that favour Tradition, where tradition refers to various religious cultural or nationally defined World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including ^[1] Because the term is vague, and means different things to different people, "family values" has been described as a political buzzword, power word, or code word predominantly used by right-wing or conservative political parties and media providers. A buzzword (also fashion word and vogue word) is a vague Idiom, usually a Neologism, that is common to managerial technical administrative Loaded This article is about the concept generally for its meaning specific to politics see Dog-whistle politics.

Definition

The concept of "family values" is rooted in each individual culture thus making the values different for different societies. In addition, cultures change over time in response to economic, political, and cultural developments. Therefore, "family values" vary from household to household, from country to country, and from generation to generation.

Conservative and liberal perspectives in the United States

Social and religious conservatives often use the term "family values" to promote conservative ideology that supports traditional morality or values. Conservatism in the United States includes a variety of political ideologies including Fiscal conservatism, Supply-side economics, Social conservatism The term Christian values historically refers to the values found in the teachings of Christ. ^[2] American Christians often see their religion as the source of morality and consider the nuclear family to be an essential element in society. Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings The term nuclear family developed in the Western world to distinguish the Family group consisting of parents most commonly a Father and Mother Some conservative family values advocates believe the government should endorse Christian morality,^[3] for example by displaying the Ten Commandments or allowing teachers to conduct prayers in public schools. The Ten Commandments, or Decalogue, are a list of religious and moral imperatives that according to Judeo-Christian tradition were authored by God and given Prayer is the act of attempting to communicate with a Deity or spirit Religious conservatives often view the United States as a "Christian nation". ^[4] For example, the American Family Association, says "The American Family Association exists to motivate and equip citizens to change the culture to reflect Biblical truth and traditional family values. "^[5] These groups variously oppose abortion, pornography, pre-marital sex, homosexuality, some aspects of feminism,^[6] cohabitation, and depictions of sexuality in the media. An Pornography or porn is the explicit depiction of Sexual subject matter with the sole intention of sexually exciting the viewer Fornication, or simple fornication is a term which refers to voluntary Sexual intercourse between persons not married to each other Homosexuality refers to sexual behavior with or attraction to people of the same sex or to a Homosexual orientation. Feminism is a discourse that involves various movements theories, and Philosophies which are concerned with the issue of Gender difference, advocate Cohabitation is when people live together in an emotionally- and/or physically- Intimate relationship. Generally speaking human sexuality is how people experience and express themselves as sexual beings

A less common use of the phrase "family values" is by some liberals, who have used the phrase to support such values as family planning, affordable child care, and maternity leave. Liberalism in the United States is a broad political and philosophical mindset favoring individual Liberty, and opposing restrictions on liberty whether they come from Family planning is frequently used to mean that people plan when to have children using Birth control, preconceptional counseling. Childcare (also written child care and babycare is the act of caring for and supervising minor Children (In Australia Daycare is referred For example, groups such as People For the American Way, Planned Parenthood, and Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays have attempted to define the concept in a way that promotes the acceptance of single-parent families, same-sex monogamous relationships and marriage. People For the American Way (People For is a progressive, politically liberal Advocacy organization in the United States. Planned Parenthood is the collective name of organizations worldwide who are members of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF Parents Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays ( PFLAG) is a group of family members and friends of Lesbian, Gay, bisexual, and Transgender This understanding of family values does not promote conservative morality, instead focusing on encouraging and supporting alternative family structures, access to contraception, abortion, increasing the minimum wage, sex education, childcare, and parent-friendly employment laws, which provide for maternity leave and leave for medical emergencies involving children. Birth control, sometimes synonymous with contraception, is a regimen of one or more actions devices or Medications followed in order to deliberately prevent An A minimum wage is the lowest hourly daily or monthly Wage that employers may legally pay to employees or workers Sex education is a broad term used to describe Education about human sexual anatomy, Sexual reproduction, Sexual intercourse, Reproductive ^[7][8]

Political application

The use of family values as a political term became widespread after a 1992 speech by Vice President Dan Quayle that attributed the Los Angeles riots to a breakdown of family values. The Vice President of the United States is the first person in the presidential line of succession, becoming the new President of the United States upon the death James Danforth "Dan" Quayle (born February 4 1947 is an American politician and a former Senator from the state of Indiana. The Los Angeles riots of 1992, also known as the Rodney King uprising or the Rodney King riots, were sparked on April 29, 1992 when a jury Quayle specifically blamed the violence in L. A. as stemming from a decay of moral values and family structure in American society. In an aside, he cited the fictional title character in the television program Murphy Brown as an example of how popular culture contributes to this "poverty of values", saying: "[i]t doesn't help matters when primetime TV has Murphy Brown—a character who supposedly epitomizes today's intelligent, highly paid, professional woman—mocking the importance of fathers, by bearing a child alone, and calling it just another 'lifestyle choice'". A television program (US television programme (UK or television show (U Murphy Brown is an American Situation comedy which aired on CBS from November 14, 1988 to May 18, 1998 Poverty (also called penury) is deprivation of common necessities that determine the quality of life including food clothing shelter and safe Drinking water, and Prime Time is the major News analysis current affairs and Politics programme broadcast on Radio Telefís Éireann in Ireland Quayle drew a firestorm of criticism from feminist and liberal organizations, and was widely ridiculed by late-night talk show hosts for saying this. Liberalism is a broad array of related ideas and theories of Government that consider individual Liberty to be the most important political goal (In an interview years after the incident, Quayle said it was an off-hand remark and that he had no idea it would ignite such controversy, nor had he intended for it to. Ironically, the show's star Candice Bergen herself said in an interview after the show was cancelled that she agreed with him. Candice Patricia Bergen (born May 9, 1946) is an Academy Award -nominated and Golden Globe - and Emmy Award -winning American ) The "Murphy Brown speech" and the resulting media coverage damaged the Republican ticket in the 1992 presidential election and became one of the most memorable incidents of the 1992 campaign. The United States presidential elections of 1992 featured a battle between incumbent President, Republican George H Long after the outcry had ended, the comment continued to have an effect on US politics. Stephanie Coontz, a professor of family history and the author of several books and essays about the history of marriage, says that this brief remark by Quayle about Murphy Brown "kicked off more than a decade of outcries against the 'collapse of the family'". Stephanie Coontz (born August 31, 1944) is a Historian, author and faculty member at The Evergreen State College. NOTICE TO WOULD-BE ROMEOS ************** ^[9]

Others have used the phrase in such slogans as: Hate is not a family value. Jim Wallis, at the Sojourners Call for Renewal in 2006, titled his speech "Poverty is not a family value. The Reverend Jim Wallis (b June 4 1948, Detroit Michigan) is an evangelical Christian writer and political activist best known as the founder Sojourners Magazine, a monthly publication of the Christian social justice organization Sojourners was first published in 1971 under the original title of The Post-American. "^[10] Many Americans believe that access to health care and to education, and freedom from violence, are important family values.

Media application

Typically, the term is used by the media to refer to Christian values, but in a New York Times survey, "Five percent of the women and one percent of the men defined family values as being connected to religion or the Bible. The term Christian values historically refers to the values found in the teachings of Christ. Nine out of ten women defined family values as loving, taking care of and supporting each other, knowing right from wrong and having good values. "

U. S. politics

Republican Party

Since 1980, the Republican Party has used the issue of family values to attract socially conservative voters. ^[11] While family values remains a rather vague concept, social conservatives usually understand the term to include some combination of the following principles (also referenced in the 2004 Republican Party platform):^[12]

• Promotion of traditional marriage and opposition to adultery ^[13][14]
• Opposition to same-sex marriage^[15]
• Support for traditional education and parental involvement in that education^[16]
• Support for policies that encourage "adoption over abortion"^[17]
• Support for behavior identified as traditional or moral such as respect, discipline, attentiveness, religious commitment^[18]
• Support for healthy choices such as a nutritious diet, medical screenings, and physical activity^[19]
• Support for "abstinence education" exclusively regarding risks associated with early sexual activity such as teen pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases^[20] while not teaching such topics of sex education as human sexual behavior, safe sex and birth control. Same-sex marriage (also referred to as gay marriage) is a term for a legally or Socially recognized Marriage between two people of the same Traditional education refers to long-established customs found in schools that society has traditionally deemed appropriate Abstinence-only sex education is a form of Sex education that emphasizes Abstinence from sex to the exclusion of all other types of Sexual and reproductive Sex education is a broad term used to describe Education about human sexual anatomy, Sexual reproduction, Sexual intercourse, Reproductive Human sexual behavior or different human sexual practices encompass a wide range of activities such as strategies to find or attract partners ( Mating and display Safe sex (also called safer sex or protected sex) is the practice of Sexual activity in a manner that reduces the risk of Infection with Birth control, sometimes synonymous with contraception, is a regimen of one or more actions devices or Medications followed in order to deliberately prevent
• Support for policies that are said to protect children from obscenity and exploitation via censorship, among other methods. Censorship is the suppression of speech or deletion of communicative material which may be considered objectionable harmful or sensitive as determined by a censor ^{[21][22][23][24][25][26][27]}

Democratic Party

Although the term "family values" remains a core issue for the Republican Party, in recent years the Democratic Party has also used the term, though differing in its definition. The Democratic Party is one of two major Political parties in the United States, the other being the Republican Party. For example, in his acceptance speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, John Kerry said "it is time for those who talk about family values to start valuing families. The 2004 Democratic National Convention was a United States presidential nominating convention that took place from July 26 to July 29, 2004 } John Forbes Kerry (born December 11 1943 is an American Politician who is currently serving his fourth term as the junior United States Senator "^[28] The Democratic definitions of family values often include items that specifically target working families such as a support of a "living wage" as well as universal health care. Living wage is a term used to describe the minimum hourly wage necessary for a person to achieve some specific standard of living Universal health care is health care coverage which is extended to all eligible residents of a governmental region

Australian politics

The Family First Party originally contested the 2002 South Australian state election, where former Assemblies of God pastor Dr Andrew Evans won one of the eleven seats in the 22-seat South Australian Legislative Council on 4 percent of the state-wide vote. The Family First Party is a socially conservative minor Political party in Australia. Post-election Pendulum Legislative Council Results See also South Australian legislative elections The World Assemblies of God Fellowship, or Assemblies of God for short is the world's largest Pentecostal denomination with over 283413 churches and outstations Andrew Evans OAM (born June 1935 in India) is a Pentecostal Christian Pastor in the Assemblies of God and a politician The Legislative Council, or upper house is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The party made their federal debut at the 2004 general election, electing Steve Fielding on 2 percent of the Victorian vote in the Australian Senate, out of six Victorian senate seats up for election. Federal elections were held in Australia on 9 October, 2004. All 150 seats in the House of Representatives and 40 seats in the 76-member Steven Fielding (born 17 October 1960) is a Victorian Senator and the Federal parliamentary leader of the Family First Party The Senate is the upper of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia. Both MPs were able to be elected with Australia's Single Transferable Vote and Group voting ticket system in the upper house. Single transferable vote (STV is a preferential Voting system designed to minimize Wasted votes and provide Proportional representation Group voting tickets are a way to simplify Preferential voting, for example in a single transferable vote election The party:

• Opposes abortion
• Opposes euthanasia
• Opposes harm reduction, favouring prevention, zero tolerance, rehabilitation, and avoidance
• Opposes gay adoptions, In vitro fertilisation (IVF) for gay couples, and does not acknowledge gay civil unions

In the 2007 Australian Election, Family First came under fire for giving preferences in some areas to the Liberty and Democracy Party, a libertarian party that favors legalization of incest, gay marriage, and drug use. Euthanasia (literally "good death" in Ancient Greek) refers to the practice of ending a life in a painless manner Harm reduction is a Philosophy of Public health, intended to be a progressive alternative to the prohibition of certain potentially dangerous LGBT adoption refers to the Adoption of children by Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transgendered people In vitro fertilisation ( IVF) is a process by which A civil union is a legally recognized union similar to Marriage. The Liberty & Democracy Party (LDP is a moderate libertarian or classical liberal Australian Political party founded in 2001. Libertarianism is a term used by a broad spectrum of political philosophies which prioritize individual Liberty and seek to minimize or even abolish the Incest refers to any sexual activity between closely related persons (often within the immediate family that is illegal or socially Taboo. ^[29]

British politics

Family values was a recurrent theme in the Conservative government of John Major. The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is a Political party in the United Kingdom. Sir John Major KG CH ACIB (born 29 March 1943 is a British Politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Predictably, it caused considerable embarrassment whenever a member of the Government was found to be having an affair. John Major himself, the architect of the policy, was subsequently found to have had an affair with Edwina Currie. Edwina Currie Jones née Cohen (born 13 October 1946) is a former British Member of Parliament. Family Values have been revived by the current Conservative Party under David Cameron, forming the backbone of his mantra on social responsibility and related policies. David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966 is a British Politician and the current leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of Her Majesty's

Family values in Chinese culture and Confucianism

In Confucian thought, family values, familial relationships, ancestor worship, and filial piety (Chinese: 孝; Mandarin: Xiào; Cantonese: Haau) are the primary basis of the philosophical system, and these concepts are seen as virtues to be cultivated. Confucianism ( is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system originally developed from the teachings of the fifth century B In Confucian thought filial piety ( is one of the Virtues to be cultivated a love and respect for one's parents and ancestors

Filial piety is considered the first virtue in Chinese culture. While China has always had a diversity of religious beliefs, filial piety has been common to almost all of them; for example, Historian Hugh D. China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National R. Baker calls respect for the family the only element common to almost all Chinese believers. These traditions were sometimes enforced by law; during parts of the Han Dynasty, for example, those who neglected ancestor worship could even be subject to corporal punishment. The Han Dynasty ( 206 BC–220 AD followed the Qin Dynasty and preceded the Three Kingdoms in China.

The term "filial", meaning "of a child", denotes the respect and obedience that a child, originally a son, should show to his parents, especially to his father. This relationship was extended by analogy to a series of five relationships or five cardinal relationships (五倫 Wǔlún):

1. ruler and subject (君臣),
2. father and son (父子),
3. husband and wife (夫婦),
4. elder and younger brother (兄弟),
5. friend and friend (朋友)

Specific duties were prescribed to each of the participants in these sets of relationships. Such duties were also extended to the dead, where the living stood as sons to their deceased family. This led to the veneration of ancestors. In time, filial piety was also built into the Chinese legal system: a criminal would be punished more harshly if the culprit had committed the crime against a parent, while fathers exercised enormous power over their children. Much the same was true of other unequal relationships.

This theme consistently manifests itself in many aspects of East Asian culture even to this day, with extensive filial duties on the part of children toward parents and elders, and greater concern of parents toward their children than found in modern American or European cultures.

References

See also

• Children's Online Privacy Protection Act
• Christian right
• Communications Decency Act of the Telecommunications Act of 1996
• Compassionate conservatism
• Culture of Life
• Decency
• Dominionism
• Glittering generality
• Heteronormativity
• Homosexual agenda
• Missionary Generation
• Paleoconservatism
• Pro-life
• Sexual norm
• Social aspects of clothing
• Social conservatism
• Southern strategy
• Traditionalist world view (American)
• Victorian morality
• William Bennett

Conservative Organizations that promote "family values"

• American Decency Association
• American Family Association
• Christian Coalition
• Christian Voice
• Concerned Women for America
• Family Research Council
• Focus on the Family
• National Legion of Decency
• Parents Television Council
• Traditional Values Coalition
• United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Office for Film and Broadcasting
• United for Life Foundation (Art/Media/Education)

Books

• Bennett, William J. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 305 - Diocletian and Maximian retire from the office of Roman Emperor. The Mark Foley scandal, which broke in late September 2006 centers on soliciting E-mails and sexually explicit instant messages sent by Mark The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 ( COPPA) is a United States federal law, located at ( The Christian right is a term used predominantly in the United States to describe a spectrum of right-wing Christian political and social movements and The Communications Decency Act of 1996 ( CDA) was arguably the first attempt by the United States Congress to regulate pornographic material on the The Telecommunications Act of 1996 was the first major overhaul of United States Telecommunications law in nearly 62 years amending the Communications Act of Compassionate conservatism is a Political philosophy that stresses using traditionally conservative techniques and concepts in order to improve the general welfare of society The phrase "culture of life" is a term used in Moral theology. Decency is conformity to sociocultural standards of conduct and speech Dominionism describes in several distinct ways a tendency among some conservative politically-active Christians, especially in the United States Glittering generalities (also called "glowing generalities" are emotionally appealing words so closely associated with highly-valued concepts and beliefs that they carry conviction Heteronormativity is a term to describe the marginalization of Non-heterosexual lifestyles and the view that Heterosexuality is the normal Sexual orientation " Homosexual agenda " (or " gay agenda " is a term used by social conservatives primarily in the United States, referring to "Generations Baby Boomers their Parents & their Children" is a 1997 book by Hugh Mackay describing three Australian generations. Paleoconservatism (sometimes shortened to paleo or paleocon when the context is clear is a term for an anti-communist and Anti-authoritarian Overview See also Ethical aspects of abortion Pro-life individuals generally believe that human life should be valued either from conception or Implantation A sexual norm can refer to a Personal or a social norm Most cultures have social norms regarding sexuality, and define normal sexuality Clothing is an aspect of Human physical appearance, and like other aspects of human physical appearance it has social significance Social conservatism is a political or moral ideology that affirms the government's role in encouraging or enforcing traditional values or behaviors in the belief that these are what In American politics, the Southern strategy refers to a Republican method of carrying Southern states in the latter decades of the 20th century and first decade of The American traditionalist World view is a concept referring to the socially conservative set of beliefs particular to United States culture Victorian morality is a distillation of the moral views of people living at the time of Queen Victoria (reigned 1837 - 1901 in particular and to the moral climate William John Bennett (born July 3, 1943) is an American Neoconservative Pundit, Politician, and Political The American Family Association (AFA is a 501(c(3 Non-profit organization that promotes conservative Christian values For other organizations with a similar name see Christian Coalition. Concerned Women for America is a Conservative Christian political action group active in the United States. The Family Research Council (FRC is a Christian right Non-profit Think tank and Lobbying organization. The National Legion of Decency, also known as the Catholic Legion of Decency, was an organization dedicated to identifying and combating objectionable content in Motion The Parents Television Council (PTC is a US -based nonprofit organization founded by conservative activist L The Traditional Values Coalition (aka TVC is a Christian Right organization that represents by its estimate over 43000 Christian churches throughout the The USCCB film rating is issued by the Office for Film and Broadcasting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. , ed. The Book of Virtues: A Treasury of Great Moral Stories. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1993. ISBN 0-671-68306-3.
• Carrier, Marc & Cynthia. The Values-Driven Family: A Proactive Plan for Successful Biblical Parenting (ISBN 1598865277), [Tate Publishing, 2006].
• Coontz, Stephanie. "The Way We Never Were: American Families and the Nostalgia Trap". New York: Basic Books, 1992. ISBN 0-465-09097-4.
• Coontz, Stephanie. "The Way We Really Are: Coming to Terms with America's Changing Families". Basic Books, 1998. ISBN 0-465-09092-3.
• Coontz, Stephanie. , ed. "American Families; A Multicultural Reader". London: Routledge, 1999. ISBN 0-415-91574-0.
• Coontz, Stephanie. "Marriage, A History: From Obedience to Intimacy, or How Love Conquered Marriage". New York: Viking Press, 2005. ISBN 0-670-03407-X.
• Good, Deirdre. Jesus' Family Values (ISBN 1-59627-027-6; ISBN 978-1-59627-027-5), New York: Church Publishing, 2006.
• Shapiro, Ben. Porn Generation: How Social Liberalism Is Corrupting Our Future (ISBN 0-89526-016-6), Regnery, 2005. Regnery Publishing in Washington DC is a Publisher which specializes in conservative books characterized on their website as "contrary to those Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

External links

• Republican Family Values
• 2004 U.S. Republican Party Platform ("Protecting our Families")
• 2004 U.S. Democratic National Platform ("Strong, Healthy Families")
• Dan Quayle, Speech to the Commonwealth Club of California
• The Klein Coalition of Faith and Values
• Support Our Families
• ABC Radio National on Jesus and "family values"