Families in Today's World—And Tomorrow's

Abstract

The world's family systems derive from the great world religions and the cultural history of civilizations. On this basis, five fundamental family systems of the world can be identified—those of East, South, and West Asia (with North Africa), sub-Saharan Africa, and Europe—together with two important interstitial or hybrid systems—of Creole America and of Southeast Asia—each with significant subvariants. The comparative overview of these seven family systems looks at their internal power relations (patriarchy), their marriage patterns and regulation of sexuality, and their fertility. Changes tend to move in the same direction across the world, but without convergence.