Between ideal and morality. Family and its socio-moral problems and challenges in Romania

Abstract

In Romanian society, family was one of the fundamental “institutions”, strongly supported by religious convictions, by tradition, stability and need of social safety. Inside a family man is educated from a religious point of view, he receives the model of behaviour he needs in society, he discovers the first social relations. Until today, these characteristics have been preserved in many families in Romania and they represent the foundation of a good training for young people for beautiful life, well anchored in the realities of the society. After the fall of communism in Romania at the end of 1989 and especially when the first manifestations of the globalization of secularization occurred, family was and still is confronted with new and unparalleled challenges. It has lost a lot of its value, since young people consider that they can live together without an engagement blessed by the Church and legislated by the state. Instead of assuming the responsibility of becoming a family, young people have now other priorities in life: career, their own happiness, social and economical fulfilment. These are the reasons why the average age of contracting a marriage is very high. The model of the monoparental family seems to be now in fashion, since more than 20% of children in Romania live in such a family. There is an increasing number of divorces, concubinages, abortions, people who neglect the education of their own children, of people who do not get married any more. Some of the members of Romanian families live and work abroad – the official number is 900,000 – and this situation has serious consequences upon family itself and especially upon the children who remain at home. All these realities have placed family, in the last 10 years, in the center of attention of all the institutions in Romania which have a social and educational impact. Churches especially engaged themselves in supporting family, in protecting it and rendering its value again. They hope that young people and members of present families will discover and assume the values of the most important institution of moral and social education.