THE FAMILY AND DEMOCRACY - Strong Christian And Patriotic Homes AreThe Nation's Bulwark

Sep 28, 2026

THE FAMILY AND DEMOCRACY argues that morally vigorous and harmonious family groups are essential for the United States to continue the American way of democracy and freedom. It explains how families shape children’s values and how shifts from rural life to urbanization and changing technology alter family roles and social life. The essay emphasizes the home’s responsibility for foundational informal education, warns about education systems encroaching on home and church, and reflects on women’s changing work patterns and their social consequences.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryReligion & Spirituality

FormatPDF

Pages36

Reading Time1 h 31 min

AccessFree to download

THE FAMILY AND DEMOCRACY

Family as a foundation of democratic life

Historical changes in family life

Education, the home, and the Church

Economic and social pressures on households

THE CATHOLICFAMILY MONTHLY $1.00 the Year # THE FAMILY AND DEMOCRACY Helen M.Toole # THE FAMILY BACKGROUND OFTHE JUVENILE DELINQUENT Andrew J.Kress,Ph.D. # GOD AND HIS CHURCH Rev.Patrick F.Harvey,S.J. Other Articles and Stories of Interest toA11 Members of The Family OUR SUNDAY VISITOR PRESSHUNTINGTON,INDIANA # NATIONAL CATHOLIC CONFERENCEON FAMILY LIFE 1312 Massachusetts Ave.,N.W.Washington,D.C. Contributors Helen M.TooleLenox,Massachusetts Andrew J.Kress,Ph.D.Washington,D.C. Mary L.CallahanSt.Mary-of-the-Woods,Indiana 0一 0-0一00 0二0I00000- # THE F AMILY ANDEMOCRACY Strong Christian And Patriotic Homes AreThe Nation's Bulwark Helen M.Toole Since the world is approaching a on a design of living in these new crisis in civilization,the UnitedStates has a vital need for morallyvigorous and harmoniousfamilygroups,if this country is to continuealong the“American way”,which isthe road of democracy and freedom,opportunity and happiness.The fam-ily gives the child his or her patternof life because within the home,par-ents shape values,principles,atti-tudes,sentiments,loyalties and ideals.Thoughts and acts in the family oftoday will affect the thinking and theacting of tomorrow.The family candevelop strong and interesting per-sonalities with some effort,even inthis changing environment.SoundAmerican homes are bulwarks ofdemocracy. dimensions. When the American populationwas smaller and the dominant pat-tern was agricultural,there was lessanxiety about family integration.Atthat time,life was comparativelysimple;the family carried on withinits own boundaries most of the es-sential functions,and everyone in thecommunity knew everyone else.Fam-ily traditions,symbols,genealogycarried weight particularly in theEast and the South and were onlybroken down when tthepioneersmoved to the West where equality anda democratic spirit arose in the faceof insurmountable struggles.Custom,public opinion,and gossip governedwith more power than legal control.Family discipline prevailed and allmembers of the family attended re-ligious services in a group. Just as there are foreign"isms"which may loom as a threat to democ-racy in the American tradition,sothe family has been caught in thetentacles of cultural and economicchanges. Adjustments,maladjust-ments,uncertainties,struggles anddis-organization have occurred inthese overt and covert conflicts.Thefamily is institutional,consequentlyit adapts itself to changes far moreslowly than does the material culturearound it.The family in many in-stances has swayed backward andforward in an endeavor to chance up- Manners of living became morecomplex in the nineteenth and twen-tieth centuries with the coming ofinventions,the machine,wider com-munication,more extensive trans-portation facilities,the great city andmetropolitan regions.Concomitantwith these developments and thetrend away from agrarianism towardurbanization,the family strove con-tinually toward the goal of a betterstandard of living.Now Americans # THE FAMILY AND DEMOCRACY can pass more hours in leisure time side the domestic walls,to the neg- pursuits than in work or sleep,and lect of their own proper cares and they can spend almost ten billions ofdollars annually in recreation andamusement.Nearly every family de-sires a car,a radio,electrical appli-ances,and clothes conforming to thedictates of each season's fashions.“Conspicuous consumption”and acraving for prestige made the ac-quisition of the various factors in theAmerican standard of living of deeppsychological value. duties,particularly the education oftheir own children." The home should give basic in-formal education.It requires time,intelligence,patience,understanding,sympathy,and tact for parents totrain and educate children,not inschool curricula but in the granitefoundations of life itself.Parentscan arouse and stimulate interestsin children.In order to accomplishthis,parents have to be at homemany hours of the week,and take

FAQs

Why does the essay connect the family with democracy?

It argues that the family shapes a child’s values, principles, attitudes, loyalties, and ideals, which influences how future citizens think and act. Strong homes are presented as a bulwark supporting democratic life.

How does modernization change family life according to the text?

The essay describes increased complexity from inventions, the machine, wider communication, transportation, and urbanization. It notes that leisure time and consumer spending expand while traditional boundaries and familiar community structures weaken.

What does the essay say about education’s relationship with the home and the Church?

It claims formal schooling is encroaching on the home and the Church, with teachers substituting for parents during school hours. It warns that training responsibilities have shifted, resulting in children leaving home earlier and staying in school longer.

Sep 28, 2026

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