The Role of Godparents
On the Integration of a Non-Familial Role in the Structure of the Kinship System
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2985448 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Lieven A Vandekerckhove (Afdeling Strafrecht Strafuordering En Criminologie, Catholic University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium., corresponding author) |
| Year | 1981 |
| Volume | 12 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 139-149 |
| Publication date | 1981-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Comparative Family Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0047-2328 • E-ISSN: 1929-9850 |
| Publisher | University of Toronto Press Inc. (UTPress) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.3138/jcfs.12.1.139 |
| OpenAlex | W2939628128 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 1 |
The question raised in this paper is how the continued existence of the institution of godparenthood can be explained while its original functional link with the surrounding social structure in which it originated has been lost. Godparenthood does have a functional significance even though its supporting social structure has been transferred from the ecclesiastical to the familial social system. On examination of the social norms by which the allocation of the godparent role is regulated, it becomes clear that godparenthood functions as a channel of expressive-symbolic communication for the members of a family of orientation after the children have formed their own families of procreation. The question is then raised whether this does not oppose the progressive contraction of the family which Durkheim and subsequently many other sociologists hypothesized
Institution · Kinship · Social institution · Social organization · Social science · Sociology · Aging, Elder Care, and Social Issues · Anthropology · Psychology · Social Psychology
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,12 |
| Citation span | 2000 - 2020 (21) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |