An Overloaded Institution

Hey Joani, I really enjoyed reading your post. I will have to agree with you that one of the reasons divorce is more common is because of the expectation of the spouse to meet the partner's emotional needs. When those emotional needs are not met this can leave the husband or wife feeling unhappy and frustrated. According to Henslin, this is called, “an overloaded institution” (2014, p. 358). “Because these expectations place a heavy burden on marriage, often more than it can manage, sociologists refer to today’s marriage and family as an overloaded institution” (Henslin, 2014, p. 358). I really love what you said about why the statistics about divorce are not that much different from the church and non-believers. Many people seem to forget
that Christians go through the same struggles as a non-believer in marriages. Yes, the outcome may be different on how the situation is handled, but the situations are still the same. Both non-Christians and Christians experience a lack of communication, issues with finances, problems with families and in-laws, a difference in opinion about how the kids are raised and problems with intimacy in their marriages. I think it’s a great idea for communities and the government to implement programs and events that are more family focused along with providing educational programs on understanding how to build a successful family. If people have more knowledge about what a successful family is built on then I think we can decrease the numbers of divorces that we are seeing. A lot of people are born into broken families so they don’t know what a strong family looks like or how to create one