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The
Howard Center for Family, Religion, and Society believes the natural
family is the fundamental unit of society; that it is the basis of
all healthy and progressive civilizations. The definition of natural
family comes from a working group of the World Congress of Families,
crafted in May, 1998, in a Second Century B.C. room in the ancient
city of Rome. It is informed both by the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights (1948) and by the findings of social science. This
definition reads:
The natural family is
the fundamental social unit, inscribed in human nature, and centered
around the voluntary union of a man and a woman in a lifelong
covenant of marriage, for the purposes of:
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satisfying the longings of the human heart to give and
receive love;
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welcoming and ensuring the full physical and emotional
development of children;
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sharing a home that serves as the center for social,
educational, economic, and spiritual life;
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building strong bonds among the generations to pass on a
way of life that has transcendent meaning;
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extending a hand of compassion to individuals and
households whose circumstances fall short of these
ideals.
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Our use of the term "natural family" is significant in
many respects.
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First, the
term signifies a natural order to family structures that
is common across cultures, historical, and
overwhelmingly self-evident.
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Second, the
term signifies a wholly defensible expression. "Natural"
is not "nuclear," which would limit its scope, nor is it
"traditional," which would burden its utility in public
discourse. It is what it is, a totally self-evident
expression.
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Third, the
term "natural" precludes incompatible constructs of the
family as well as incompatible behaviors among its
members.
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Fourth, the
"natural family" is a positive expression. It does not
require a discussion of negative incompatibilities to
define itself.
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