Family Diversity Essay

The screaming, the crying, the fighting, was never ending. Some would last only hours and others would last days, but they would all end with threats of divorce and a finger aimed at me. My parents came from two completely opposite cultures; one is from Syria and the other from Mexico. As you can imagine, growing up in a culturally diverse household isn't easy. My brother, sister, and I spend our lives trying to find the perfect balance between the two and continually fail. You can't learn Spanish without learning Arabic, you can't prefer one dish over another, you can't even choose your religion. It has continually frustrates me how my decisions on certain aspects of each culture upset them both. Around sixth grade, however, I gave up trying to please them; I gave up trying to make them proud. That fall when school started I decided to get away from the constant negativity that devoured my home. At the age of twelve my only escape was school, and I took every opportunity I got. With no regrets I even participated in activities...show more content... No matter how great my graders were, how much I accomplished, or how amazing of a student I was, I was always the reason they argued. My older brother, Mark, isn't the dream child. He's made mistakes in his life; he's been caught drinking, smoking, and ditching classes, but even then I'm considered worse than him. I'm the one who learned Spanish, the one who listened to Latin music, who attended Catholic masses. I wasn't like my siblings, I never cared to learn Arabic, go to church with my dad, or spend time practicing the culture with my cousins. I was the child who took a stance for the things I believed in and argued with against my dad. The child who never made him proud. Nonetheless, I woke up every morning thrilled to go to school and escape it all, to learn, go to college, and become something, someone, so I wouldn't end up like my

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Growing up I not only had an older brother, but also a twin brother. I never really grew up a girly girly, considering we were always wrestling or actually fighting. However, being the only girl child there was a huge diversity in the standards my parents set for us. I felt like I was held to higher standards than my brothers in school, I had more roles , and always playing on a sports team with them they never thought I could do just as much as them if not more. Bringing home a report card or midterm my parents were always satisfied with my brothers having a C , but when I brought home a C they always gave me a long lecture on how I can do better and that my grades need to be brought up. I wondered why this was because my brothers weren't stupid so why would they not care if they got a C....show more content...

The diversity I experienced was being on the same soccer team with them. It was never really our parents who did not think I couldn't be good enough, but the coaches and our teammates. Each practice I would just have to watch the drills because I was the only girl and they "didn't want me to get hurt". My mom noticed this and took my side, but the coach always made a valid point as to why I was not starting or even getting the chance to play. It wasn't until I proved myself to being just as good as them, that I was accepted by the team. Growing up with brothers was a challenge for me, because I was constantly proving to myself and others that I was just as good as them, and sometimes better. It helped me become who I am today and become a very competitive person on trying to do my best, and gain my spot whether it is on a sports team or in a

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A report investigating family diversity

What is a family?

Sociologist Brown defined a family as "a group of people who are related by kinship ties: relatives of blood, marriage or adoption" (Brown, 1998). But many people might argue this statement is not right anymore as this only defines a traditional family. There are many different types of family which include Nuclear, Cereal Packet, Extended, Single Parent, and Reconstituted. Over the years family life has become more diverse. There is a lot of evidence that there is no one particular family type in Britain. In this report I will be looking at the impact of diversity on the family; such as Social Class, Ethnicity, Sexuality and cultural differences in relation to family diversity....show more content...

This is a very rare type of Nuclear Family these days because women have equal rights to men and they also have careers and are joint 'breadwinners' in the family.

Over the years the conjugal roles have changed and now most families have joint conjugal roles where a man and a woman share domestic tasks. "Different ethnic and religious gro groups hold quite different values and beliefs, and these differences affect not only gender–role conceptions, the internal family division of labour and child–rearing, but alsoattitudes to work and other social institutions. (Michael Young, Peter Willmott, The Symetrical Family, 1973).

This type of family involves additional family members. "Almost 36 million people in Britain now have experience of living as adults in the same home as another generation of their family" (www.telegraph.co.uk) There has been a slight increase in the number of extended families in the UK in recent history because of the increasing number of Asian ethnic minority households in the UK. Such family's structure usually consists of grandparents, parents and children. There are 3 different types of Extended Family: vertical, horizontal and modified. Vertical Extended Family consists of three or more generations: grandparents, parents and children who live in a same household or nearby. People coming to live in Britain from other countries have helped creating greater family diversity. The increase of

Assessing the View that Family Diversity is Leading to a Weakening of Traditional Family Values

Given the culturally diverse character of the United Kingdom today, there are considerable variations in family and marriage within the country. The structure of families has altered over time and is still changing today. Changing relationships between spouses in the family, and in particular, the changes in the position of women in the family. The family in the UK today reflects a range of factors, including Britain as a multi–ethnic society, differences in social class, and as a society in which women choose or are forced to head families by themselves. A significant section of the population chooses not...show more content...

This had two consequences according to (Harris, The Family). Ownership of land stayed intact and the male who inherited was likely to be well off and that the sons and daughters who did not inherit formed a mobile labour force which went in search for employment. (Parson) and, separately (Goode, World Revolution and Family Patterns) claim that the Industrial Revolution weakened the extended family by taking away crucial economic and social functions from the family. However an alternative approach from (Anderson, Approaches to the History of the Western Family) who has argued that early Industrial family actually helped to form extended families. Using data from 1851 Preston Census, Anderson found 23 percent of household members contained family members other than those in nuclear families.

There are a number of factors that have contributed to the increasing diversity of family and household forms; every thing in society has a function to perform. In sociological theory Sociological Action theorists support the belief that human action is based on choice. This approach emphasizes that people can chose/negotiate alternative lifestyles in the light of their understanding of their situation, and within the limits that their circumstances Get more content

a) Explain what is meant by the 'neo–conventional family' (2 marks) Chester describes the neo–conventional family as a dual–earner family, in which both souses go to work. It is similar to Young and Willmott's idea of the symmetrical family.

b) Explain the difference between 'expressive' and 'instrumental' roles. (4 marks) Expressive – 'homemaker', usually the female's role as it is more caring and nurturing and stating that they should stay at home and be a housewife and not go to work.

Instrumental – 'breadwinner', usually the male's role as it is more physical and states that men should go to work and earn money for their family in order to provide for them.

c) Identify three of the types of family diversity described by...show more content...

The New Right oppose most of the changes in family patterns such as working mothers because they believe women should stay at home and be the 'home–makers' and carry out their expressive roles, the more caring and nurturing role, also mentioned in item A. They also see lone–parent families as harmful, especially to children and argue that lone mothers are unable to discipline their children adequately and fail to give a prime example of a male role model which is why boys nowadays misbehave and result in higher rates of delinquency and threatening social stability. Amato would argue that children in a nuclear family are less likely to experience poverty, education failure, committing crimes, and health problems. Charles Murray of the New Right perspective, associated children born out of wedlock or 'illegitimates' with the 'underclass'. He suggested the fathers of theses 'illegitimates' were 'unskilled young men, who were unwilling to take up uninspiring work'. He believed the mothers of these 'illegitimates' 'would be better off on benefits' than marrying these 'unskilled young men'.

However, critics argue that no evidence is given to support the idea that the children of lone–parents families are more delinquent As conservatives, they are strongly opposed to high levels of taxation and government spending and are therefore against lone–parent families as it causes an increase of the spending

Diversity In Families

According to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, "A family consists of a domestic group of people (or a number of domestic groups), typically affiliated by birth or marriage, or by comparable legal relationships–including domestic partnership, adoption, surname and (in some cases) ownership. Although many people (including social scientists) have understood familial relationships in the terms of "blood", many anthropologists have argued that one must understand the notion of "blood metaphorically, and that many societies understand В‘family' through other concepts rather than through genetics."# The families of our nation and our world are steadily changing. While they remain our most valued source of strength and...show more content...

Living Single

About a quarter of American adults live alone in America. For some, this is their ideal no one to steal the covers, put things away in the wrong place, or say things to annoy you. Others would rather be in a relationship, but haven't found the right person, which is sometimes timely and hard to do. Images of single people in books, movies, and television tend to portray one of two stereotypes: either lonely single people leading a miserable existence, or hip, stylish single people leading the perfect urban life. In reality, of course, single hood can intertwine both realities, and neither. It can be hard to be single in a "couplist" world, where everything from dinner party invitations to tables in restaurants are designed for people in pairs. If you're not married, or at least in a relationship, people may assume there's something wrong with you, that your life is incomplete. It may feel incomplete to you, too or you may feel entirely whole and fulfilled. The word "single" can be confusing, since it can mean living alone, or it can be a legal term for anyone who isn't married. In our experience, most unmarried people who are in long–term relationships don't think of themselves as "single." When we use the word, we mean people aren't in a significant sexual/romantic relationship (but this definition has problems, too.

Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender (GLBT)Marriage can mean a lot of different things to GLBT people. Right

Diversity Among Families

Personal contact, including conferences, telephone calls, and curriculum nights or open houses, are the most familiar and most effective form of communication. The diversity among families means that teachers need multiple ways to reach parents. It is important to have variety of strategies that will work for different families.

When it comes to family, there was no way to define such a word. Post–modern society has allowed for the diversification of the family structure, bringing today's society further away from the idea of the 'ideal' family.

According to Modernist theory, the 'ideal' family also known as the nuclear family consists of two parents (both sexes) and a small amount of children. In this type of family (it being the only type seen as acceptable at this time) the father had the 'instrumental' role, meaning that he was responsible for looking after the family's needs on a financial basis. The mother had the 'expressive' role which meant she was responsible for caring after the family needs on a physical and emotional basis, this also included...show more content...

Because the Rapoports were writing in the 1980's the Rapoports failed to recognise sexual diversity. Same sex relationships have become much more open since the 1980s and increased use of technology such as IVF has made an increasing variety of family types possible. Unmarried couples would have been forbidden in the 1900s. Murdock (1949) definition of a family was 'a social group characterized by common residence, economic cooperation and reproduction. It includes adults of both sexes, at least two of whom maintain a socially approved sexual relationship and one or more children, of the sexually cohabiting adults'. Murdock mentions a 'socially approved sexual relationship', in the 1900 this would consist of two married partners. Since the 1900s there have been many changes to the way society looks at marriage. In today society less people are marrying. It is said that in next 25 years the number of adults that don't marry will raise by almost half. However in 2005 4 in 10 marriages were remarriages, this could leave to 'serial monogamy' meaning a pattern of marriage – divorce – remarriage. The age of marriage as raised by seven years between 1971 and 2005, this is another change in the pattern of marriage. Reasons for this may be because the attitude towards marriage has changed. There is no longer pressure to marry; in result of this individuals have more freedom to choose the type of relationship

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Postmodernism: Study 1

Postmodernists Beck and Beck–Gernsheim argue that the contemporary UK is characterised by diversity, variation and instability and see diversity as having a positive impact on society. For example women no longer aspire exclusively to romantic love, marriage and children. Premarital sex, serial monogamy, cohabitation, economic independence, single sex relationships and childlessness are now acceptable alternative lifestyles. Men's roles too are no longer clear cut in postmodern society resulting in a 'crises of masculinity' and this has led to men redefining both their sexuality and family commitments. Therefore Beck and Beck–Gernsheim argue that such choice and diversity has led to a renegotiation of family...show more content...

Phillips argues that family life is in decline, partly due to what she calls a 'flight from parenting'. Furthermore, people are becoming less willing to accept the demands & responsibilities of being a parent and this is why they may move from one relationship to another rather than moving for confluent love. Phillips believes that the traditional family is the building block of our society and people who are born into traditional families have more stable personalities & closer identification with each other, therefore diversity & choice may not be such a good alternative for society. Therefore, we have family diversity because people are no longer willing to participate in traditional family life.

Evaluation of Study 3

However, Functionalists Murdock (1949) would argue against family diversity as they believe in the nuclear structure. Contrastingly, Murdock would argue for all families to perform the following four functions; economic–family members are supported financially; educational– the family is the primary agency of socialisation; sexual – the family must contain a monogamous couple in order to keep society stable; finally reproductive as this is essential for the survival of humankind. Therefore, functionalists would disapprove of diverse families that didn't conform to these particular functions/stages.

Evaluation of Study 4

However, Parsons (1949) would argue against family diversity as they believe the nuclear structure is a better 'fit'

My family and I have always lived in a minority community. Our family consist of six members, my siblings and I have experienced so much financial hardship growing up.

We are still struggling as a family. My dad had to work from sunrise to sunset just to earn enough money to pay for rent and bills. Most of the time we haven't had the extra money to go out and do something for fun. My dad can barely afford to pay for internet service which is what my siblings and I need for research for school. Keeping up with technology updates it's an expense that my family cannot afford. Even though we lack of financial resources my dad is very supportive of us continuing with our education. He is the only income source in our family. My parents had never given up on us and keep on pushing us to pursue for a better life than the one they had in their native land.

My experience on the 2016 Student Run Los Angeles gives me the perfect opportunity to develop myself and to prove to my family that I can do it. It gave me an opportunity to go out and explore new things, make new friends that's...show more content... Thinking back on my 4 years of high school, I remember having great experiences both inside the classroom and outside. I had teachers who support me in order to obtain a higher education. Running to me is like a video game only thing is, its real. It gave me time to think that I should stay focus more on my education than video games or going out with my friends. If I don't have an education I would not be able to prepare properly for college and I would not understand what to do. Setting a Higher Educational Goals for maintaining a good job that will make good money to survive. Education is the first and it's the important way for me to become successful, because the career that I will choose will need me go to a University. My accomplishment in what I do best is also a goal for me and my

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The Drastic Change in Society and in Family Diversity

In the 1960's families were a lot more traditional than nowadays, and most families were nuclear, which means a married a couple with children. Although, times have changed a lot since the 1960's, what is deemed as socially acceptable has changed a great deal since those times, social mores have changed a great deal, and different types of families, as they are becoming more diverse, and situations previously unacceptable in society, are now an ordinary way of life. Conjugal roles have also changed over the last 45+ years, because in the 60's it was always the traditional conjugal roles, where the male went out to work, and earned the money,...show more content... Feminists believe marriage doesn't benefit women in the slightest. The reasons for this are that, if the stereotypical family view was still intact, it would put women at a strong disadvantage but the men would still be advantaged. Even nowadays a larger percentage of women are the parents in a family that take care of children domestic chores, but men are still seen as the 'bread winners'. According to feminists families are the worst place for women to be as they are sometimes subjected to domestic violence and are often exploited by men.

In comparison to the 1970's there are a lot less marriages now based on religion, this is because of secularization, this means that religion doesn't have the effect on society that it used to, this is due to change in social mores. It was previously traditional for a couple to be married for a couple of years before thinking of having children, however, this has all changed, now a large percentage of the population have children before marriage. Also, nowadays couples want to have their independence more, therefore they do not get married until much later in the relationship or don't get married at all, and some couples have no desire to have children as they are seen as too restricting. However there has been a dramatic increase in single parent families and

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In my school district, my race is one of the minorities, which is unusual here in Minnesota. My school is diverse; it always has been, and I love that about it. In fact, I prefer a diverse community of individuals from every part of life; it is where I am most at home, and I feel lucky knowing that many white people in the suburbs do not experience this amount of diversity until much later in their lives. Due to living in a diverse environment growing up, I have also been open to things that are different to me or to people that look different from me; I don't shy away at all from differences. I even have experience with this growing up in my very own household as my brother is Jamaican. We look different, but he is very much my brother. I

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Q: Examine the sociological evidence concerning the idea that there is contemporary diversity in the structure of the family.

The family is often seen as the corner stone of society. In pre–modern and modern societies alike it has been regarded as the most basic unit of social organisation and one that carries out vital tasks, such as the socialisation of children.

Functionalists' approaches to the family are based on the assumption that society operates on the basis of consensus and that there is a balance between various parts of society so that they work together harmoniously. Functionalists assume that social institutions must have a function or purpose; therefore the family is examined in terms of the functions it performs for...show more content...

If we accept this claim there is evidence to show that in societies such as the Nayar society of southern India or Matrifocal societies the nuclear family does not and never has existed.

There are undoubtedly differences between now and the recent past, however, there are also strong continuities.

Edmund Leach, critic of the nuclear family argues that the 'isolation and the close–knit nature of contemporary family life incubates hate which finds expression in conflict in the wider community.' The families in which people huddle together create barriers between them and the wider society. The privatised family creates suspicion and fear of the outside world. Only when individuals can break out of the prison of the nuclear family, rejoin their fellows and give and receive support will the ills of society begin to diminish. Leach's conclusion is diametrically opposed to functionalist's view of the family. He stated that 'far from being the basis of the good society, the family, with its narrow privacy and tawdry secrets, is the source of all our discontents.

Another critic of the nuclear family R.D. Laing, views the family in terms of sets of interactions. Individuals form alliances, adopt various strategies and play one ore more

The Importance Of A Family On Cultural Diversity

This essay will examine what is means to be a 'family' in various cultures. It will focus on three main points stated by Cheal, D (2001). The essay firstly looks at the different forms of family due to cultural diversity. Does it mean biology is important for kinship or can family be extended further than the blood? (Eriksen, 2004). As the nuclear family used to be seen at the 'traditional family' the discussion of if this has changed and how this has will be stated. Secondly the situational diversity and what could cause family form to change. With many aspiring for a nuclear family I will examine if certain conditions such as ethnicity, income effect this, as well the 'taboo' of polygyny families and when it's seen as acceptable in cultures. Lastly the essay will briefly look at individualization and why individual preferences have caused a decrease in the nuclear family.

The nuclear family is often known as the traditional family in western societies consisting of a married couple living together with their biological children. It's believed that the nuclear family is the "fundamental building block" on which bigger family relations can be built on. Childrearing practices are also constructed on a monogamous relationship. (Ribbens McCarthy, and Edwards, 2011). Sociologist believed that family's followed a typical family pathway were you would live with you parents and siblings, you would leave home and marry producing a small number of children and once your

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Personal Statement On Family Diversity

I am the daughter of two mexican parents that migrated to the United States to provide a secure future for their children. My parents never had the opportunity to attend school past the third grade. My mother first migrated to Mexico City at the age of thirteen to financially help her family and my father migrated to the United States at the age seventeen to help his family financially. Having to work in the fields at a very young age, my parents knew they wanted to provide better living conditions financial stability and an education for their children. In my parents culture, women are not the ones to attain a higher education and are encourage to be housewives only. It came as a shock to my parents when I was determined to go to a university,...show more content...

As a teacher being able to relate to parents assures parents that it is okay to let their children dream and provide them with the support they might need to succeed. Building a relationship with parents and guardians of students, a teacher's job is facilitated. Parents trust teachers to care for their children and in return we have parents helping teachers with conflicts that may arise in their children's education. I know how hard is for parents to be involved in their children's education, my parents worked long hours and there was also language barrier between my parents and teachers, therefore I am comprehensive towards parents. Being a first generation college graduate has inspired me to help others feel capable of achieving the same success as I have, especially when I am aware of how hard my parents have worked to allow me to reach my dreams, that is something that my students and I can relate to. Being Mexican American has kept me grounded and has helped me realize how hard it is for first generation Americans to achieve a higher education, nonetheless we have resources and opportunities to help us achieve our

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I grew up in a small, predominantly Caucasian, town in Texas; I have been there essentially my whole life. With this confined access to outside culture it's a surprise I grew up to be this liberal. Both of my parents identify as Republicans and hold very traditional values; so it is very curious that they raised a daughter that whole–heartily supports both the LGBT+ community and equality regardless of ethnicity or gender. While my parents can apprehend why I support the causes that I do, the rest of my family often doesn't. My family on my mother's side are, for lack for better words, rednecks; they are very narrow–minded and intolerant to today's progressing society. Due to this my immediate family don't keep a close relationship with them,...show more content...

When I first arrived I knew straightaway that this visit was going to be difficult. As the days progressed, I would witness the family talking about the news and not recognizing why they were making such a serious issue of the numerous deaths of African American's by the police and I tried explain that the slaughters were unjustified and that they police were in the wrong because the victims were unarmed. They just couldn't get out of their own way to be aware of the real problem. As the days turned to weeks they became increasingly more verbal in their obvious racism, and nothing I said or did would change their minds. Then the United States legalized gay marriage across the country; and I was ecstatic, finally we had gained a colossal victory for all of the LGBT community, and then I realized where I was and that I still had quite ahile with my grandparents and relatives. During that last remaining week they talked so much criticism about this new law and how they government was being unreasonable, and no amount my persuading would sway their opinions. When my time to leave finally came I don't think I had ever been that relieved, and on the car ride back home, I began to ponder about the month spent with my

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Family Diversity Analysis

I grew up in a rural town with much agriculture ingrained in the community. It was a place where everyone knew everyone. Everyone had pretty similar view and there was not very much diversity within the community or school. However, I moved during junior high to a town that had a lot more people and to a school where the class size was around 300 compared to my old class of 80. This was a big change at first because it seemed like everyone had their own groups and that it would be hard to make friends, but I quickly realized that was not gonna be the case. I made friends in the classes and activities I was in. They were very nice and they accepted me more easily than I thought a new kid like me would be. They also introduced me into new activities that I was unfamiliar with because they were not offered in my old school....show more content...

Another example is one of my wrestling teammates convinced me to play football. So, I was able to participate in many new things. Also, people did not exclude you for being a part of a different group. For example, many athletes would be in the theater plays and many stage managers played sports. So with my background I have seen a community with much diversity and a community without much diversity. So I feel like I will be able to relate with many different people at Ohio State. I feel like I will be able to contribute more diversity to Ohio State. I will also be able to contribute more inclusion because I have seen how inclusion and diversity can greatly impact and improve a community. It can lead to much more effective solutions to problems and much more creative innovation. I believe I will be able to contribute a different point of view and open mind that will be able to create creative, effective solutions and innovation at Ohio

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Outline and Evaluate postmodern views on the diversity of family (33marks)

The idea of family diversity suggests that there is no dominate type of family, therefore none can be considered as the norm. However there are studies to suggest that in historical periods of Britain like when it was industrializing there is dominating types, in this period it was considered to be the nuclear family.

Rapoport and Rapoport agreed that there are five types of diversity in a contemporary family, these are: Organisational, Cultural (ethnic), Class, Cohort and Life Course. Organisational diversity refers to kinship patterns and the domestic division of labour, adding to this it is also the structure of the family–whether it is reconstituted or...show more content...

She says that society needs to come to term with these changes and adapt to cope with the evolving family. Adding to this, in the past it has been suggested that the changing in arrangements of the upper and middle class families influenced the change in working class, however Stacey suggested that working class families were already changing arrangements and forming new types of family. Another idea of Stacey 's is that the idea of the male breadwinner is a short–lived term in the working class communities, it was only until the last 20th century that men earn enough money to completely support his family at home, but now this is no longer the case. The case of Pam and Dotty are good examples of how women have responded to change occurring around them, plus they are also good examples of how people have rejected the nuclear family model. The case of Pam and Dotty also presented to Stacey that women have gained strength from the working class, more evidence to back up this point is that Black women 's matriarchal support structures had responded to change in the economy and social conditions. Overall Stacey welcomes the diversity of the postmodern era looking forward to the possibility of more equal and democratic relationships 'with no script to follow' compared to the more rigid patriarchal ones of the modern period.

Finally, in conclusion the

Family Diversity In Canada

Introduction Enrolling in a class formulated around families and their dynamics within Canadian society, initially seemed as though it would be quite monotone. The prior knowledge I held, led myself to believe there was not much more one could learn about such an area; families are diverse and all strive off of one another to survive in their home and surrounding environments. Throughout this short term my thoughts have altered in understanding the complexity and diversity within families. Every individual is part of a family yet, whom one considers "family" can arise from many areas: full sibling, step sibling, adopted, close friend, foster child amongst other areas which many will speak to under their own terms. Every family has faced challenges...show more content...

This week and posts from other classmates brought the realization to myself that as a country we must have limits to multiculturalism and the allowing of cultural practices. Family equality and safety are the utmost priority within this sphere; although religion is a personal right one must remember our laws and legislation and abide by such. "To allow Sharia law to be practiced in Canada, especially in the legal system, would be a regression in human rights" (Ottenbreit, August 13, 2014, Sociology Get