Should families allow themselves to be divided by ideologies?

I think families should not be divided because they think about some things differently. Friends who think similar to you are not likely to be there for you in a bad time like family will. Don’t get me wrong, some friends are right there through illnesses and loss. But, when you lose everything, or need a place to stay, it is family that is there more than anyone I think. Blood is thicker than water.

It depends, I think, on the ideologies and how divergent they are. Sometimes they are so very opposite one another that the resulting friction becomes intolerable and the relationship untenable.
Matthew 10:35 states that Christianity can cause tremendous divisions in families; it’s often a case of your relatives not wanting you around anymore, though a Christian who isn’t up on his doctrine (or else is having self-righteousness issues) might get the idea that he ought to avoid the unsaved.
Also, Paul writes, more or less, that Christians ought to marry Christians, presumably in order to reduce domestic drama.

@Nullo Maybe to reduce domestic drama, and to better ensure the children will be Christian.

I think that it is wrong that ideologies would divide a family. I see it happening more and more though. Think of long ago. Families were most important. Everything else came second. Why do I get the feeling that this is shifting to a more ideologically based agreement. You are my blood as long as you agree with my dogma.

@Ltryptophan I don’t think that you can really say that ideologies are dogmas.
People have been referring to their ideological fellows as family for a few millennia. And I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that lots of people have relatives that they don’t think of as relatives. My uncle’s family comes to mind. For the most part, they want nothing to do with us, and tend to be rude, obnoxious, or just plain mean in our various interactions. As a result, we don’t really want to be family with them.

I don’t think families should be divided by religion. That is stupid and is the fault of the more controlling party, whether it’s the religious one, or the non-religious one.

But sometimes, one has to divide a family for the better good. In 1930’s Germany, the more responsible Germans ostracized their Nazi family members.

I & my family have very different ideologies – politically, religiously & socially. My family generally views the world in what I view to be quite tyrranical & freedom restricting while my view allows for more freedoms & equalities among individuals in global society which can arguably contribute to an occasional uncontrolled chaos. I would choose the diversity of differences among society while my family would rather imprison society in the cage of their own fears. For me this difference in ideology is far too great to be ignored. I love my family regardless what they choose or believe though I cannot say the same for them toward me & for that reason there is a significant amount of pain associated with a relationship with them. I find it much easier to love them deeply & reminisce about the younger days when freedom & equality related to whether we were all grounded or not for the weekend rather than whether or not the people who are supposed to love you no matter what thought you were not as worthy of freedom or equal treatment as they may be. I see nothing wrong with divisions relating to ideology – I would separate myself from a family of racists, homophobes, anti-Semites, murderers, serial-killers or supporters of genocide & I see those decisions as logical – if my family had those beliefs & lifestyles what would be the logic in continuing to associate with them aside from perhaps a select few holidays here & there? I have a chosen family & hate is not their family value. My blood family may not fit the above descriptions but to constantly be bombarded with their views supporting tyrrany over equality & freedom in a way that restricts my own freedoms is too much to endure for more than a week or so out of mere politeness.

I don’t think that family relationships, or friendships for that matter, should be decided by political or religious beliefs. How is there any tolerance in a world where family and friends are required to agree with each other all of the time? Wouldn’t that be the very essence of arrogance to assume that we are always right to the point of being intolerant of the ideas of those that we love just because they are different from our own? In answer to the actual question, no, families should not allow themselves to be divided by ideologies.

Blood is not thicker than water. Okay… It is, technically, but in the sense of familial relationships, the intended meaning behind the saying holds no sway with me.

Families should be allowed to do what ever they want. Where I live, you can still surround yourself with like minded families and ideals and find very tight knit Polish, German, Russian, Korean, Jewish, Indian, etc. communities. But with today’s increasingly modern world old traditions and “ideals” are giving way to a more mixed “idealistic tolerance” within communities. Some don’t go easy though and I have seen the old guard put up quite the fight.

I kind of think that if anyone can’t except you for who you are and what you believe then they should be removed from your life?

Convictions aren’t things that you give up for the sake of family unity.

Some religions expect or demand you shun a family member who leaves or marries outside of the religion. Jahovah, Judaism, the Amish, Mormons, and I’m guessing Christianity from some of these answers, but I really have no idea if that is part of Christianity. Just a matter of people not following the religion when they still associate with the family member.

@JLeslie Most Christian doctrines don’t require shunning. It is an evangelical faith, and sticking with the church crowd 24/7 is a really lousy way to evangelize. That said, there are Christians who will shun or avoid non-Christians.

There are provisions for expelling an unrepentant sinner from the church – doubtless the root of the Catholic excommunication – but that’s more of an immune-system thing.