To celebrate the natural family

In 1920, the great English writer, G. K. Chesterton explained the importance of the family and marriage to a free and civilized society this way, «The ideal for which [marriage] stands in the state is liberty. It stands for liberty for the very simple reason…[that] it is the only institution that is as once necessary and voluntary. It is the only check on the state that is bound to renew itself as eternally as the state, and more naturally than the state…This the only way in which truth can ever find refuge from public persecution, and the good man survive the bad government».

More recently, the great Russian writer, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn reminded all of us that «…the human soul longs for things, higher, warmer, and purer than those offered by today’s mass living habits… by TV stupor and by intolerable music». Solzhenitsyn reminded America not to «lose sight of its own values, its historically unique stability of civic [and family] life under the rule of law – a hard-won stability», and he reminded Russia: «Men have forgotten God, that’s why all this has happened».

Definition of the Natural Family

In May, 1998, a working group of the World Congress of Families, representing 5 continents, more than 65 nations and all of the world’s monotheistic faiths gathered together to define the family now and throughout history. They based the definition on the history of civilizations, on the findings of social science, and on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (United Nations, 1948).

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:

- satisfying the longings of the human heart to give and receive love;

- welcoming and ensuring the full physical and emotional development of children;

- sharing a home that serves as the center for social, educational, economic, and spiritual life;

- building strong bonds among the generations to pass on a way of life that has transcendent meaning;

- extending a hand of compassion to individuals and households whose circumstances fall short of these ideals.

Why use the term «natural family» vs. «traditional family» or «nuclear family»? Our use of the term «natural family» is significant in many respects. First, the term signifies a natural order to family structures that is common across cultures, historical, and overwhelmingly self-evident. 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. Third, the term «natural» precludes incompatible constructs of the family as well as incompatible behaviors among its members. Fourth, the «natural family» is a positive expression. It does not require a discussion of negative incompatibilities to define.

A manifesto with a concise, coherent, compelling pro-family worldview and program of action:

- we will build a new culture of marriage, where others would define marriage out of existence;

- we will welcome and celebrate more babies and larger families, where others would continue a war on human fertility;

- we will find ways to bring mothers, fathers, and children back home, where others would further divide parents from their children;

- we will create true home economies, where others would subject families to the full control of big government and vast corporations.

The World Congress of Families

The mission of the World Congress of Families (WCF) is to celebrate, encourage, promote, and defend the natural family.

Objectives of the World Congress of Families:

- In response to a militant secular individualism found in parts of the «post modern» West, the WCF will organize an international network of pro-family organizations, scholars, and political organizations that seek to restore the natural family as the fundamental social unit, the «seedbed» of good citizenship;

- The WCF will organize periodic international event to promote the development of a common natural family worldview, to promote networking and the sharing of new ideas and strategies, and to serve as a positiverallying center for the world’s family systems grounded in religious faith;

- The WCF will author, publish, and distribute educational information that affirms the natural family and that builds a positivepro-family movement among the family-centered religious peoples of the globe.

The Congress seeks to shift the negative terms of certain key public myths and debates to positive encouragement:

from «the natural family as an obstacle to development» to the «natural family as the source of social renewal and progress»;

from «overpopulation» to «underpopulation» as the demographic problem facing civilization;

from «the small family and voluntary childlessness as good» to«the celebration of the large family as a special social gift»;

from religious orthodoxy as a «threat to progress» to«religious orthodoxy as the source of humane values and cultural progress».

The First World Congress of Families convened in Prague, The Czech Republic, in March, 1997. Over 700 delegates from 200 organizations in 43 nations took part.

The World Congress of Families II (WCF II) convened in Geneva, Switzerland, in November, 1999. Over 1,600 delegates from 270 organizations in 65 nations attended WCF II, with strengthened numbers from South America, Africa, the Middle East, and Africa.

The World Congress of Families III (WCF III) convened in Mexico City, Mexico, March 2004.

The World Congress of Families IV (WCF IV) convened May 11-13, 2007 in Warsaw, Poland, with 3,900 delegates, speakers, and journalists present.

The World Congress of Families V (WCF V) convened August 9-11, 2009 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands with 1,000 delegates, speakers and journalists present from 63 nations including a growing African delegation. Over 3,000 people participated in the event live via the internet.