Visiting America in the 1830’s, the German traveller Francis J. Grund found a land characterized by “early marriage,” “the sanctity of the marriage vow,” “rapid increase of population,” and “domestic happiness.” Indeed, he saw “the domestic virtue of the Americans as the principle source of all their other qualities,” including democratic governance.

At the end of the 1950s, the prematurely deceased Serbian poet Branko Miljković wrote the famous verses in which he asked himself “Will freedom itself sing as slaves have sung of it?”

When in October 2015 the World Congress of Families adopted its World Family Declaration, it did so remind us of the fact that “the family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State,” as proclaimed in Article 16(3) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This is a truth echoed in many of the world’s national constitutions.

Preamble: The three political theories of the Modern—Liberalism (in its broadest sense), Marxism, and Nazism—have led humanity to the condition of its current postmodernistic crisis…

The following text is adapted from The World Family Declaration, an initiative of the World Congress of Families. Opening with the words “We the people of many lands and cultures,” the Declaration is grounded in Article 16(3) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states, “The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.” That language is echoed in 111 national constitutions, many of which repeat it verbatim. The examples below may give practical guidance to any involved in the monumental and important work of shaping a new constitution, but also will give the interested reader a better idea of what real constitutions around the world have to say on the topic of family.

As part of its ongoing mission to unite and equip leaders worldwide to promote the natural family, the International Organization for the Family is also the parent organization of the World Congress of Families, an international gathering of pro-family scholars, politicians, NGOs, and friends which has been ongoing now for over 20 years. To date, there have been thirteen meetings of the World Congress of Families, with the most recent having taken place in Verona, Italy, in 2019. The second Congress was held in Geneva in November of 1999. It was a significant meeting in many ways, not least of which was the publication of the Geneva Declaration. The Declaration is now over 20 years old, and yet, it was almost prescient in its treatment of topics that are still shaping public discourse around issues of family today. Its principles suggest the language that could be used and adapted for constitutional purposes.