Kinship rules create social grouping, such as family, extended family and clans, and determine how people in groupings interact with one another. This encourages the setting up of social institutions like law courts in which people can exchange ideas and solve problems. Kinship rules are also known as kinship usages and they vary from one community to another.
Kinship care involves formal, informal or voluntary arrangements made between relatives, friends or the national child welfare system, who take care of a child in need such as an orphan. This helps orphans and vulnerable children live normal lives by receiving basic provisions such as shelter, food, clothing and education.
Kinship promotes development and sharing of religious beliefs in different societies. For instance, Native American societies built their religious system using kinship values that helped them develop religious civilizations such as the agrarian and hunting traditions. Agrarian customs entailed religious fertility ceremonies that encouraged rainfall while the hunting tradition emphasized a single male deity. This trend led to the development of religious institutions in various societies, promoting peace, humility and hope that bind communities together to date.
Political succession in ancient societies such as the Egyptian and Native American communities were made along kinship lines. This brought about political institutions that encouraged development of political theories by philosophers such as Thomas Paine and John Locke. Philosophers such as Thomas Hobbes advocated for a strong central government in control of the society, the judiciary and the military. Hobbe's theory forms the basic structure of many modern governments.
The social system protects women from physical, psychological or financial harm in some communities. In the Egyptian Kinship traditions for instance, a newly married woman expects protection from her brothers in case of a divorce or the husband's death. The brothers hold the sister's wealth to protect it from in-laws who might want to take away her inheritance unfairly. The wealth is given back to the woman's children when they reach maturity.