Actually, the family isn't important to society, family is important to family. Society is made up of families, therefore it has the appearance of being important to society. I guess in a way the majority of society *IS* made up of families. Without family, there would be little structure, because you learn structure from being in a family. Take it from a guy who went quite a bit of his life without a family. It's important to know you have somewhere to go that you are always accepted.