could you give me the examples of "church as social institution"?

Bible studies

Small groups

Sunday service;

- your only source of friends and family. your social outlet. For someone who is shy/quiet. or for someone who generally talks a lot. Church would be the only place you feel accepted.

It seems pretty obvious that some people go to church just so the others will see them there. It can be a way to gain social status, especially in small towns. A way to show other people that you identify yourself with the morals and beliefs of that particular church. It is a way of telling people "This is who I am". Not too different from a person wearing their favorite teams jersey.

Also, the church then benefits by identifying itself with the lives of the people who attend their church. Kind of like how a team is identified by the players on the team, or the ingredients of a meal make it taste the way it does.

Whether its the attendants of the church, or the church itself, what I have stated, is regarded as a social issue

Its not much different from lots of gathering places.