Final answer:
The institution in question is religion, which combines religious functions with its role as a vital social institution that offers emotional comfort and facilitates social interaction and control.
Step-by-step explanation:
The institution currently combines religious functions with its role as a social institution.
Religion serves multiple functions in society, such as providing answers to spiritual mysteries, offering emotional comfort, and facilitating social interaction and control. It helps in the formation of social networks, promulgating societal norms and values and addressing existential questions.
By engaging in rituals and communal activities, religion strengthens group cohesion and offers emotional solace, while also exercising an influence on personal and social behavior. In this way, it intertwines with various aspects of societal infrastructure.