Cultural Diversity
Chapter 2
The Meaning of Culture
Cultural Variation
The Meaning of Culture
“Culture” is the total knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors shared by
members of a particular group
1. Separates us from other groups
2. Dictates behavior
3. Connects us to one group
The Meaning of Culture cont…
• Culture is basically a group of people – a society –
with like beliefs, social organization, behavior
patterns, institutions, material artifacts, historical
background, & traditions
• Culture may be defined socially, ethnically, racially,
religiously or geographically
• Cultures are shaped by laws, customs & social norms
Factors that influence the
development of a culture :
• Geographic setting = people must adapt to their physical
environment or adapt their environment to fit their needs
• Value – belief system = values & religious beliefs shape &
exert control on members of all cultures
• Past experience / History = traditions, customs, values, and
beliefs pass from one generation to another
No Culture is Static
Elements of Culture
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Architecture
Dance
Style of Clothing
Religion
Music
Art
Holidays / Traditions
Performing arts
Language
Education
Literature
What culture does this
architecture represent ?
What culture does this
dance represent ?
What culture does this
traditional clothing represent ?
What culture does this
religion represent ?
What culture does this musical
marching band represent ?
What culture does this
painting represent ?
What culture does this holiday
tradition represent ?
What culture does this
performance represent ?
What culture does this
language represent ?
What culture does this
educational scene represent ?
What culture does this
literature represent ?
Cultural Change
• Acculturation = the acceptance of ideas and inventions from other
cultures
• Innovation = taking existing knowledge and technology and creating
something new to solve a problem ( same as an Invention ?? )
• Diffusion = The spread of ideas and inventions among different
cultures and societies
• Cultural Hearth = The place of origin of ideas and inventions. These
ideas diffuse to other cultures
What is the Importance of
Language in Culture ?
Helps establish cultural identity
Helps establish a sense of unity ( nationalism,
patriotism )
Language can also divide people
Versions of individual languages based on local speech
patterns are called “Dialects”
Helps advance the culture through communication
How Can Language & Other Elements of Culture be Diffused ?
Language & other elements of culture were carried along
ancient trade routes across continents and along great bodies of
water
Language & other elements of culture traveled with large
groups of people who migrated and settled in new areas
( languages & elements of culture blended with indigenous
groups to create new languages & new cultures )
What is Religion ?
The belief in a supernatural or spiritual power or powers that are regarded as
creators of mankind and the universe
Religion is the sense of human relationship with the sacred, the forces in and
beyond nature – throughout history people have felt a need to establish
relationships with powers that they believed capable of protecting and supporting
them and capable of providing a deeper sense of significance to life and the
possibility of some form of existence after death
Some people think of religious forces as abstract and remote; others have regarded
them as having personalities, as Gods; and some people do not believe in such
powers at all – they are skeptical
Characteristics of Religion
1. Religion establishes beliefs and traditions and describes how
people worship the divine being
2. Religion was spread in the same ways that language was
spread
3. Religion dictates how people should behave ( morals, values,
spiritual expectations )
Religions Have Two Faces
1. Personal
2. Public
As a personal experience, religion is a search for meaning and
purpose in the life of each individual.
When whole societies seek meaning & purpose, the path can lead to
the union of religion and politics ( public ).
Five Major World Religions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Judaism
Islam
Christianity
Hinduism
Buddhism
Religious Syncretism
Religious Pluralism
Religious Exclusivism
Religious Syncretism
is the fusion or combining of diverse religious elements,
beliefs and practices. Religious Syncretism results in a new religion or a new belief
system ( the teachings are blended ).
Religious Pluralism
generally refers to the belief in two or more religious
worldviews as being equally valid or acceptable. More than tolerance, religious
pluralism accepts multiple paths to God or gods as a possibility.
Religious Exclusivism
is usually contrasted with “religious pluralism.”
Religious Exclusivism is the idea that there is only one true religion
or way to know God and to seek salvation.
Can you see the root problem of some of the current conflicts presented here ?
What is a “Cultural
Universal” ?
A Cultural Universal is a common trait found in all cultures
o Societies develop features that meet our basic needs and desires
Examples : methods of cooking, tool-making, body adornment,
religious traditions, myths, sports, forms of greeting, medicine,
dancing, family units, housing, music, funeral ceremonies, giftgiving and language
What is “Ethnocentrism” ?
• Ethnocentrism is the tendency to view
one’s own culture as superior
• Can you foresee any problems
developing from an extreme sense of
ethnocentrism ?
Cultural variations exist not only among societies but
also exist within societies
o Subculture = some groups in society share values, norms, and behaviors that
are not shared by the entire population
o Subcultures do not necessarily reject all of the values of the greater culture
o Examples of subcultures in the USA = the military, police force, various
ethnic groups
What is a “Counterculture” ?
A Counterculture is a subculture that is designed to
challenge the values of the larger society.
A Counterculture rejects the values, norms, and practices of
the larger culture and replaces them with a new set of
cultural patterns
Examples of a Counterculture = radical religious groups,
Hippies, terrorist groups, gangs, cults, Hell’s Angels
Mircea Eliade,
a leading historian of religion wrote
“ In the most archaic phases of culture, to live as a human being was in itself a
religious act, since eating, sexual activity, and labor all had a sacramental value.
Experience of the sacred is inherent in man’s mode of being in the world.
When we think of the sacred we must not limit it to divine figures. The sacred
does not necessarily imply belief in God or Gods or Spirits …. It is the experience
of a reality and the source of an awareness of existing in the world. ”