The above activity introduces us to the possible relationship of the three
concepts which are religion, geography and culture. The first two concepts are
already discussed from the previous lesson. This lesson will focus on the concept of
culture and its influence towards religious beliefs or vice versa.
What is Culture
Culture is “a whole way of life” The way we think, act or speak. It is
“ordinary.” (Williams, 1958). Culture can be also dynamic, it can be shared,
learned, transmitted from one generation to another, adaptive and integrated
(Bodley,1999). UNESCO defines culture as :
“The whole complex of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional
features that characterize a society or social group .
It includes not only the arts and letters, but also modes of life, the fundamental
rights of the human being, value systems, traditions and beliefs.”
By the way, if you consider your own culture as superior from the rest, then
your belief is termed as ethnocentrism. On the other hand, if you are open minded
towards other culture without judging them and respect the diverse culture around
you then you believe in cultural relativism. In our present age of technology
wherein the world is one-big community and every human beings communicate
through the internet from different cultural backgrounds, we cannot help but
become a cultural relativist. We should respect the culture of others because we
are all citizens of this world and we are all equal. As a member of a society, we have
no choice but to interact with our fellowmen. In so doing, we can encounter people
with different beliefs, practices or even have different philosophy in life. We are in a
multi-cultural society or simply we live amidst a multiculturalist world wherein
multiculturalism should prevail. The word “multi” implies many. According to
Harrison (1994) multiculturalism is a theory about the foundations of a culture
rather than a practice which subsumes cultural ideas. In a broader sense, the term
is often use to describe societies which have many distinct cultural groups, usually
as a result of immigration. (Vega, et al, 2009). Although we can still observe people
who are ethno centrists. In the course of time there are people who are ethno
centrists and there are those who are cultural relativists. In term s of religious
beliefs, there are people who are fundamentalists who defend their beliefs at all
costs, and there are people who are open minded enough to respect the beliefs of
others.
BRIEF INTRODUCTION
DISCUSSIONS
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