Cultural Differences Written Assignment, Essay Example

Culture is defined as the symbols, artefacts believes, practices as well as norms that  are shared by members of a group or community and that they use to cope with one another and their world at large and are passed by learning through the generations (Wikipedia). The bond that exists and the manner in which an individual feels part of and identifies themselves as being part of this culture defines cultural identity. Therefore cultural identity defines that sense of belonging that a person feels towards specific cultural practices that are in certain cultures. Culture is not owned by any individual but rather it is social process in which different people partake and feel a sense of belonging.

Culture is the archive of history which defines the social process that people go through in the process of developing as well as defining the major benchmarks of identity that define the culture. The ability to identify with the specific and selective practices of a given culture defines how a person is to be identified culturally. In this sense therefore culture becomes distinctive in the sense that it has some practices that are not shared with any other culture. Cultures resist change and are only forced to evolve by the technological challenges that they face.  The primary mechanism through which cultures evolve is through changes in technology Leslie White (1959). This explains that it’s very hard for one to induce an abrupt change in the culture of a people unless through such challenges in technology force it to happen.

If culture is viewed as all these things, then what is religion? Religion is an organized approach to human believes that encompasses the use of symbols myths, artefacts, believes and practices that mirror the existence of a supernatural force to which one is subservient (Wikipedia). This therefore underlies the manner in which people interact with each other, with the environment as well the factors that underlie their spirituality. Religion therefore breeds religious identity where some people identify with specific practices as where as religious rituals that becomes the benchmark of their identity.  Religion is therefore a defining parameter in determining peoples behaviour and attitude as well as practices. Most religions have rituals that they practice. These rituals become the identity of members and they define how people carry out different activities.

Different religions have different beliefs rituals and practices. The one common factor in most religions is the consistency in the practice of the beliefs as well as their believe in a superior power or a supernatural power that is omnipotent and that controls or influences their lives. Most of the decisions that are made in any religious set up are made with the supernatural power in consideration. This is always in an effort to keep the powers appeased and at peace with the populace.

Most of the rituals believes and practices in different religions do not change, they are taken to be the truth and the superior facts that all that believe in the religion have to conform with, as well as rituals that every believer has to practice without any debate.

The link therefore between religion and culture is quite strong and pronounced. Both have a strong link withy their histories and they define the behaviour of a community as well as underlining their interactions with each other. The way ones behaviour is governed by culture is the same way that it is governed by religion. To say the least, separating culture and religion is quite hard since both are involved with human relations and interactions.

While most cosmopolitan communities have great accommodation ability and are capable of bearing with the variances that are brought about by the different religious inclinations of different people, it is vital to appreciate that for one to integrate and get acceptance from a community, they ought to have a good understanding of the cultural and religious practices of a people.  The way that the people behave towards each other determines whether one fits or is accepted into the community.

The religious practices at times mirror the culture of a people. In any multicultural society, religious practices are bound to be defined by their communal culture and their culture is as well based on the religion. Any one who practices a different religion is seen as being immoral while anyone who does not adhere to the stipulations of the culture is seen as being uncultured, and a rebel. In most communities especially African and eastern communities, deviation from cultural practises is often met with severe consequences that go up to and including punishment as well as being declared an outcast in the community.  This means that any person found to deviate from the accepted cultural norms will be fined, beaten as well as expelled from the community. This means that any one seeking to integrate with and feel part of such a community will need to be up to the extended behaviour standards as well as conform to the expected behavioural norms.

Similarly a person who deviates from certain religious practices is viewed as being morally inept and as a failure in the community. Such a person is shunned by all means and is hardly if ever accepted in the communal setup. Every day a person is seen as being non religious and if such a person needs to be reaccepted into the community, he ought to undergo intricate cleansing rituals that border on punishment before such a person is deemed as having regained their religious fit. A person’s life is therefore seen as being governed by several abstract powers that dictate the right form the wrong and to which every being owes allegiance (Multicultural Canada) .

In conclusion for any person to integrate successfully in a society they need to understand the values that define their behaviour and mannerism as understanding what values they hold dear. In this way, one can easily gel well and with ease with the community in question. The ability of a person to understand these complex relationships between religion and cultural identity of a people, as well as the way these define their livelihoods underlines how well one can gel in a society. It is even common knowledge that culture is dynamic while at the same time resisting change.  To avoid getting culturally rejected and labelled  an outcast, one ought to understand well the culture and religion of the community they are in.

References

Multicultural Canada. The Encyclopedia of Canada’s Peoples Retrieved on 06 August 2009 from http://www.multiculturalcanada.ca/Encyclopedia/A-Z/g7/5.

White Leslie (1959) Evolution of culture. New York. McGraw Hill.

Wikipedia. Religion. Retrieved 06 August 2007. Available http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion.