Cultural Beliefs In America

The country of origin for Anglo-Americans is considered Western Europe. Also, Anglo-Americans are considered an ethnic group with European descendants. (Rosdahl & Kowalski, 2017)

Ethnocentrism is a tendency to use our own group’s ways of doing things as a yardstick for judging others (Pg. 40, Ch. 2). Cultural Relativism is understanding a culture on its own terms (Pg. 41, Ch.2). The concept I favor is Cultural Relativism because people should be able to understand and recognize a different culture’s background. It is evident that everyone has different ways to go about life/culture. Coming from another country and knowing two different cultures, helps me understand two different perspectives. I am not a type of person who will judge or believe my way of life/culture is the correct one. Everyone is different, live differently, and think differently. Therefore, Cultural Relativism makes sense to appreciate more because it allows a person to understand where different cultures are coming from. When you think about it, cultural relativism is quite hard to

Both America and India can a wide range of religions within their populations. Although both have numerous religions, their main religions and belief systems have more differences than similarities. India, with its vast size, is the most religiously diverse nation in the world. Some of the major religions in India include Buddhism, Jainism, Sikism, and Judaism. However, the religion that encompassed most the nation is Hinduism. Hinduism accounts for seventy percent of India’s population. While Hinduism is the top religion in India, Christianity takes up much of the United States’ population, followed by Protestantism and Roman Catholicism.

India is a captivating country full of humble traditions, lively festivals, and honest beliefs. With over 2 billion people, India has a vast array of religions and languages with Hindi being the most popular. The Hindu culture is a culture of love, respect, honoring others and humbling one's own ego so that the inner nature, which is naturally pure and modest, will shine forth (Mailerindia Infotek Limited). Hindi is a kind and peaceful religion. It is only fitting to combine a temperate religion with a humble society of people. Indians were raised to treat their elders with respect and to always be humble to guests. Strangers will great you with the utmost benevolence and friends will invite you into their home and make sure you are

Modern American society beliefs have influenced my identity, values, and beliefs. The American society believes highly in technology, which influences my beliefs, and has me relying on technology for many things. However the american society also shapes my beliefs in a different way, if there is something that America, as a society believes in, then I may find myself believing the opposite, simply because I didn't want my opinion to be made by society. My values are most definitely influenced by society, I often fall for society's attempts to tell me that i need more ‘stuff’, and that puts material items in my values. America, as a whole is less family centered, so I often find myself valuing my friends over my family. Lastly, my identity,

In the words of Mitt Romney, “The American culture promotes personal responsibility, the dignity of work, the value of education, the merit of service, devotion to a purpose greater than self, and at the foundation, the pre-eminence of family.” Throughout history, America had always been an outlet of opportunity, achievement and striving to live out the “American dream.” Generations from different walks of life have helped shape our American culture into what it is today; a culture filled with diversity and races of every color from every nation; a culture welcoming the idea of freedom of choice and equality for all; a culture where many seek to improve our surroundings and all who live in it; a culture filled with individualistic attitudes

India is a unique country. Home to close to a billion people, it boasts a rich cultural history spanning over 4 millennia. India's vast geographical coverage features all kinds of different terrain; from the cold, magnificent peaks and valleys of Kashmir to the hot, barren lands of Jacobabad. With such terrain comes a culture so vast that it is almost impossible to define. India possesses an array of different races, languages, religions and customs (Bryman & Hardy, 2009).

For every new ideology there is a set of preexisting cultural guidelines that have to be followed in order for that society to be able to function cohesively. Each ideology shares a core set of ideals; in America our core ideology is that in which every individual has the right to have and pursue our own happiness, passions and ideas and express our own individuality within the societal norms that have taught to us through our social communication and upbringing.

On the topic of culture, ethnocentrism should be mindful as it refer to culturally biased judgement of an individual’s perspective of their own culture is superiors than another (Levines 2001). This is not to be confused with racism as to be an ethnocentric often relates to how we individuals view another culture from our own. For example it is considered norm in China for fellow co-workers to ask each other’s how much they earned whereas in European country it is considered rude and inappropriate.

In anthropology, researchers aim to understand how culture shapes our lives. One of the greatest influential factors within a culture is the food we grow, eat, and sell. Food is perhaps the most central component of our lives. Without food, there would be no life. It is crucial to consider the foods people decide to eat and how those choices are influenced by culture and community. In several places, there may not be as may options when it comes to choosing food. The choice may simply be between eating or not. And in other cultures, it is the land, traditions of the past, and current climate that affect what people select to eat.

Ayurveda is an ancient art of staying in the best of health along with a daily regime of balanced lifestyle. Established by Indian monks about 5,000-6,000 years back, it was discovered to teach people to preserve their health and make them physically, emotionally and spiritually strong. Ayurveda describes energy to be a building block of every individual and define it into three types; Vata, Kapha and Pitta Dosha.

Cultural beliefs and customs may influence a patient’s perception of health or illness. What seems unreasonable to us as American’s may make perfect sense to someone from a different cultural background based on the beliefs and practices in their culture (Chew, Tan, & Ooi, 2011). For example, a young Asian patient came to the ED with symptoms of a viral illness as the nursing staff undressed her they noted symmetrical abrasions along her back. Everyone believed this young lady was a victim of domestic abuse and were ready to call protective services. However, fortunately, there was a physician who had spent time in Asia and understood the practice of “coining”. Many Asian cultures practice “coining” which entails rubbing a coin in specific

Ayurveda is the oldest medical science or healthcare system. Ayurveda literally means ‘the science of life’. Ayurveda is also known as Indian system of medicine. Ayurveda is an ancient medical system, which teaches us in a comprehensive way that what is advantageous, and what is disadvantageous for the human body. Ayurvedic system of medicine addresses the happy and unhappy states of the human life. Ayurveda speaks about preventive as well as curative aspects of the diseases.

Every culture has different beliefs on certain issues such as death, gender, and spiritual practices. Cultural beliefs influence the way patients understand health concepts and how they take care of themselves. Therefore, knowing a patients’ background and culture is a helpful key to solving certain problems. The Hispanic culture is an old and very unique culture that has strong beliefs concerning death, dying, gender, family, and spiritual practices.

Ayurveda is known as the “Mother of All Healing” (Parasuraman, 2014). The term Ayurveda is from Sanskrit. “Ayu” means life and “Veda” means knowledge. Ayurveda means “the science of life.” It is the “science of life” that determines and guides one on how to live a happy, healthy, and long life. Ayurveda consists of many concepts, ideas, remedies, and therapies that are useful in achieving a perfect balance in life. “The perfect balance of mind, body, and soul is considered to be complete health in Ayurveda (Behere, 2013). Ayurveda does not focus only on the body or solely the mind. In Ayurveda, to reach the highest level of happiness and health, the mind, body and the soul needs to be treated. The mind, body and soul are all aspects of one’s life that impact health, mood, energy, etc. Ayurveda does not consider “an organism a system of organs but a system of relationships which define the functions” (Jayasundar, 2010). Ayurveda is a holistic science that aims to promote health and longevity, prevent illness, and serve as a system of healing the whole person, body and mind (Behere, 2013).