Cultural identity is not a predetermined set of beliefs that exists at birth and remains unchanged throughout a person’s lifetime. As a person develops their social identity, they are constantly acquiring and processing new information. From language acquisition to developing political opinion, a person both absorbs information from their surroundings and channels their response to information into expression. Through this process of development, a person assimilates into the culture of their surroundings, but also responds and adds to their own understanding of their cultural identity. A person’s culture is both adopted and expressed. Culture is not limited to food tastes or what type of clothing is worn. Following ideologies also tie in with cultural identity. A Christian considers his faith to god a part of his identity in similar fashion to how people perceive their own tastes in music or the hobbies they partake in.
Culture, being tied so closely to one’s idea of their own identity, is often a focal point to tension between those with different ideals. Controversy occurs when one person or group performs an action that goes against the typical cultural identity of the collective that the person or group belongs. When two different groups hold opposing views, conflict ensues. When two groups within a culture hold opposing views, controversy ensues. Controversy revolves around any object, institution, system of beliefs, etc. that possesses cultural significance or
One source once stated, “By masking the discomfort, of being pre-judged” (Mora 40). People should examine their culture in order to better understand how it affects their identity and perceptions. In order to understand one’s cultural identity, he or she needs to understand what the term means. According to one source, cultural identity can be defined as “We all have unique identities that we develop within our cultures, but these identities are not fixed or static” (Trumbull and Pacheco 10). Various aspects of a person’s life that may determine his or her cultural identity music, community, family, ethnicity, relationships, religion, clothing, and food. After analyzing several texts, the reader recognizes that four important
By studying cultures and religions other than my own in Turkey, Morocco, Egypt and Greece it became clear to me that religion plays a huge part in shaping ones cultural identity. Bringing this "cultural identity" viewpoint to its
A major part of one’s identity involves a system of morals and beliefs which are too influenced though one’s culture and experiences in life. The
(Trumbull and Pacheco 9). After analyzing several texts, the reader recognizes that three important elements of a person's cultural identity include beliefs, food, ethnicity, and
When I think of the word “cultural identity”, I think of myself, and what makes up who I am as a person. My cultural identity influences everything about me, from the moment I wake up, to the minute I rest my head on my pillow at night. My culture influences the way I eat, speak, worship, and interact with people. However, I am not only affected by my own culture, but others’ culture as well. I am fortunate to have an extremely rich heritage, and I couldn’t be prouder of my cultural identity.
The identities that each person possesses is influenced according to their attitudes, values and beliefs embedded in their culture. When people hear the word cult, the images of satan worshipping, animal sacrifices and evil, pagan rituals automatically come to mind. However, in reality, the majority of cults do not involve these things and are in fact simply a religious system with alternate beliefs. The word though refers to an unorthodox sect whose members distort the original doctrines of the religion. Heaven’s Gate is a cult that is centred in California, founded by Marshall Herff Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles in 1993. They are a UFO based ‘destructive doomsday’ cult who believed that evil space aliens called ‘Luciferians’ had kept
Cultural identity is feeling of belonging to a group, it is an element that is brought about when a person comprehends his/her own culture, it is part of a person’s self –conception and perception and this helps the person to also comprehend and appreciate the culture of other people as well. It is related to nationality, religion, ethnicity, generation or any kind of social group that has its own distinct culture. So culture plays an important role in one’s life because it is a strong factor in shaping one 's identity.
Religious identity can come in two forms, one from a nation of people all believing in the same values and another from the personal view of each individual or family within that nation. In a family or local community sense, it ties the smaller community together against its neighbouring ethnicities. It provides a feeling of togetherness and strength for the society. It is the basis for 'ethnic honour: the excellence of one's own customs and the inferiority of alien ones' (Weber, cited in Bruce 1996, p. 96). Religious identity brings great pride and hope to the citizens of any particular society and lends itself towards social cohesion (Browne 2005).
A religious family in the story Why I am a Pagan by Zitkala-sa, talks about how this little girl was taught certain things that her family has always gone by. What she was taught, she now holds close to her life dearly, while also relying on it every moment of the day. Her life shows us a different view on cultural identity, how she was taught something important not only to her, but in everyone else’s as well. By showing her what the kind of men in her life mean the most to her. She says something about her religion, how it reflects her past, present, and future, along with what she stands for. She says, “I was taught long years ago by kind missionaries to read the holy book, these godly men taught me also the folly of our old beliefs.” (Zitkala-sa 2) In her culture, and
Rather, the cultural identity of a society expresses its fundamental self-understanding that constitutes the values of the people. In establishing religions people were looking for constitutional values. Religion became a cultural value to certain societies. For example, look at the Western political culture. It has been shaped by Greek philosophy, Roman law, feudalism, and the Renaissance. Western culture also has been shaped a great deal by Christianity, Judaism and by Islam.
Cultural identity refers to the feeling belonging to a certain culture that is attributed to the upbringing of an individual in the given culture. Cultural identity gives a person the sense of belonging and belonging towards their culture. Modern cultural studies show that cultural identification has taken a new face. Various cultural identifiers can be used to identify the culture of an individual. These identifiers include nationality, language, location, gender, religious beliefs, history, and ethnicity. Culture is important in shaping the identity of an individual. The efforts of people trying to preserve their cultural identities can bring about hatred and division in the society. This is likely to happen especially in large cities
During the enlightenment patterns of cultural mutations, there is a growing emphasis on morality to determine one’s faith. Luther describes the individual as being responsible for his/her identity as a child of God. Science re-inserts the impersonal worldview of the hero into a Christian culture. The rise of capitalism brings the idea that human identity is based on a cultural environment which is organized in economic terms – with an emphasis on competitive advantage. All of these mutations point to the fact that the tensions between the two paths are unable to be merged into one path; they swing in one direction or the other, based on the cultural climate. This brings us to a need to define one path
Cultural identity is defined as the sense or feeling of belonging to a group. I connect my cultural identity to my immediate family. My immediate family consists of my parents, two younger sisters, and myself. Each one of us has significant values that have been instilled in one another. I believe that they play a large role in making me who I am today. Coming from a large, Sicilian family, the importance of love, loyalty, and support has always been prominent.
The concept of culture is something that defines many aspects of one’s life. From physical objects to different ways of thinking, culture adds significance to human life and makes groups of people distinct from one another. Culture is essentially a group of people who come together with similar interests and points of view. According to the Center for Advanced Language Acquisition of the University of Minnesota, “culture is defined as the shared patterns of behaviors and interactions, cognitive constructs, and affective understanding that are learned through a process of socialization.” From a more sociological perspective, culture is a way in which people come together in order to fulfill their needs. These shared patterns and ideas identify the members of a culture group while also distinguishing those of another group.” Culture is one of the things that sets the United States apart from the rest of the world. Not that the rest of the world is not cultural, but the circumstance here is different. Many people of different cultural backroads come to this country in search of a better life. As a consequence, the United States has become a place where many cultures merge together like a colossal pot soup.
Cultural identity is a part of the psychological self-concept that expresses an individual or group’s worldview and perceived cultural affiliations. The first step in finding a societal fit is to establish a cultural identity; this can be on an individual level and group level. Who am I? And where do I belong? These questions start to form in the human mind from an early age; it drives humans to explore their worldviews and how and where they fit in the world. Rosenfeld (1971) argued it is a deep-seated primal process that has ensured our continual survival. By finding others that think and act similarly we are offered some protection (Erickson, as cited in Carducci 2015). Erickson (as cited in Carducci, 2015) and Maslow (as cited in Mcleod 2007) argued that the need to belong is a basic building block of human development. Whatever the reason, the consensus is that humans have an intrinsic need to find a like-minded cultural group to belong to; this chosen affiliation is their cultural identity. A person may identify with more than one cultural