Cultural anthropology has taught me a lot in such a short time. This class has been very eye opening to me and has made me think more about the different cultures around me and just how important it is to learn about them. One of the things I have learned is how religion is related to culture. Culture is behaviors of a community such as the food they make, the music they listen to, and the rituals they take part in. This can be very similar to religion because a culture is based off of their religious beliefs.
Some cultures do not eat pig because it is against their religious beliefs. Some cultures listen to particular songs because it is based off of their religious beliefs. Another thing cultures relate closely to is languages. Without language a culture cannot be passed down because there is no way to tell of the cultures ways. For instance many native american rituals have been lost because they were written in languages that now, not even the elders know how to speak. This is why language and religion are both very important aspect of culture.
One down side of having so many different cultures and religious beliefs in ethnocentrism. Ethnocentrism is the belief that ones group is superior based off of language,behavior, customs, and religion. You see this everyday especially in America. America is awful when it comes to equality. Especially the group of white americans who believe that everyone should speak english because english is a “superior” language. America does not have a national language or religion because it is supposed to be the land of freedom and equality but that does not stop all of the ethnocentrism we see.
People who express ethnocentrism are very judgmental. In all reality there are so many different relig. . has given me significant insight about people all over the world. At first I thought this class was stupid and I didn ‘t get why I needed to take it. My major is social work why would cultural anthropology relate to me? But in all reality this class out of all my prerequisite will help me out the most.
In social work it is important for me to be able to relate to the family. If I do not understand their religion and culture it could be very hard for me to do my job and help the family. Every culture has a different family structures and traditions that could be crucial to know about when it comes to solving their problems. What the american culture seems as wrong another culture might see it as okay and that is very important to look at. This class has taught me that learning about other cultures is important and I am excited to study more about these other cultures.
