Given that many values, beliefs, and attitudes stem from religion, it is not surprising to find that religion has a significant influence on the communication among individuals and groups. Many theological teachings prescribe guidelines on how to live one’s life thus resulting in pronounced ways of thinking and acting. For example, harmony is a reflection of Confucianism in Far East cultures and tolerance from Christianity in Western cultures. A few random points sparked my attention; please bare with me as I jump from point to point.
I like the suggestion the essay makes in regard to identifying values among various cultures, using universal questions rather than a list. Using a list approach could easily result in slightly more negative interpretations of others cultures. We naturally tend to describe ourselves in a positive light so when it comes time to describe another culture, possessing values that are seemingly contrary, the selected terms many not be as warm and complimentary. This would suggest that descriptions of others values as inherently less favorable than the description we ascribe to ourselves.
While members of various religions consider their “membership” to be a central aspect of their identity, it seems that Jews give particular attention to this affiliation; this also seems to be reinforced by their non-Jewish contemporaries. In other words, being Jewish seems to be the dominant characteristic of identity overshadowing other affiliations and roles. This does not necessarily hold true for other religions in the US. “Jewish” has almost become an ethnic category. A phenomenon that was exhibited in the Chappelle clip in which participating teams were Asians, Latinos, Whites, Blacks, and Jews. Notable here not of the other “teams” were religions.
1. Why are some group affiliations so much more dominant to our identity while others are more recessive (from an inner and external perspective)?
2. Where do you see influences of religion in communication and behavior in the US?
No comments:
Post a Comment