Cultural Engagement in Society

My worldview and culture are two ways that help me view the world. Culture is the customs, arts, social achievements, institutions, and people, while worldview is how we look at the world. This will be guided by discussing my cultural beliefs and values to identify potential limitations and biases. Concerning the book Cultural Engagement by Joshua D. Chatraw, which discusses the concept of cultural engagement in society, especially when it comes to the impact it has on religion, This paper aims to share my personal cultural story and worldview so that I can identify my cultural strengths and areas that need more growth (Chatraw & Prior, 2019).

Defining Culture

Culture is the specific knowledge and characteristics that define a particular group. Culture consists of familiar patterns, interactions, behaviors, and understanding and cognitive constructs gained through socializing. Behaviors makes culture the growth of a specific group fostered by social patterns specific to the group. The book’s introduction (Chatraw & Prior, 2019) provides background information on understanding culture and the relationship between the church and culture. The book explains cultural engagement with the help of real-world situations, as shown through examples of Starbucks’ problems. It is therefore significant to value culture since it is the backbone of our lives.

My own culture was influenced by my American customs. My culture as an American has also been impacted by religion. The American culture is defined by various religious and spiritual practices adopted by the community members. Religion has also played a significant role in shaping culture since it influences how people dress, interact with each other, eat, and behave. It is not easy to distinguish between culture and religion since most cultural traditions are related to religion (Chatraw & Prior, 2019, p. 145). Moreover, religious practices are implemented in the daily lives of people in society. I therefore agree that religion is influenced by culture.

Faith and Culture

Faith and culture are related since culture is essentially a manifestation of faith that can influence it. Culture and religious renewal are inextricably linked. Faith is significant in culture since it means that if we do not provide the current generation with the benefits of their cultural traditions, they will not be able to practice their faith, give a truthful witness, or live in a way that is consistent with their cultural spirit (Chatraw & Prior, 2019, p. 60). I acquired this from my culture, and I believe that God exists.

 Contemporary issues

Part Two of the book (Chatraw & Prior, 2019) focuses on the nine contemporary issues, using short essays to describe the issues. Contemporary issues include gender roles, sexuality, creature care and creation, work, politics, war, weapons, the arts, and capital punishment. One major contemporary issue I noticed in my culture is gender inequality in the church. This contemporary issue is also known as patriarchy, which upholds how men are superior to women and have control over them. This is a belief adopted and followed by most churches, especially regarding church leadership and running church activities. Women in the church must separate themselves from patriarchal dogma, which is prevalent in the church.

Cultural worldview is the people’s general attitudes, like basic perceptions and beliefs of a particular culture. The social setting I analyzed is the church, where people of various cultures gather to worship. I had a chance to visit one of the churches in my locality. The visit was on a Sunday during midday, the time most churches conducted their services. My visit was to analyze the significance of gender in the sociology of religion. I was able to notice that women were not given a chance to take over any leadership roles in church. The reason for the gender inequality is drawn from stories in the Bible. Therefore, it is essential to apply wisdom and understand that we are all equal and deserve equal rights.

Work is a major cultural contemporary issue that I have identified in society since some cross-cultural differences are caused by differences in the organization’s beliefs and customs from the locals. Also, some businesses experience conflicting cultures among their workers. These conflicts are due to different bases of beliefs among workers. Culture determines how we eat, dress, and speak, as well as other customs. Secondly, differences in goals and perceptions and the need to control resources in an organization can create cultural conflicts. Conflicts can emerge from the methods of achieving goals and objectives and the competition for scarce resources.

Another contemporary issue is gender roles, whereby the justification for why somebody treats women differently is, on a fundamental level, about their convictions. This is a religious contention since Jesus says the mouth speaks what the heart is loaded with, so we comprehend as Christians that what we do comes from what we know.(Chatraw & Prior, 2019). Out of possession and qualification, they control and restrict women from their convictions. Creation is another contemporary issue since living in the same environment can also create a conflict of misunderstandings, and the cause is rooted in us since individuals constantly fight for scarce resources (Chatraw & Prior, 2019, p. 50). In essence, culture defines the ideal behavior of a particular group and separates that group from other cultures that do not subscribe to a common ideology.

 Conclusion

The study discussed my culture and worldview concerning religion. With the aid of the course material, the book Cultural Engagement: by Joshua D. Chatraw that helped the discussion to various cultural understandings. The book helped me understand how faith and culture interconnect, especially regarding religion and God’s existence. Since the beginning of human civilization, cultures have struggled to understand God’s existence. The belief has been evident in every era. I learned from the experience that various cultures have always strived to explore God’s existence, the difference in beliefs has led to cultures develop their elaborations and theories on the concept of God’s existence. The discussion also discussed various cultural issues in contemporary society and how they impact our lives. The discussion was insightful since it covered the wider range of cultural engagements.

Reference

Chatraw, J., & Prior, K. S. (2019). Cultural Engagement: A Crash Course in Contemporary Issues Zondervan Academic.