CULTURAL IDENTITIES AND VALUES
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Cultural Identities and Values Assignment
Michael Simmons
School of Behavioral Sciences, Liberty University
There are many factors that effects a person’s cultural identities and values. Things such
as family upbringing, social environment, community are just a few of the non-materialistic
ways a persons’ identity and culture can be shaped. There are also material things that effect a
person such as, money and fame (or lack thereof). Cultural identity and values can, often times,
change over time. This change is dependent on a change in circumstance, life events, and faith.
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Sometimes the change is self-induced. For example, an atheist will drastically change his/her
world view once he accepts Christ as his savior. Or, a change can come slowly and unintendedly.
For example, a person that used to lean left politically but, overtime, they began to take up
more conservative values.
Regardless of what factors were responsible for shaping a person’s cultural identity and
values, I believe education, faith, and experience far out way the importance of a person’s
upbringing or social status. How, when, and where we were raised is beyond our control. What
we can control is educating ourselves, learning from our mistakes (and others), and placing our
faith in almighty God.
In this assignment, I will be defining culture. I will give you the book definition according
to Chatraw and Prior (2019), and I will also describe culture in my own words; what culture
means to me. Then, I will look at culture and faith and how faith plays a role in culture
development and cultural change. Faith has had a huge impact on my cultural identity. And last,
I will go over some contemporary issues of today and where I stand on these issues.
In this assignment, I will be using examples from my own life’s experiences, scripture
from the Bible, and information from the text book, Cultural Engagement: A Crash Course in
Contemporary Issues by Joshua Chatraw and Karen Prior (2019).
Defining Culture
What is the meaning of culture? Depending on the context, culture can be defined in
different ways to different people. According to Chatraw and Prior (2019), culture is a makeup of
“articulated and formally processed beliefs”. It also provides a “precognitive and unarticulated
assumptions” in the way that which we interpret our life and the world around us. Culture
consists of the “social and physical dimensions of life” that dictates our ideas and assumptions
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about life (Chatraw and Prior, 2019, p.25-26). In other words, as we develop mentally, we are
shaped by our environments.
Location can affect cultural identity. Depending on where we were born and raised, can
have a great impact on our cultural identity. American Southerners have different cultures than
Northern Americans. The culture change is even more profound when we compare different
countries. For example, when I was still serving on active duty in the Marine Corps, once I was
deployed to the Philippines. During our training, we actually served with Filipino military
personal. While we were eating lunch together, I noticed all of the Filipino soldiers eating with
their hands. They did not use any utensils. I asked an English-speaking Filipino soldier why they
did not use forks or spoons? He said “in our culture, we eat with our hands”. I thought that was
very interesting.
Culture is generational. Culture is passed down from our grandparents to parents to us
in many ways. Sometimes the generational cultures are good, but sometimes bad, depending
on how we look at it. We like to call them “traditions”. These cultures usually flow over into the
community. For example, during Easter, it is a tradition to hide boiled eggs for the kids to find.
This is a tradition passed down from generations. Over all, Easter egg hunts on Easter is part of
our American culture. The book calls this a “system of inheritance” passed down from one
generation to the next (Chatraw and Prior, 2019, p.29).
Culture can be changed. We have all heard the term “cultural climate”. This is a way to
describe how the culture is or was during a different time or place. For example, the cultural
climate was much different 300 years ago than it is today. What caused the change? All of the
factors mentioned such as technology, immigration, education, discoveries, etc. play a role in
changing the culture. Remember when smoking was culturally accepted? The changes are
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usually subtle over time. Think about the culture change from not long ago; think about the
introduction of the internet, then smart phone technology, then social media. Think about how
much different our culture is today compared to just 25 years ago. The changes are a direct
result from advancements in communication technology. The cultural changes were not
intentional, they are just a byproduct.
Cultural change can be intentional. If a specific group wants to change the culture, it is
possible to do so. It starts with the individual but can spill over into families, communities, even
countries. This has already been done in many areas. Take gay marriage for example. Up until
recent times in the United States, marriage was only recognized between a man and a woman.
It was culturally unaccepted. But, through a concerted effort from gay rights activists, laws were
changed, social media swing, K-12 education and beyond, and societal normality, gay marriage
is now law and culturally accepted across the United States.
On an individual level, a person can purposely change their personal cultural identity as
well. For example, before I became a Christ follower, my cultural identity was much different. In
Luke chapter 3 the Bible reveals how the individual believer and the institution of the church
can make efforts to change the culture. The Bible talks about evangelism and spreading the
gospel as our great commission. John the Baptist said to “prepare a way for the Lord”. He went
into all of the country preaching baptism of repentance and forgiveness of sins (Luke 3:1-5, NIV,
1996).
The preaching and baptisms by John the Baptist resulted in a cultural change in many people.
Many more were changed after Jesus arrived on the scene.
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Faith and Culture
Throughout history, faith has played a major role in shaping the culture of peoples and
countries. From biblical times until now, faith as always had a hand in cultural identity. Compare
the cultures of Muslim countries to Christian cultures. They are vastly different.
My faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is unbreakable. I have given my life completely over to
Him. But, it has not always been that way. Growing up, my culture was much different. We had
no faith. I was raised in a non-religious home. We never went to church. We didn’t talk about
God or religion. It was not a part of my upbringing. The results were that I went through a
tumultuous time for the majority of my childhood and adult life. For years I lived a life of sin;
drinking, parties, women, cheating, ripping people off; you name it, I did it. I had no boundaries.
The only reason that I did not commit crimes is because I was afraid of getting caught. I had
what we call the “family curse”. All my siblings have it too (the ones that are still alive). My
sisters and brother still live that fast lifestyle of drinking, drugging, whatever. I am the only one
that made a determined effort to change my culture forever. I knew I could not do it alone. I
asked God for salvation and He delivered.
After my salvation, I made it a point to be an “image bearer” of God. “As redeemed
image-bearers, the people of God are to live out their vocations caring for all creation in light of
revelation of Christ and reflecting the priorities of the living Lord” (Chatraw and Prior, 2019,
p.40). Since salvation, my priorities have taken a dramatic shift for the better as I am filled with
the holy spirit of God. I am still a work in progress. We all are but Jesus said “blessed are the
poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). Being “poor” in spirit is what
drives me to continue the work. Praise God.
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In today’s fast paced, live free world, Satan has doubled down on sin. We are truly living
in Roman chapter one times. Culture is quickly working to normalize sin and demonize good. As
believers in Christ, I think that we are the last line of defense to stand up to evil in this corrupted
world. As believers in Christ we must be the salt and light. We must work diligently to save as
many souls as possible by changing the culture, one person at a time. In part three of the book
called Moving Forward (Choctaw & Prior 2019), it talks about how we should engage in the
culture and our engagement should be spreading of the gospel and condemn culture that is
unbiblical.
Contemporary Issues
Part two, Contemporary Issues (Choctaw & Prior 2019), address current controversial
topics in separate sections. The topics include gender roles, sexuality, the production and care
of beings, labor, politics, warfare, weaponry, the arts, and capital punishment. All these topics
present their own cultural challenges. Recognizing these challenges is crucial for individuals,
communities, organizations, and governments as they navigate today's complex world and seek
effective solutions. The present-day era is marked by sin. In Romans, chapter one of the New
Testament, Paul writes, “Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in their lusts of their
hearts, to dishonor their bodies” (Romans 1:24). And “Being filled with unrighteousness, sexual
immorality, wickedness, covetous, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil
mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventers
of evil things disobedient to parents, undiscerning, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous
judgement of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the
same but also approve of those who practice them” (Romans 1:29-32). Sound familiar? This is a
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perfect description of society today. Society has become so ungodly, that we now celebrate sin
as if it is a great accomplishment (example: abortion and gay pride).
One example of a socially accepted contemporary issue that bothers me the most is the
transgender movement. Chatraw and Prior (2019) describes gender dysphoria as a “distressed
condition of someone who feels that their biological sex does not match their true gender
identity” (Chatraw and Prior, 2019, p.90). This “feeling” has allowed a small minority of mentally
deranged people the ability to convince people that a person can change their gender simply by
claiming it. This is totally prosperous. Not only is this against science, but it makes a mockery
out of God. It is evil and I will never adhere to any society that accepts this. I believe that a
person has a right to pretend to be anything they want if it does not infringe on the rights of
others. No matter how ridiculous a person’s belief may be, I will accept the fact that they
believe in the idea, but I will never pretend that truth is somehow not true, just because a
person feels a certain way. Regardless of whether I accept it, does not remove the fact that this
is sinful in the eyes of God. I respect no person, ideology, or government that upholds a belief
that is contrary to the Bible’s teachings.
Another socially accepted contemporary issue that I have always held a strong opinion
against is abortion. The taking of an unborn human life by willfully exterminating it while it is
still in the womb is murder. A lot of people disagree with me but that is my opinion and I believe
God looks at abortion as murder too. People often say, what about the cases of rape and incest?
First of all, becoming pregnant from rape is very rare and should always be considered on a case
by case basis and incest should not happen to begin with. Once again, I believe that people have
a right to do what they want if it does not directly infringe on the rights of others but what
about the unborn child’s rights? Does the unborn child not have a decision in this matter? This is
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a very complicated issue and I know women that have had an abortion. I still love them and I do
not judge them. God will judge them, not me. In the text book Chatraw and Prior (2019) defines
murder as the “unlawful” killing of another human life. It goes on to say that because abortion
is legal (at the time), it does not classify as “murder”. I would have to say, just because
something is not illegal, still does not make it right. Sin is sin, regardless if we somehow justify it.
In the United States, adultery is not a crime, but I do not need a law to tell me that I shouldn’t
cheat on my wife. In the Bible it says that the law is written on people's hearts, with their
conscience bearing witness and their thoughts either accusing or defending them (Romans
2:15). In the case of abortion, I pray that women will search their own consciences and make
the right choice.
Conclusion
In this report I covered culture and what it is. I looked at how faith directly effects
culture and cultural change and I discussed some of the contemporary issues effecting society
today. There are many factors that effects a person’s cultural identity and values. Things such as
family upbringing, social environment, community all effect our cultural identity. As humans we
tend to develop beliefs and values with the environment that we are raised around. It is only
natural as we learn from others, that their beliefs and values are passed on to us.
Many people define culture differently. Culture consists of the “social and physical
dimensions of life” that dictates our ideas and assumptions about life (Chatraw and Prior, 2019,
p.25-26). Our location can affect cultural identity. Depending on where we were born and
raised, can have a great impact on our cultural identity. This explains why people are different
from different places. The culture that we develop was most likely passed down from our
grandparents to parents to us. Usually, cultural identity only begins to change as we mature and
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develop our own opinions and beliefs. Our cultural identity does change overtime. It may
change without our realization of the change through social contact, environment factors, or life
changing events. We can also intentionally change our culture through faith in God, education,
and other forms of mental conditioning.
Faith in God has a direct effect on the culture. There are countries around the world that
base their entire government on the teachings of a deity. This has a profound effect on the
cultures of these governments and citizens. In my life, God truly changed my life. My cultural
identity has been forever changed through the transformation and renewing of my mind.
There are many contemporary issues effecting people around the world today. Whether
these issues are considered good or bad all depend on the opinions of society’s and individuals
effected. Just because an issue is legal or socially accepted, does not imply that God accepts it.
As Christians, we must remember God’s word does not change. We must trust our conscience
and allow the Holy Spirit the ability to guide our decisions and how we treat others.
References
Chatraw, J. D., & Prior, K. S. (Eds.). (2019). Cultural engagement: A crash course in contemporary
issues. Zondervan Academic.
