Cultural Diversity What Is Culture

Cultural Diversity

What is culture and cultural diversity?

According to one definition of culture and cultural diversity, cultural diversity means that all individuals have the right to live as they choose, so long as they do not impinge upon other people's rights. All people have an equal right to realize their life goals. The principle of cultural diversity guarantees respect for human rights, regardless of where individuals practicing their religious and cultural values may dwell on the globe. However, cultural diversity cannot be used as an argument to violate or limit the scope of the fundamental rights guaranteed by international law to national borders. In other words, to create a secular society and guarantee freedom of religion to all human beings on a universal scale, the United States cannot invade a nation like Iran. Iran is governed by a theocratic system of government that denies freedom of religion to its citizens, and does not uphold the United State's principles of toleration of all faiths and cultures ("The challenge of cultural diversity," 2007, Barcelona Forum 2004)

What are Rafael Rodriguez-Ponga's four main challenges for cultural diversity?

According to Rodriguez-Ponga the four main challenges posed by the principle of cultural diversity are as follows: the contradictions posed by the concept of cultural identity, the false claim of the universality of languages, competing rights and definitions of human equality, and the concept of the need to 'advance' culture to foster economic and political development. Rodriguez-Ponga notes that cultural identities are open, as is the case of European identity. "It is perfectly compatible to have various cultural identities," he states ("The challenge of cultural diversity," Barcelona Forum 2004). For instance, a person can define his or her identity as European, Judeo-Christian, and French-speaking Swiss.

Many times, pluralistic definitions of personal identity come into conflict. For example, in the current struggle to create a stable political situation in Iraq, individuals whose nationality and cultural identity is Iraqi conflict with their identity status as belonging a minority faction of Islam (Shiite) and seeing themselves as Kurdish, a member of a unique ethnic group within Iraq. Even Canada, which has embraced the pluralist or mosaic ideal of cultural diversity, has had to deal with the contradictions posed by linguistic identity. Rejection notions of linguistic universality, French-speaking Canadians wish to have all of the signs in Quebec only in French, rather than in French and English.

Within the United States, extending equal education to all individuals becomes difficult, as linguistic proficiency in English may inhibit some student's ability to understand what is being taught in the classroom. These students may require additional support or accommodation to fully benefit from the educational system in the same manner as their fluent peers ("The challenge of cultural diversity," 2007, Cultural diversity and early education).

The equality of all human beings, presumed to be a universal human right by individuals who embrace the Western, individualistic cultural ethos, may conflict with religious groups who see men and women as intrinsically different and deserving of different rights -- and who reject secular values as an essential condition for developing their own national status and joining the international community while striving for economic and political improvement. Saudi Arabia desire to be a world economic player and remain an Islamic monarchy.