Traditional and nontraditional cultures in India and the United States

Traditional & Non-Traditional Cultures -- India and U.S.

Traditional & Non-Traditional Culture in India

India has a number of religions within its culture -- including Buddhism, Christianity, and the Sikh faith -- but the main religion is Hinduism; over 80% of the population of India are practicing Hindus (www.sights-and-culture.com) (SAC). Hindus believe that every human has an "immortal soul" which, after death, moves to another body, an animals or another human. So if a person has a bad back all his life, it must have been due to the soul that came before him of which he is a product; so goes the belief of the Hindus. The happiest festival in Hinduism is the Diwali, the festival of lights, which "…commemorates the victory of Lord Rama over demon King Ravana" (SAC). Religion is a very traditional part of the Indian cultural experience. A non-traditional cultural trend in India is dating, especially casual dating. Traditionally in India parents arrange the marriages of their children, because the family tries to give their children the best possible match for their future. Also, it is very rare that an Indian girl would marry an Indian boy who is not as educated as she is, or who is outside the social class of the girl. So it is non-traditional for an Indian couple to meet and marry, though they are of different social castes and have different educational backgrounds.

Traditional & Non-Traditional Cultures in the United States

The traditional culture in the U.S. is based on religion, education, family and community. As far as religion, Americans participate in a wide variety of faith-based organizations. Protestants, Roman Catholics, Evangelical, Mormons and other Christian religions account for 78.4% of believers; also in American there are Jews, Buddhists, and other faiths (PEW Forum on Religion and Public Life). A non-traditional culture in America is marriage between same-sex couples. Only recently have several states (New York, Iowa, New Hampshire, among 8 others) sanctioned same-sex marriage, so it is still very controversial and non-traditional.

The Role of Governments in the U.S. & India Regarding Culture