The document outlines the seven key elements that are common to every culture: social organization, traditions and norms, language, arts and literature, religion, form of government, and economic system. It provides examples and brief descriptions of each element, such as how social organization includes families, friends, and social classes based on factors like money, occupation, and education. The document also distinguishes between traditional and market economic systems.

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Elements of Culture
Miss Thomas
CMHS 2A Summer Reading
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What is Culture?
 Anything and everything that makes up a person’s entire way of
life!
 7 Elements that are common to every culture
 Social Organization
 Traditions and Norms
 Language
 Arts and Literature
 Religion
 Form of Government
 Economic System
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Social Organization
 When a culture organizes its members into smaller groups
 Smaller groups in cultures include:
 Families
 Friends
 Religious groups
 Occupations/Trades
 Interest groups
 Social Classes—generally based on one or all of the following:
 Money
 Occupation
 Education
 Race
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Traditions and Norms
 Traditions:
 Rituals, Rites, Celebrations, Ceremonies
 Norms:
 The rules of culture that tell the members of a culture how they are
expected to behave in a given situation
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Language
 “Cornerstone of any culture.” Without language, a culture cannot
be maintained.
 Important for communication and for passing on traditions and
beliefs
 Communicates:
 rules
 stories
 histories
 myths
 legends
 jokes
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Arts and Literature
 Teach about a culture’s values
 Communicates norms
 Celebrates cultural heroes
 Helps develop cultural identity
 Promote cultural pride and unity
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Religion/Belief System
 Beliefs: what members of a culture hold to be true.
 The "facts" accepted by all or most members.
 Not limited to religious statements, but include all the things a people
know and accept as true, including common sense everyday knowledge.
 Collective social agreements produced during interaction. What is "true"
or "factual" for a given people is what they collectively agree to be true at
that point in time.
 Beliefs can and do change, especially in modern industrial societies
 Religion:
 Monotheistic: Belief in one deity
 Polytheistic: Belief in more than one deity
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Form of Government
 People form governments to provide for their common needs
 Laws and rules are based off of cultural norms
 Types:
 Democracy: people have supreme power
 Republic: people choose leaders to represent them
 Dictatorship: a ruler or group holds power by force
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Economic System
 How goods are acquired
 Form of currency
 Where wealth/money comes from
 Two Types:
 Traditional: people produce most of what they need to survive.
 Market: needs are met through buying/selling goods and
services
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