Missionary Ethnology Honor

Missionary & Community Activities

Requirements

1. Define culture and cultural diversity.

   Answer: Culture is the set of customs, values, beliefs, languages, art, and practices that a group of people shares. Cultural diversity is the coexistence of multiple different cultures within the same society — each one with its own identity, all living side by side. — The definition of culture includes both material elements (foods, clothing, art) and immaterial ones (languages, values, religion). Cultural diversity is a REALITY in the world — UNESCO declared in 2001 that it is the "common heritage of humanity".

2. Define stereotype and identify how you may have stereotyped someone in the past.

   Answer: 1) Stereotype: a simplified and generalized image that is formed about a group of people, attributing to ALL of them the same characteristics — often not even true (e.g.: "all Japanese are intelligent", "all northeasterners speak loudly"). It is a prior judgment that ignores the individuality of each person. 2) How you may have stereotyped someone in the past: reflect on situations in which you judged someone in advance by their appearance, origin, color, religion, or social class — for example, assuming that a classmate from another city or nationality would behave a certain way just because of the group they belong to, even before getting to know them. Recognizing these prejudgments helps to treat each person as an individual, with respect and without prejudice, as the gospel teaches. — Stereotypes are universal cognitive errors — everyone makes them, usually without realizing it. Recognizing this is the first step to overcoming it. The scientific literature (Tajfel, 1979) shows that we reduce people to categories as a mental shortcut, even when it is not fair.

3. Study the following biblical texts and answer the questions:
   • 1 Corinthians 9:20. How can this text explain the importance of the Christian having an awareness of cultural diversity?
   • Galatians 3:27. What does this text say about all those who are in the family of Christ?
   • Ephesians 2:14. What should be the result of accepting Christ Jesus into our lives? How do you intend to apply this message to your daily life?

   Answer: 1) 1 Corinthians 9:20: Paul says 'I became like a Jew to the Jews, to win the Jews', showing that he adapted to the culture of the people he wanted to reach. This text teaches that the Christian needs to be aware of cultural diversity: respecting the customs, language, and way of life of each people is essential to draw near to them and communicate the gospel in a sensitive and effective way, without imposing one's own culture. 2) Galatians 3:27: 'as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ'. Together with the following verse, it teaches that all who are in the family of Christ are ONE — there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female. Before God, ethnic, social, and cultural barriers dissolve, and all have the same value and dignity as children of God. 3) Ephesians 2:14: 'for he is our peace, who has made both peoples one, and has broken down the dividing wall of separation'. The result of accepting Christ is reconciliation and peace: He breaks down the walls of enmity and separation between people, uniting different peoples into one body. I can apply this message in daily life by treating everyone with respect and love, without prejudice of race, culture, or social condition, seeking to be an agent of peace, welcoming those who are different and bringing the love of Christ to people of every origin. — The three texts together teach: (1) the Christian adapts their approach culturally without compromising the faith, (2) in Christ all are equal regardless of origin, (3) Christ unites peoples who were previously separated. A biblical basis for welcoming all cultural diversity in the church.

4. Make a study of the life of any racial group or nationality other than your own, and with which you have the opportunity to come into contact. The goal is to acquire an understanding of and sympathy for their virtues, habits, shortcomings, and needs, and also to present them with the gospel. The following points should be observed in this study:
   • Its history in the country of origin, or in your country, if the settlement exceeds 100 years.
   • Its literature, with mention of the main writers and familiarity with the best examples of prose and verse.
   • Its social habits in the community and in the family; for example, whether they are reserved or whether they like to be in contact with other people, and what the family's customs are, and how it is governed.

   Answer: You must choose a cultural group different from your own (Japanese, indigenous, African, Italian, Arab, etc.) that lives near you or with which you have contact. — An in-depth study breaks down stereotypes because it replaces generalizations with facts. Choosing a group with which you have direct contact is strategic — you can interview real people from the culture, complementing the bibliographic study with lived experiences.

5. Interview a person whose citizenship or cultural roots (in the case of indigenous peoples) are different from your own. Ask the following questions:
   • What is the origin of your culture?
   • Which language is spoken?
   • Which religions stand out in society?
   • Which foods are normally consumed at:
   • How do eating habits influence society?
   • Are there cultural traditions that are different from those of our country? What are they?
   • Do the people of this culture celebrate the same holidays we celebrate? How do they celebrate the holidays that are different from ours?
   • What customs and traditions of the original culture have been kept by the family in this country?
   • Is their way of dressing different from that of our culture?
   • Identify at least 5 things (foods, customs, clothing, habits, etc.) that our culture has similar to that of the interviewee and at least 5 that are different. What is your attitude or feelings toward people of different cultures? How did these discoveries affect you? How do you feel about these differences?

   Answer: You must schedule an interview with someone from another culture/nationality. Prepare questions about: the origin of the culture, the language spoken, the dominant religions, typical foods and how they influence society, traditions and holidays, clothing, and identify 5 similarities + 5 differences with your culture. — Interviewing a real person is more transformative than reading books — you hear authentic stories and break down prejudices directly. The final reflection on your own feelings is what changes your perspective in the long term.

6. Compare your mother tongue with the mother tongue of the studied group. What is the origin of each one? Is there any similarity in grammatical structure? Learn to speak a few phrases in this language, acquiring a vocabulary of at least 100 words.

   Answer: Identify the language family of each language (e.g.: Portuguese = Latin/Romance; Japanese = isolated Japonic; Arabic = Semitic). Compare: alphabet (Latin, kanji, Arabic), grammatical structure (subject-verb-object vs subject-object-verb), grammatical gender, verb conjugation, loanwords between the two languages. — Languages have well-defined families: Indo-European (Portuguese, English, Hindi), Sino-Tibetan (Mandarin), Afro-Asiatic (Arabic, Hebrew), Niger-Congo (Swahili), etc. Comparing languages reveals historical influences: Portuguese has 800+ words of Arabic origin, a vestige of the Moorish occupation (711-1492).