..
|
The worldview or belief-conceptual
dimension of culture is a structure of ideas, sometimes contradictory,
that people have about the nature of the universe, the world around them,
their role in it, cause and effect, and the nature of time, matter, and
behaviour.
|
......
| This
dimension is sometimes thought to be the religion of the people. |
.
| It
is a wider category, and also includes atheistic beliefs, for example,
that man created God in his own image. |
.
| It
includes shared beliefs in how this universe came to be, how it operates,
and what is reality. |
.
.
| When
you drop a pencil onto the floor, you demonstrate your belief in gravity. |
.
| When
you say the sun comes up in the morning (it does not; the earth turns),
you express your world view. |
.
| If
you, the researcher or mobiliser, are seen to be some one who is attacking
the beliefs of the people, you will find your work hindered, opposition
to you and your goals, and failure. |
.
| Whether
or not you want to oppose local beliefs, you must be seen as respecting
and to be not wanting to change them. |
.
| In
the broad sweep of human existence, the general trend of change has been
for a decrease in the number of deities, and a reduction from sacred-profane
differences in space to secular space. |
.
| From
local polytheism with many gods, humans moved to a polytheism with fewer
gods, from that humans moved to monotheism (one god) and from there an
increase in the proportion of people who believe in no god. |
.
| In
humankind experience, it appears that those groups with local traditional
gods tend to be more tolerant of other gods than are the so-called "universal"
religions which each say they alone have the true answer. |
.
| Huge
wars have been fought over religions (an irony in that most religions call
for peace and tolerance), and this should be a warning to the researcher
or mobiliser about the extent to which people fervently hold their beliefs. |
.
| The
researcher or mobiliser must learn, study and be aware of what the prevailing
beliefs are in the community. |
.
| To
be an effective catalyst of social change, the animator must make suggestions
and promote actions which do not offend those prevailing beliefs, and which
are consistent with, or at least appropriate to, existing beliefs and concepts
of how the universe works. |
.
.. |
