What is culture? Traditions, inherited or learned patterns of behavior and belief. "Are all cultures equally valid?" A question posed by brother Williams in class. What exactly is the definition of valid? Valid means legally acceptable or well grounded in truth or logic. So I guess one could say that in it's specific geographic area where the culture is accepted, it is valid. However, many cultures may seem strange and even wrong to us. Does that make their culture invalid?
Because people are different at different times and in different places, there are many many different cultures. Some are normal to us. Others are strange and immoral. Those cultures that are immoral in our eyes may be completely normal in the eyes of the people living in them. Our culture may seem immoral to many people looking in from the outside.
I don't believe all cultures are equally valid. I don't even believe that everything about our own culture is valid. There are some things about all cultures that are valid and morally right, but there are also things that are wrong.
Marriage is often different in different cultures. In ours, cohabitation before marriage is becoming more normal, as is sex before marriage. The age at which many people in our culture marry is older than it used to be. In some cultures, marriages are arranged by the families of the young people. In some cultures it's normal for a young girl to marry an older man, in others, the couple is much closer to the same age.
All cultures mean something to the people who believe in them. Not all cultures are equally valid, but as long as what is happening in the culture isn't morally wrong, it's okay.
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