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The Non-Neutrality of Culture: How Religion Shapes Everyday Life from Belief to Practice
Md. Abu Bakkar
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DOI:10.17265/2328-2177/2026.07.002
Quepara J. C. Sen A & I Institution, Chattogram, Bangladesh
This paper critically examines the assumption that culture is a neutral and autonomous sphere of human life. Moving beyond reductive definitions that limit culture to artistic or performative expression, it conceptualizes culture as a structured system of meaning embedded in everyday social practices. Drawing on anthropological and sociological perspectives, the study argues that cultural forms are shaped by underlying belief systems, with religion serving as a significant organizing force. Using food habits and dress practices as key examples, the paper demonstrates how religious frameworks influence behavior, establish moral boundaries, and construct collective identities. Dietary rules and clothing norms are interpreted not as isolated customs but as manifestations of broader systems of meaning that translate belief into daily practice. The analysis further explores the relationship between culture and power, arguing that cultural imposition is inherently non-neutral because it extends particular value systems often presented as universal. The paper also critiques the claim that culture can be separated from religion, suggesting that such separation frequently replaces religion with alternative ideological frameworks. By engaging debates on secularism, agency, and globalization, the study presents culture as dynamic yet structured and concludes that recognizing its non-neutrality is essential for critically understanding cultural diversity.
cultural non-neutrality, religion and culture, belief systems, everyday practices, food culture, dress norms, habitus, cultural identity, secularism, cultural imposition, lived religion, power and culture
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