Weblog: Jennie Douglas @ Wren Consulting

A passion for culture January 25, 2011

Lately, I’ve realized that I have a real passion for culture. I travel to experience new cultures. I look for the cultures in teams and organizations I work with.

But what is culture, and why is it so compelling to some of us?

Wikipedia’s page on culture (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture) points out early on that there are many definitions. My focus is on experiencing the integrated patterns of beliefs/behavior, and shared attitudes/values/goals/practices.

Let me give you an example of a cultural observation that I find really compelling:

In the past couple of years, I’ve visited Nepal and Siberia, and experienced a new cultural pattern for integrating religious beliefs. My experience before going to Siberia (2009) was that people choose one religion or church, or they remain ambivalent or decide against the religion. In Siberia, I worked with people who were able to integrate ideas and practices from the Russian Orthodox church, Tibetan Buddhism, and shamanism. They didn’t seem to feel the need to choose one over the other; they could apply ideas to a situation from any or all three. In Nepal, I learned that most people practice Hindu, Buddhism, and shamanism.

I found it so interesting that the Nepalese (and Siberians) didn’t seem to think they had to choose one religion. It’s a different construct, a shared view that it’s ok to be Hindi and Buddhist.

Behind the religions is a caste system in Nepal, along with many ethnic groups. Today, the young people are hoping that they can change this and focus only on ethnicity, removing the caste system. Locals told me this when we were sitting around the fireplace at night in the mountains. They are hoping to create a new culture.