Be Inclusive Workshop
SOME WORKING DEFINITIONS[1]:
ANGLO pertains to English-rooted cultures; refers to a language group, not an ethnic identification.
BIGOTRY is an intensive and negative form of prejudice usually marked by fear, intolerance, hatred, or suspicion.
CROSS-CULTURALis the interaction, communication, or connection between people from two or more different cultures.
CULTURAL COMPETENCEis the ability to recognize and respond to varying aspects of cultural difference, and to remain thus engaged for the long term. It is a learned skill. Religious leaders and congregations that are rooted in the dominant culture will be better prepared for ministry in multicultural contexts if they are challenged to become culturally competent. Further, cultural competence is an integral skill for historically oppressed communities in responding to the effects of oppression on their communities.
CULTURAL IDENTITYis the part of each of us that relates to the cultural groups to which we belong, also referred to as social location. Any individual, in fact, encompasses multiple identities in that they relate to a variety of cultural groups, including race, ethnicity, gender, age cohort, nationality, sexual orientation, and so on.
CULTURE is the body of learned beliefs, traditions, behavior patterns, communication styles, concepts, values, institutions, and standards that are common shared among members of a particular group. These elements are socially transmitted to individuals, and individuals are expected to conform to them.
DIVERSITYrefers to difference among people or peoples reflected in a variety of cultural forms, including but not limited to race, ethnicity, age, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, class, health status, and so on.
DOMINANT CULTUREwithin the context of MCC refers to what is considered mainstream MCC culture; a culture that is Anglo, American, male, able-bodied, middle-aged, and gay/lesbian.
ETHNIC/ETHICITY refers to a people who share a group identity because of common racial, national, tribal, religious, linguistic, or cultural characteristics.
HISPANICor LATINA/LATINO refers to people of Spanish-speaking cultures of origin such as Mexican, Puerto Rican, Dominican, Central or South America and who are from a variety of racial groups.
HISTORICALLY OPPRESSED COMMUNITIES within the context of MCC include but are by no means limited to such groups as:
- Heterosexuals
- Young adults (18-30 years old)
- Older adults (over 65 years old)
- People of color
- People impacted by HIV/AIDS
- Women
- Trans* and gender nonconforming people
- People who have accessibility challenges
- People who live outside of the U.S.
- People who speak languages other than English
HOMOSEXUAL PRIVILEGE/HOMONORMATIVITYrefers to cultural, societal, and religious/theological systems that support the rights and privileges that homosexuals enjoy and heterosexual persons often do not. Examples of these privileges within MCC include the relative ease of “getting” the church’s social culture, primary (and sometimes exclusive) social justice focus on those human rights issues that directly impact Anglo lesbian and gay people, assumption that all people in MCC are or ought to be lesbian or gay, and the like.
INCLUSION/INCLUSIVITYis the fact, policy, and/or practice of not excluding; everyone is included. Inclusion is a sense of belonging: feeling respected, valued for who you are; feeling a level of supportive energy and commitment from others so than you can do your best work.”[2] Inclusion is a shift in organization culture. The process of inclusion engages each individual and makes people feeling valued essential to the success of the organization.
INTERNALIZED OPPRESSION is the response of a marginalized individual or group that reinforces the oppressor’s view of that individual or group. Because of the systemic nature of oppression and the fact that oppression is primarily about social power, people from historically oppressed communities are continually challenged by internalized oppression. For example, women struggle with internalized sexism, or a patriarchal view of their identity; people of African descent struggle with internalized racism; and lesbian, gay, and bisexual people struggle with internalized heterosexism.
MULTICULTURAL is the coexistence of a variety of distinct cultures within a given context. Technically, the term multiculturalism alone does not assume that a group or a congregation has worked to correct the power imbalance between diverse peoples in a given context.
OPPRESSION is the use of power by one group against another.
PEOPLE OF COLORis a collective term that includes people who are and/or are descendants of African, Asian, Caribbean, First Nations, and Latino peoples.
PLURALISM is a state where members of diverse groups maintain autonomous participation in both a common society and separate cultural groups.
POWER is the capacity to have control, authority, or influence over others. In the context of cultural competence and cultural awareness, social power refers to the capacity of the dominant culture to have control, authority, and influence over people from historically oppressed communities. Social power plus prejudice equals oppression.
PREJUDICE is a pre-judgment that is directed against others before one has all the facts. Prejudice can be positive or negative.
RACE is a social (rather than biological) construction based on differences in skin color and facial features imposed by Europeans in North America in order to justify colonization.
RACISM is the systematic oppression of one race by another. A shorthand definition for racism is prejudice + social power.
STEREOTYPE is an oversimplified and usually inaccurate belief about a group that is projected onto all members of that group.
WHITE is a political (rather than cultural) construct used to describe the racial identity of Europeans and people of European descent. It was first used in 17th century Virginia (U.S.) by upper-class persons (the numerical minority) in an effort to have lower-class “whites” identify with their group rather than with blacks or indigenous persons. Previously, legal documents referred to “ethnic” identities such as English, German, Dutch, African, and so on.
[1] These definitions are primarily based upon the work of Sheryl A. Kujawa-Holbrook in A House of Prayer for All Peoples, pages 13-16.
[2]From The Inclusion Breakthrough by Miller and Katz.