Japan Intercultural Institute

Are you a believer? 84% of the world’s population identifies with religion, yet intercultural education barely mentions the topic. In Part 1 of this two-part episode, Joseph Shaules and Ishita Ray explore the connection between culture and religion. We learn how culture shapes attitudes towards secular and religious values from: Sanne Bosma, Emre Seven, Torhild Liane Harr Skarnes, Luan Borges de Carvalho, and P. V Satyanarayana Raju. Religious studies scholar David Shaules argues that religion and culture are closely related, and that secular values do not magically make us neutral. In Part 2, we will hear the experiences of those navigating in and between religious and secular worldviews.

Joseph Shaules and Yvonne van der Pol explore why it can be so hard to talk about culture and measure cultural difference. They discuss three ways of looking at culture . . . as being, doing, and seeing. They discuss “classic” research into cultural difference (e.g. Hofstede) and argue that brain-mind sciences are shedding new light on cultural difference and can help us make better sense of our intercultural experiences.