Culture Definition

Culture is a term that refers to a large and diverse set of mostly intangible aspects
of social life. According to sociologists, culture consists of the values, beliefs,

systems of language, communication, and practices that people share in common
and that can be used to define them as a collective. Culture also includes the
material objects that are common to that group or society. Culture is distinct
from social structure and economic aspects of society, but it is connected to them
—both continuously informing them and being informed by them.
How Sociologists Define Culture

Culture is one of the most important concepts within sociology because
sociologists recognize that it plays a crucial role in our social lives. It is important
for shaping social relationships, maintaining and challenging social order,
determining how we make sense of the world and our place in it, and in shaping
our everyday actions and experiences in society. It is composed of both non-
material and material things.
In brief, sociologists define the non-material aspects of culture as the values and
beliefs, language, communication, and practices that are shared in common by a
group of people. Expanding on these categories, culture is made up of our
knowledge, common sense, assumptions, and expectations. It is also the rules,
norms, laws, and morals that govern society; the words we use as well as how we
speak and write them (what sociologists call "discourse"); and the symbols we use
to express meaning, ideas, and concepts (like traffic signs and emojis, for
example). Culture is also what we do and how we behave and perform (for
example, theater and dance). It informs and is encapsulated in how we walk, sit,
carry our bodies, and interact with others; how we behave depending on the
place, time, and "audience;" and how we express identities of race, class, gender,
and sexuality, among others. Culture also includes the collective practices we
participate in, such as religious ceremonies, the celebration of secular holidays,
and attending sporting events.
Material culture is composed of the things that humans make and use. This
aspect of culture includes a wide variety of things, from buildings, technological
gadgets, and clothing, to film, music, literature, and art, among others. Aspects of
material culture are more commonly referred to as cultural products.
Sociologists see the two sides of culture—the material and non-material—as

intimately connected. Material culture emerges from and is shaped by the non-
material aspects of culture. In other words, what we value, believe, and know
(and what we do together in everyday life) influences the things that we make.
But it is not a one-way relationship between material and non-material culture.
Material culture can also influence the non-material aspects of culture. For
example, a powerful documentary film (an aspect of material culture) might
change people’s attitudes and beliefs (i.e. non-material culture). This is why
cultural products tend to follow patterns. What has come before in terms of
music, film, television, and art, for example, influences the values, beliefs, and
expectations of those who interact with them, which then, in turn, influence the
creation of additional cultural products.
Why Culture Matters to Sociologists

Culture is important to sociologists because it plays a significant and important
role in the production of social order. The social order refers to the stability of
society based on the collective agreement to rules and norms that allow us to
cooperate, function as a society, and live together (ideally) in peace and harmony.
For sociologists, there are both good and bad aspects of social order.
Rooted in the theory of classical French sociologist Émile Durkheim, both

material and non-material aspects of culture are valuable in that they hold society
together. The values, beliefs, morals, communication, and practices that we share
in common provide us with a shared sense of purpose and a valuable collective
identity. Durkheim revealed through his research that when people come
together to participate in rituals, they reaffirm the culture they hold in common,
and in doing so, strengthen the social ties that bind them together. Today,
sociologists see this important social phenomenon happening not only in
religious rituals and celebrations like (some) weddings and the Indian festival of
Holi but also in secular ones—such as high school dances and widely-attended,
televised sporting events (for example, the Super Bowl and March Madness).
Famous Prussian social theorist and activist Karl Marx established the critical

approach to culture in the social sciences. According to Marx, it is in the realm of
non-material culture that a minority is able to maintain unjust power over the
majority. He reasoned that subscribing to mainstream values, norms, and beliefs
keep people invested in unequal social systems that do not work in their best
interests, but rather, benefit the powerful minority. Sociologists today see Marx's
theory in action in the way that most people in capitalist societies buy into the
belief that success comes from hard work and dedication, and that anyone can
live a good life if they do these things—despite the reality that a job which pays a
living wage is increasingly hard to come by.1
Both theorists were right about the role that culture plays in society, but neither
was exclusively right. Culture can be a force for oppression and domination, but it
can also be a force for creativity, resistance, and liberation. It is also a deeply
important aspect of human social life and social organization. Without it, we
would not have relationships or society.

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Culture is a term that refers to a large and diverse set of mostly intangible aspects

of social life. According to sociologists, culture consists of the values, beliefs,

How Sociologists Define Culture

Sociologists see the two sides of culture—the material and non-material—as

Why Culture Matters to Sociologists

Rooted in the theory of classical French sociologist Émile Durkheim, both

Famous Prussian social theorist and activist Karl Marx established the critical

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