multiculturalism

n. Multiculturalism is an ideology advocating that a society or organization should allow 
and include distinct cultural groups with equal status. Multiculturalism stands in sharp contrast with the ideology of monoculturalism (normative cultural unity or homogeneity), which historically was the norm in the European nation-state. Although the term multiculturalism is typically used to acknowledge the presence of the distinct cultures of immigrant groups, sometimes it can also be applied to acknowledge the presence of indigenous peoples in colonized nations.

Multiculturalism should also be differentiated from ideologies such as “assimilation” (the belief that cultural minorities should abandon their original culture and adopt the majority culture) and “melting pot” (when all minority cultural groups “melt” and are combined so that they lose their discrete elements and identities and yield a final product of uniform cultural consistency). The terms cultural mosaic and salad bowl (when different cultures are combined but do not merge together or result in a homogeneous culture), on the other hand, are often used as synonyms of multiculturalism, although more specifically the former refers to the results yielded from multicultural ideology.

Multiculturalism has been formally adopted as an official policy in nations such as Canada, Australia, and the Netherlands, for reasons that vary from country to country. Multicultural policies influence the structures and decisions of governments to ensure that political and economic power and resources are allocated equitably to all the represented cultural groups. Examples of government-endorsed multicultural policies are dual citizenship; government support for media outlets (e.g., newspapers, television, radio) in the minority languages; support for cultural minority holidays, celebrations, and community centers; and acceptance of traditional and religious codes of dress and behavior in the public sphere (e.g., work, school). In the United States multiculturalism is not an official policy, although the government in recent years has moved toward acceptance of some multiculturalist policies (e.g., being able to take a driving exam in a number of languages, shaping of voting districts to facilitate proportional minority representation).

Multiculturalism is a controversial issue in some societies. Some political segments within the United States and some European nations view multiculturalism as a policy that undermines national unity, social integration, and even security. Conversely, the melting pot concept has also been greatly criticized as an idealized version of the assimilation process.  – VB-M

▶ See also ACCULTURATION, BICULTURAL IDENTITY, and BICULTURALISM