Sergio Lopez-Peralta

COMM 2150-425
Professor Ashley Givens
Project #1
Overview
I had the opportunity to attend a religious function for a group of individuals who
do not hold to a specific set of sects teachings. Instead, they meet often at the homes of
the members of their religious group and discuss doctrine and values they hold as
important. I had the privilege and opportunity to be a part of one of their weekly meetings
and participate in their cultural rituals. Members of the group made it easy and
comfortable for me to participate in discussing experiences with them that were important
to them. I found it interesting that through the use of Kluckholm and Strodbecks value
theory I was able to identify a similarity in our religious value system. This has helped
me evaluate my own personal paradigm and given me a fresh perspective on the way I
view/evaluate the world.
Religion
The religion who hosted the even that I attended did not declare their religion to
be of any specific sect of Christianity. The term they used to describe the core belief
system of their religious group was Pentecostal by experience, Apostolic by doctrine,
both of these sects a part of the core Christian belief system. (Garcia & Guijosa, 2016)
Merriam Webster defines Christianity as the religion that is based on the teachings of
Jesus Christ. (Merriam-Webster, n.d.)
After researching each sect used to describe this religious group, both sects adhere
to similar beliefs regarding doctrine; this being defined as, a set of ideas or beliefs that
are taught or believed to be true. (Merriam-Webster, n.d.) These values include faith,
hope, love, God, righteousness, salvation, adherence to Gods word, honesty, and fidelity.

Sergio Lopez-Peralta
COMM 2150-425
Professor Ashley Givens
Project #1
All core teachings and doctrine are derived from the book of scripture, or holy writ,
known as The Holy Bible. Much of the core value system comes from the commonly
used philosophical term known as The Golden Rule, Do unto others as you would have
them do unto you. (Puka 2016) Which is the belief that one should take actions that they
would be comfortable with if someone else were to do them, either to themselves, or
others.
Religious or Cultural Function
This religious group gathers every Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday evening for 2-3
hours at a time. The setting is more informal than what I am used to; this is based in
comparison to my won experience as a member of the LDS faith. The religious group
gathers at the home of a member, rotating, in an effort to add variety. A member of the
group, Carlos, mentioned the reasoning behind this was to follow the same pattern listed
in The Book of Acts in the Bible; where groups of followers of Christ would gather
together at the homes of members of the congregation.
The meeting went as follows: Dinner was first, after the food they begin by
singing songs praising God. After this they began to go around the room and have each
individual share an experience or scripture that came to mind. This was an interesting
experience, as the youngest of members (6) to the oldest, shared a personal experience or
scripture. After this they all stood and prayed at the same time to signal the end of the
meeting.
The individuals were sincere in their efforts to help those who visited feel
comfortable in the home. Conversations during dinnertime were regarding things not

Sergio Lopez-Peralta
COMM 2150-425
Professor Ashley Givens
Project #1
relevant to religious views or values. Much of the time was spent getting to know each
other, sharing employment experiences, or discussing sports and shows recently on air.
The time was well spent conversing regarding
Value Theory
It was hard to decide on which Value Theory to use when evaluating this religious
function. Hofstedes approach to understanding a cultural environment could be applied
to this experience. The value orientation by Kluckholm and Strodbeck can also be use to
analyze the culture of the religious function. I will use Kluckholms and Strodbecks
approach in this evaluation.
Kluckholm and Strodbeck in the 1950s suggested that members of all cultural groups
must answer the following important questions:

What is human nature?

What is the relationship between humans and nature?
What is the relationship between humans?
What is the preferred personality?
What is the orientation toward time?

Kluckholm and Strodbeck believed that, although all responses are possible in all
societies, each society has one, or possibly two, preferred responses to each question that
reflect the predominant values of the society (Martin & Nakayama, 2013)
Analysis
My analysis will use Kluckholm and Strodbecks value theory. Much of the
discussion during my experience has been chief in me focusing on one major question
using this model. What is the relationship between humans?

Sergio Lopez-Peralta
COMM 2150-425
Professor Ashley Givens
Project #1
What is the relationship between humans? When each individual shared an
experience, from the youngest to the oldest each of them mentioned they were thankful
for the blessings God have provided for them in this life. There was a common theme in
each of the comments made which involved how thankful they were for their family.
Carlos, who seemed to be the one who held a leadership role amongst the group, shared a
powerful statement with the group regarding the importance of the family in our life.
Nothing is more important than the role each of us play in the family in which we are a
part of (Garcia & Guijosa, 2016) The answer to this question is the fact that all of us
play an important role in the relationship we build with others, in particular the one in the
family. This was particularly interesting as this is also a held value in the religious
organization I am a part of.
Reflection
This assignment was insightful. I felt excited with the opportunity to be able to
attend another religious function other than my own. I learned there are similarities in
values across religious organizations. Similarities could be found within the core values
of the religious group I investigated when compared to the values of my own religious
organization. At first, my intention was to sit and study this religious group when
attending the event. Yet I found myself fully immersed in their way of thinking and
culture as I participated in their cultural rituals. I found that a strongly held value, the
important of family, was something similar to my won value system.
The application of theory helped me better draw those similarities between value
systems of their religious group and my own religious beliefs. Using this helped me

Sergio Lopez-Peralta
COMM 2150-425
Professor Ashley Givens
Project #1
better remove myself from the evaluation of the core values and remove bias or judgment
on my part. A question that was presented as part of this assignment was the following.
How can you incorporate what you learned in your project in future classes, in your
career and in your life? In answer to this I would say that this assignment has helped
shift my own personal paradigm. It has helped me changed the lens through which I see
the world. As one who adheres to religious values, I found myself previously making rash
judgments about the amount of effort other religious groups put into making an objective
evaluation of their own value system. In participating in this project I have found that I
could make a better effort to see the world through the lens of other individuals with an
understanding that each of them is a part of different cultural groups than I am which
influences their paradigm. I already find myself making an evaluation of the cultural
systems at my employment and incorporating an understanding of communication and
culture in my everyday interaction with direct reports, supervisors, and colleagues.

Sergio Lopez-Peralta
COMM 2150-425
Professor Ashley Givens
Project #1
References
Garcia, C., & Guijosa, C. (2016, March 30). Project #1 Interview [Personal interview]
(Sergio Lopez-Peralta).
Martin, J. N., & Nakayama, T. K. (2013). Intercultural Communication in Contexts Sixth
Edition. New York, New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Christianity. Retrieved April 01, 2016, from
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Christianity
Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Doctrine. Retrieved April 01, 2016, from http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/doctrine
Puka, B. (2016). Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved April 01, 2016, from
http://www.iep.utm.edu/goldrule/