Home > C Words > cultural pluralism

cultural pluralism

Definition of Cultural Pluralism

(noun) A mixing of different cultures in which each culture retains its own unique identity, often referred to as the “salad bowl.”

Example of Cultural Pluralism

Cultural Pluralism Pronunciation

Pronunciation Usage Guide

Syllabification: cul·tur·al plu·ral·ism

Audio Pronunciation

– American English
– British English

Phonetic Spelling

  • American English – /kUHl-chuhr-ruhl plUR-uh-liz-uhm/
  • British English – /kUHl-chuh-ruhl plUUH-ruh-li-zuhm/

International Phonetic Alphabet

  • American English – /ˈkʌlʧərəl ˈplʊrəˌlɪzəm/
  • British English – /ˈkʌlʧərəl ˈplʊərəlɪzm/

Usage Notes

  • Plural: cultural pluralisms
  • Cultural pluralistic areas and residents are integrated into society, such as immigrants learning the language, laws, and mores of their new home.
  • A (noun) cultural pluralist advocates for a (adjective) cultural pluralistic world view.

Related Video

Additional Information

Related Terms


Works Consulted

Abercrombie, Nicholas, Stephen Hill, and Bryan Turner. 2006. The Penguin Dictionary of Sociology. 5th ed. London: Penguin.

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. 5th ed. 2011. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Jary, David, and Julia Jary. 2000. Collins Dictionary of Sociology. 3rd ed. Glasgow, Scotland: HarperCollins.

Macmillan. (N.d.) Macmillan Dictionary. (https://www.macmillandictionary.com/).

O’Leary, Zina. 2007. The Social Science Jargon Buster: The Key Terms You Need to Know. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

Oxford University Press. (N.d.) Oxford Dictionaries. (https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/).

Princeton University. 2010. WordNet. (https://wordnet.princeton.edu/).

Ravelli, Bruce, and Michelle Webber. 2016. Exploring Sociology: A Canadian Perspective. 3rd ed. Toronto: Pearson.

Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. (https://en.wikipedia.org/).

Cite the Definition of Cultural Pluralism

ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2015. “cultural pluralism.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved March 29, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/cultural-pluralism/).

APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)

cultural pluralism. (2015). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/cultural-pluralism/

Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2015. “cultural pluralism.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed March 29, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/cultural-pluralism/.

MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)

“cultural pluralism.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2015. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/cultural-pluralism/>.