Cultural practice is the manifestation of a
culture
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these grou ...
or
sub-culture, especially in regard to the traditional and customary practices of a particular ethnic or other cultural groups.
The term is gaining in importance due to the increased controversy over "rights of cultural practice", which are protected in many jurisdictions for
indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
and sometimes ethnic minorities. It is also a major component of the field of
cultural studies, and is a primary focus of international works such as the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...
declaration of the rights of indigenous Peoples.
Cultural practice is also a subject of discussion in questions of cultural survival. If an ethnic group retains its formal ethnic identity but loses its core cultural practices or the knowledge, resources, or ability to continue them, questions arise as to whether the culture is able to actually survive at all. International bodies such as the
United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues continually work on these issues, which are increasingly at the forefront of
globalization
Globalization, or globalisation (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), see spelling differences), is the process of foreign relation ...
questions.
Examples
* Religious and spiritual practices
* Medical treatment practices
* Forms of artistic expression
* Dietary preferences and culinary practices
* Cultural institutions (see also
Cultural Institutions Studies
Cultural institutions studies (a translation of the German term ''Kulturbetriebslehre'') is an academic approach ''"which investigates activities in the cultural sector, conceived as historically evolved societal forms of organising the conception, ...
)
* Natural resource management
* Housing and construction
* Childcare practice