Beliefs, Ideologies, Values, and Norms in Society
Beliefs and Ideologies
When we speak of all the ideas in a society’s culture, we’re talking about the system of beliefs and values shared by most members. This includes both concepts of how things are and how they should be (values that lead to beliefs). These issues are intertwined. All ideas encompass technical and instrumental knowledge—the techniques, procedures, and tools used to achieve a goal. Some expertise requires instruments, while others don’t. Techniques are more important than tools because they represent socially learned knowledge applied to tools. Techniques (carpentry, medicine, etc.) have a specific purpose and are considered effective within a cultural context.
Expertise is always linked to a society’s belief system, and instrumental and expressive aspects are inseparable. Each culture provides its individuals with explicit or implicit answers to fundamental questions about the world, humanity’s place in it, and relationships between individuals. This leads us to the complex world of beliefs—our ideas about the nature of the cosmos, the role of humans, and interpersonal relationships.
The Nature of Beliefs
Beliefs are ideas about reality, developed and transmitted socially. Some are specific, relating to aspects of the world or actions. These form domains like power, authority, and kinship. Other beliefs address the relationships between these domains, such as the connection between religions and cosmological myths.
Within a culture, beliefs tend to form a coherent and mutually reinforcing system. Every culture has a belief system—a set of ordered propositions about the world. This coherence doesn’t mean there are no contradictions; belief systems aren’t always uniformly integrated. However, there’s a trend toward internal consistency.
Ideology and Its Role
Some beliefs, accepted by the vast majority, constitute ideology. Beliefs held by a subset of society are subcultural, while those held by individuals are aspects of personality. While “ideology” is often used pejoratively to describe extremist views, it has a broader, neutral meaning in the social sciences.
Ideology is the part of culture concerned with establishing and defending patterns of belief and value. It’s a cultural system, just like science and religion. Each system provides information about social situations, but from different perspectives. Ideology conveys the magnitude of an event, science offers a critical diagnosis, and religion provides a transcendent, salvation-focused dimension. The same social fact can be viewed through these coexisting lenses.
Many people navigate life with a vague ideology, not because they lack values or beliefs, but because their ideology is implicit in their social roles and institutions. Systematic ideologies emerge during times of tension and conflict when established norms are questioned, and there’s a lack of guiding models. Ideologies aren’t random; they reflect a culture’s patterns of expression.
Values and Their Influence
Ideas, expressing beliefs, are closely tied to values. Beliefs dictate what is, while values dictate what should be. Values are relational—they are values for someone. They represent conceptions of the desirable that influence individual behavior.
Values are not objective qualities like size or color. They are subjective and diverse, reflecting the vast range of human desires. Humans are not indifferent to the world; they constantly evaluate objects, actions, and people as good or bad, true or false, based on their values. Values serve as criteria for selecting actions and judging ourselves and others.
Not all values hold the same importance across cultures. What’s paramount in one society might be insignificant in another. Values are mental states, not objects. They are patterns of desirability that transcend specific moments.
Social Norms and Their Categories
When discussing values, we refer to those that are institutionalized and widely shared. These include ethical and aesthetic values that characterize a sociocultural system. Values are the ideals or standards that define our purpose, guide our actions, and shape our judgments.
Alongside values are social norms—rules that govern behavior. Norms specify what individuals should or should not do in specific circumstances. They can be categorized into four main groups:
Types of Social Norms:
- Popular Uses: Conventional behaviors considered appropriate but not mandatory.
- Customs: Rules or institutions with strong ethical and moral implications. Violations are met with social penalties.
- Habits: Practices established over time and accepted as appropriate. They are sanctioned by tradition and enforced by group pressure.
- Laws: Rules established by political authorities and enforced by the state (courts, police, etc.).
Social norms, like beliefs and ideologies, tend to form a coherent system, though inconsistencies can arise. They provide a framework for acceptable behavior within a society.