Worldview
A Brief Introduction
to the Concept
A General Definition
A “Worldview” is the comprehensive
set of beliefs, knowledge, values,
assumptions, attitudes, and opinions
that serve as a lense through which a
particular social group sees,
interprets, and makes sense of the
world in which it lives.
One View
Some Components
of a Worldview
• Ontology: beliefs that group members hold about the nature and
reality of the physical, mental, and spiritual realms.
• Epistemology: the dominant or preferred ways of knowing among
most of the group’s members
• Theology: the group’s beliefs about the nature of god(s), its powers,
and its role in human life
• Cosmology: the group’s beliefs about the origins, the nature, the
history, and the future directions of the universe, as well as the place
of humans within that scheme
• Values: goup beliefs about what is important in life, what is to
persued, obtained, protected, cherished
• Ethics: group beliefs about right and wrong or good and bad behavior.
Rigoberta
Menchú
What insights did Rigoberta
Menchú provide us into
the worldview of
K'iche’Mayan people
living in the highlands of
Guatemala?
Culture: A related concept
Worldview
Culture
Culture
Worldview
Culture: A related concept
Worldview
Beliefs
Values
Assumptions
Attitudes
Culture
Patterns in how
people live.
The
Worldview
Project
I.
Form a 4 or 5-person team
II. Select a group to explore
III. Conduct research
IV. Prepare a multimedia
PowerPoint presentation
V. Deliver the presentation
to the class
Selecting a Group to Study
• Select a “living” group whose worldview is held by
real people today.
• Choose a group whose worldview is different than
those held by your group members.
• Select a group in which all of your team members
have some degree of genuine interest.
• Take your time in considering the alternatives until
consensus is reached.
• Consult with me before making your final decision.
Selecting a Group to Study
Indigenous Culture Groups
• Maya of Guatemala
• Inuit of Alaska or the Arctic
• Hutu, Tutsi, or Maasai of Africa
• Maori of New Zealand
• Romani or Roma (Gypsies) of central Europe
• Asmat of Papua New Guinea
• Mixtec or Zapotec of Oaxaca, Mexico
Selecting a Group to Study
Religious Groups
(In which “religion”has a profound influence on its
members’ belief system and lifestyle.)
• Hasidic Judaism
• Amish
• Radical Islam
• The Unification Church (Moonies)
• Hare Krishnas
• Wicca
Selecting a Group to Study
Spiritual Movement Groups
• New Age
• Falun Gong
• Kabbalah
• Scientology
Focus of Your
Research and Presentation
A. Background and Context
1. Provide a very brief historical sketch for the group.
2. Map the place or places in the world where the group
resides.
3. Show what members of the group look like.
4. Provide some demographic information on the group.
Focus of Your
Research and Presentation
B. Key Beliefs that Comprise the Group’s Worldview
• Ontological beliefs
• Epistemological beliefs
• Religious or spiritual beliefs
• Ethical teachings
• Core values
• Social beliefs
• Beliefs about the group’s relationship to the larger
•
society.
Other elements necessary to understand the group’s
worldview
Focus of Your
Research and Presentation
C. Cultural Patterns
Are there any cultural patterns that characterize the group and help to
understand it?

Rural-agrarian or urban-industrial

Poverty or wealth

Low formal education or high formal education

Minority status or majority status

History of being oppressed or oppressing others

Segregated from or integrated within the wider society

Other factors
Focus of Your
Research and Presentation
D. Current Concerns, Issues, and Challenges
The world is in the process of widespread and rapid change, and all
worldviews are faced with the challenges of advocating for,
accepting, adapting to, incorporating, resisting, or rejecting these
changes, or some combination of these responses.
How is your group dealing with these challenges? What are their
concerns? What events or developments or pressures have their
attention? How are they responding?
Focus of Your
Research and Presentation
E. E-Bibliography

Conclude your Power Point presentation with an electronic bibliography
of at least 10 reseources that you feel are helpful in understanding this
group and its worldview.
 At least some of these bibliographic resources
should be ones that were created or produced by
persons who were or are, themselves, members
of the group you have studied.
Presentation Guidelines
• Your group will have 30
minutes for your presentation.
• All group members should
play a meaningful role in
delivering your presentation.
• Have the organization and
flow of your presentation well
planned in advance.
• When speaking, make good
eye contact with your
audience. Try not to “read”
from notes or from slides.
Multimedia Presentation
 Oral lectures
 PowerPoint slides
 Visual images
 Videos
 Music
 Web sites
 Charts, graphs, maps
 Artifacts or objects
Relevant Dates
Group Work Time
• April 03
• April 15
• April 24
Presentations