Abstract The cultural context for the Armenian person is the result of upholding and defending a way of life and values that have been maintained for centuries, for perhaps two thousand years. For that reason, although Armenians living in the United States today come from a variety of countries of origin, and may to some extent speak different dialects or even different languages, yet they have many cultural similarities due to centuries of commonality. The cultural similarities among the Armenians can be seen mainly in three different areas: Spirituality, historicity, and family. Spirituality refers to the perspective of that which is valued in life, and that which must to be upheld and defended under any and all circumstances, regardless of the social environment and surrounding conditions. Historicity refers to that which has been traditionally done, the ‘Armenian way of life,’ – both that which is important and perhaps not as important. Whereas spirituality may refer more to ‘content,’ the important values in life, historicity refers more to the living ‘process,’ how the important values in life are attained. Family on the other hand is the everyday living environment within which spirituality and historicity are applied and lived out. ‘Family’ in the Armenian community refers to more than the family of origin or the nuclear family. Instead, it includes both of these along with all of the extended family and even the small surrounding community. These family ties are much more important and influential in the decision making process than would initially appear, therefore, they must be acknowledged and understood. All Armenians may not uphold the same spirituality, historicity, and family values, however, they would still approach life’s decisions based on these cultural categories. The Armenians living in the United States, especially those who live in large communities tend to discover opposing trends between the culture in which they were brought up, and those of the dominant culture in which they have to live, work, interface, and survive. Working at the Berjikian Law Firm Vicken Berjikian established the Berjikian law firm in 1983, as a criminal defense and personal injury firm. In the past 17 years the Berjikian Law firm has grown to become established and well known in the Armenian community. The... ... middle of paper ... ...h out and help persons and families. All these lead to better and higher quality, as well as more timely services to clients, and a sense of satisfaction for both the client and the professional. The relationship between the Armenian client and the legal professional is a complex one. It is full of issues that go beyond giving them legal advice or filing a law suit on their behalf, it includes issues relating to a person’s cultural context. In fact, generally the actual legal issues sometimes become secondary, or at least not as central in the person’s priorities. At the beginning, such a relationship can cause great frustration and waste of time in the legal professional’s attempt to provide the appropriate service. Eventually, these communication issues can cause delays in providing professional service, and lead to extra unnecessary legal expenses. The correct understanding of a client’s cultural situation by the legal professional can lead to a higher quality of service, and lower costs. As difficult and complicated as this situation may sound, it is still not impossible. In fact, most experienced professionals learn over the years to relate to the Armenian culture.
There are many different types of spirituality such as believing in oneself, transcendent forces, or other people. Many authors define spirituality differently, according to Merriam-Webster Online dictionary(2013) spirituality is defined as the quality or state of being concerned with religion or the quality or state of being spiritual. As nurses, we know that spirituality and religion are not the same and one can be spiritual without being religious. When we encounter clients who have borderline personaliti...
The United States is an immense country, with many residents and citizens descending from immigrants who have influenced many customs, traditions, behaviors and ways of life. Unlike many old world nations, the United States does not have a homogenous population or a traditional homeland. However, American culture can be interpreted as being largely based in Western Europe with influences from the Native Indians, Africans, Asians, and elsewhere.
Melhem et al (2016) define spirituality as an “abstract, subjective, and complex term, whose definition varies between individuals, philosophies, and cultures” and has “many subjective meanings” (p.43). I have learned from many friends who view themselves as spiritual, but don’t follow any particular religion, that spiritualty has allowed them to find meaning and balance in their life. Many feel that all individuals have the capacity to be spiritual, but I haven’t felt the need to tune into this concept thus far in my life. I would tell you where I find meaning and balance in my life, but I don’t even fully know that answer myself. Spirituality is such a new concept for me, and I find it hard to wrap my head around the ways in which I may be able to view or understand it. Therefore, it is something I hope to explore as I mature and continue to understand who I am as a person in this
Religion has 7 core attributes that allow someone to call it a religion, these include Narrative, Doctrine, Emotional, Material, Ethical, Ritual and Social. These seven attributes help individuals identify what can be classified as a “religion”, however spirituality has no “easy way” to identifying it. Spirituality can be found within the individual looking for their “meaning” but not physically expressed.
.... Each day your will leave a lasting impression on the people you interact with. By providing care and communicating with your patients, you will foster not only trust but also you will heal not only your patients’ bodies but their minds too. The sense of gratification felt from such service is unparalleled.
Worthington et. al. (2011) says historically, religiousness involved individual and institutional elements; however, now spirituality is thought of as an individual phenomenon and linked with meaningfulness, New Age beliefs, and personal transcendence. Additionally, spirituality is described in personal terms like one’s relationship with God, and as a result, spirituality is more highly regarded than religion. The authors define spirituality as a feeling of closeness and having a relationship or dedication to God or a higher power; this can be a religious experience or a nonreligious one. They state that what one considers sacred is usually related to the awareness of social influences. According to the authors, four types of spirituality have been identified based on closeness to God. First, is religious spirituality. Religious spirituality’s connectedness to God is based on one’s specific denomination and the closeness is specific to the deity identified. Second is humanistic spirituality. Humanistic spirituality involves closeness to humans. This type of spirituality fosters a loving connection with a specific group of people and a sense of selflessness and concern
Spirituality and religion are two things that embody each other in many ways. These tenets have been around since the beginning of man. The practice of spirituality or religion takes place in almost everyone’s life at one time or another. Pope Francis at Apostolic Palace 00120, Vatican City, is the top religious leader of the day. Dalai Lama of Thekchen Complex, Teapc Road, P. O. Mcleadgani, Hemachal Pradesh, India, is the top spiritual leader. People need spirituality and religion in their lives for structure, enlightenment, joy, and happiness. These faiths are sometimes mistaken for the same thing, but spirituality and religion have very different meanings. Spirituality is the best way to practice a faith based way of life.
In order to understand American culture, one must have knowledge of the history and the tradition of the country. America was seen as a land of opportunity, and people from all over the world settled in American and adopted its culture. Each immigrant has brought some of its homeland culture and incorporates with the culture of the American people; others have created a barrier and never advanced o...
The Armenians are a group of people that originated from tribes in the Armenian highlands around 10,00 B.C (1). In the 4th century they developed into a separate culture related to their religion which was christianity (1). Later on he Armenian civilization was controlled by the Ottoman Empire (1). The Empire consisted of many cultures and ethnic groups, but the Armenians were somewhat at the bottom of the social class. Because of the social minority, they were assigned to millets, or small communities based on religion and political views. (2) Within these millets, there were sets of rules and regulations that normally did not interfere with the big picture (1). Other ethnic groups in the Empire shared the same religion (Muslim) as the leaders of the Empire, who were Turkish. This promoted their social rank or status with the leaders. The Armenians had it differently. They were treated with less respect, and this started problems within the Empire.
According to dictionary.com culture is: “The integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that is both a result of an integral to the human capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations. Culture thus consists of language, ideas, beliefs, customs, taboos, codes, institutions, tools, techniques, and works of art, rituals, ceremonies, and symbols.” Keeping this definition in mind it is quite easy to recognize the differences between Afghanistan culture and the culture of the United States. Additionally the amount of cultural stress that both main characters must have encountered when they relocated from Afghanistan to the United States. This essay will examine the cultural stress and differences that the character Baba went through with his relocation from Afghanistan to the United States.
The Armenians existed for years as a Christian minority within the Ottoman Empire. They were treated as second class citizens living in a largely Muslim Empire and for the most part were tolerated as such. However, after the French Revolution the Armenians became infected with the ideas of equal rights and justice and began to exert pressure for such rights.
Ethnic Armenians have resided in the Middle Eastern region of the world since approximately 3500 BC. Armenians lived and still live in many Middle Eastern countries such as Armenia, Turkey, Syria, Iran, Azerbaijan, and the republic of Georgia. Armenians have their own language and alphabet and have a very unique culture, which has set them apart from other countries and ethnic groups. In 300 AD, there was not a single nation who had Christianity as their national religion. “Following the advent of Christianity, Armenia became the very first nation to accept it as the state religion.” Armenian pride in their culture and way of life never wavered, even throughout being conquered by different nations. Armenian lands were taken over by many different nations on several different occasions, but they finally ended up in the Ottoman Empire in the 1500s, when ...
In his book, Spirituality and Prayer, Kevin defines spirituality as a movement that entails the coming to know God by humans and their response to God. This suggests a calling by one party, God, and the responding of another party, Human beings, which ends up into a relationship. A Relationship, among human beings, is a sort of significant connection between two or more parties. This involvement with one another could be emotional. In other words, human relations involve dealings, associations, affairs, contact and even interactions. With this in mind one can more or less easily build a relationship with God that can be referred to as a spirituality. A spirituality is grounded in a specific understanding about God, about God’s relationship with the world and about the human person in that world.
A spirit is something that may be felt in the essence of the world but ultimately guides understanding into the meaning of life. Spirituality is often perceived in different ways by different cultures, religions, families, or even the individual. Often, the common theme that spirituality focuses on something greater than the physical world and allows people to feel connected to what it truly means to be a human on earth.
Currently Google defines spirituality as, "the quality of being concerned with the human spirit or soul as opposed to material or physical things." I find this definition of the word reflects the meaning of spirituality in general but lacks depth as to define what true spirituality is. Spirituality to me is giving over of