Multiculturalism

Multiculturalism refers to a policy with its attending practices regarding the coexistence of many ethnocultural groups in a plural society, as well as the normative beliefs that characterize how the relationships should be among the groups. Because the term has been used in many different ways, a single, all-embracing definition is difficult to formulate. The preceding definition tries to capture four ways in which the term has been used, namely (1) as a demographic reality involving the living together of different ethnocultural groups; (2) as beliefs and attitudes toward how the relationships among people of different cultural backgrounds should be lived and conducted within the society; (3) as a policy on how to accommodate and manage the [Page 504]different ethnocultural groups within the society, and ...