What is cultural relativism?

• A. Cultural relativism is evaluating a culture on its own terms without bias; it helps avoid ethnocentrism and allows meaningful comparison.
• B. Cultural relativism is judging cultures using one's own standards.
• C. Cultural relativism is a type of norm.
• D. Cultural relativism is a form of sanction.

Answer: (B)

Cultural relativism is the idea that beliefs, values, and practices should be understood within the context of the culture in which they occur, not judged by someone else’s standards. It means looking at customs from the inside—asking why a practice exists, what function it serves, and how it fits with other beliefs in that society. This approach helps avoid ethnocentrism, the tendency to compare cultures using one’s own norms as the baseline, which can distort understanding. By focusing on how a practice makes sense within its own cultural system, we can compare different societies more fairly and gain genuine insights into why people act the way they do.