Ray Feldman

Empire State College

Psycho-Social Impacts of Mass Disasters

Christianity integrated into American culture, and the influence that culture has on rebuilding after the 9/11 disaster

“The bricks have fallen down, but we will rebuild with dressed stone; the fig trees have been felled, but we will replace them with cedars”
~ Isaiah 9:10

Capt. Michael Dugan hangs an American flag from a light pole in front of what is left of the World Trade Center after it was destroyed in the September 11 attacks.

Culture is not something that can be directly attributed to genetic inheritance, it is an ideal within a society of people, a way of doing things, and overall a way of life. Culture is how humans classify and represent experiences that they have been apart of, and it evolves over time but usually always holds true to tradition in some aspect. Differences in culture are created in numerous way, but none more impactful than geography. Where society grows and develops is the most important aspect as to how they will develop their cultural identity. What other civilizations they come into contact with also have a large impact n the development of culture. The surroundings, the environment, the people in these places play a factor in how one feels about the culture that they wish to adopt. Environment can be a dictator in how a culture is developed, because environment is an everlasting factor that lives far beyond the length of humans. Ethnicity plays a role in culture, and ethnic diversity is created by geography, and ethnicity can create cultural values and functions of that culture.
Cultural differences are also created by differences in language and speech. Humans who can communicate with each other will create a culture based on similarities. Language develops from the wants of the people who tend to disperse themselves in a common given location over a particular period of time. This tends to allow people to share a way of life that generally links individuals in a certain culture that is identified by the people of that group. Communication is crucial in developing cultural ties in society. Society can have different cultures within it, because of differences such as language. (Holliday, A. 2010)
One of the biggest differences in culture is religion, which focuses on many aspects of a person’s life in society. Religion is far more serious in some cultures than in most others, which is why in some religious organizations burying the body is a must and cannot be over looked, while in some religions like Christianity, it is more of a spiritual outlook because the spirit of that person, their soul, has already left the body therefore the body does not have any spiritual value. When the body dies the soul moves on and that is why burying the body is not a complete necessity in some religions. According to the PDF provided in the written assignment area titled Sociocultural Aspects, humans are united by bonds, and death and mourning of the dead can form a bond that leads to cultural characteristics. “The beliefs with respect to an afterlife, relationships between the living and the dead, the desire to offer respect and honor the deceased, the mystery and the fear that surround the unknown, the change in routine, and the grief inherent in the death of a human being shape the funeral customs characteristic of a culture.” (Sociocultural Aspects) Emotion can control the destination a culture takes when they handle death and loss. Grief is expressed in a multitude of ways, and many different cultures have unique and distinguished forms of grief and care for the dead. For example, ancient Egyptians mummified the dead because of spiritual beliefs and they grief by burying the corpse in a tomb. Spiritual beliefs are what dictate how a culture will handle dead bodies. However, when a mass disaster occurs like the tragedy with the September 11th attacks, bodies can be