Worldview refers to how an individual perceives the world (Hesselgrave, 2012). Most people develop Worldviews unconsciously as they grow up. When I read ‘What is a Christian Worldview,’ (“Gotuestions,” n.d), I responded to questions from a Christian point of view, and it just came naturally that I responded in a Christian manner; thus, it is evident that my conception of the world is from a Christian standpoint. The questions in ‘What is a Christian Worldview’ are; “where did we come from?”, “What is wrong with the world?” and “how can we fix it?” My immediate responses were; “God created us, to govern the world and fellowship with Him.” (Rogers, 2005; Gen1:27-28 New International Versions).
The verse continues to argue that Adam and Eve subjected the whole universe to punishment because they sinned against Him. “We can fix it by living according to His word since He redeemed the world through the sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ” (Gen 3:15 New International Version) respectively. Therefore, my initial response clearly showed that I view the world from a Christian Worldview, and I am proud of it.
I think my Worldview has affected my intercultural communication in a negative way. Since I believe that living according to the word is the only right thing to do, I tend to disregard other people’s cultures because, in my view, my culture is right and other people’s cultures are wrong. I fail to recognize the various aspects of other people’s worldviews; thus, I cannot be able to respect other people’s worldviews. Holding on to my Worldview can hinder intercultural communication because I cannot open up to people who have different worldviews from mine. It would be difficult for them to relate with me for fear that I will judge them; as a result, intercultural communication is impossible.
I did two Implicit Preference Tests on religion and sexuality (“Test Bias,” n.d). On the religion part, I was tested on my feelings towards Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Buddhism. I found out that I have a healthy negative attitude towards other religions besides Christianity. In sexuality test, it was about my attitude towards straight and gay people. Results show that I dislike gay people as it is against my Christian values. In the folk tale of the ‘Blind Men and the Elephant’ (“Neogenesis,” n.d), each blind man had a feel of an elephant and created images in their minds of how an elephant looks like.
Each tried to convince the other that they were right, but in the real case, they were all wrong. In connection to this folk tale, I have learned that though I lean on the Christian worldview, I should not judge other people’s worldviews because we are all different. I should not be ethnocentric, which means thinking other cultures solely by the values of one’s own culture. If I do so, then the opportunity of getting to know and appreciate other people’s worldviews cultures would pass me. It is not advisable to beg ignorant of different cultures as one can miss many opportunities (Bridger, 2013).
A stereotype is a generalization about a person and originates when one is unwilling to obtain all the information needed to make a fair judgment about other people, and Prejudice refers to a baseless and usually negative attitude toward members of a group (Carson, 2002). Therefore, if one is ethnocentric, the chances of stereotyping and prejudicing other cultures over worldviews are very high. Consequently, I have also learned to understand and respect others’ ethnocentric attitudes whilst minimizing my own ethnocentrism to communicate effectively intercultural.
In conclusion, everybody has his or her own worldview. Worldviews are different and unique; thus, no one should claim that his or her Worldview is superior to another’s. We should learn to understand, tolerate, respect, and accept each other’s worldviews to be able to communicate effectively in an intercultural setting.
References
Bridger, J. S. (2013). CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION. Criswell Journal. Web.
Carson, D. A. (2002). Telling the Truth: Evangelizing Postmoderns. Zondervan.
Questions. (n.d.). Web.
Hesselgrave, D. J. (2012). Communicating Christ Cross-Culturally. Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House.
Neogenesis. (n.d.). Web.
Rogers, A. (2005). The Maximized Living Bible. Texas: Thomas Nelson Publishers.
Test Bias. (N.d.). Web.