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February 11, 2017

Jennifer Worthen
Intercultural Communication 2150
Professor Tamra Phillips
Project #1

Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck Value Orientation Theory for an LDS Baptism.

Overview
I did a religious event of an LDS baptism. This was for an eight-year-old boy who wanted to

be baptized by his father. This was an event that was attended by family and close friends. There

were also members of the familys ward and neighbors. I have never attended an event like this

for the LDS religion. It was interesting to see the father and boy in baptismal clothing, with his

son being submerged in the water. This was done in what they call a font, inside of a church

building. I chose to do the value orientation of Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck. This theory helped me

analyze my experience at this function. I thought this was a good experience for me to have with

another religion that is different from mine.

Religion or Culture
In the LDS religion, they believe that baptism is necessary for an individual to become a

member of the church. They believe they are following the example of Jesus Christ, and it is

necessary to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost (Baptism, n.d.). In the LDS church, they

believe that baptism is a way for the person to be forgiven for their sins. The person doing the

baptism must be a priesthood holder in good standing with his church leaders. The person being

baptized has to be at least eight years old. The decision to be baptized is a personal choice.

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Religious or Cultural Function

The religious function I chose was for an eight-year-old boy being baptized. The eight-year-

old boy is the nephew of my boyfriend who invited me to attend the event. This seemed to me to

be an important event for the entire family. My experience was a pleasant one. There were

several other people being baptized that day. There was a meeting before each individual baptism

took place. Several speakers spoke about the baptism and then each family had an individual

give an experience regarding baptism. Afterwards we were taken back to a private room that had

a font used for the baptism. The participant and his father were dressed in white. A set of doors

opened and you saw the participants inside the font, the water filled to about waist level. Before

his nephew was submerged, a few choice words said as part of the ceremony and he was

submerged in the water. The doors closed shortly after that. We then went into another room and

waited for them to return. Once they returned into the room, they completed a prayer ending the

ceremony.

Value Theory
I chose to use the Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck Value Orientation Theory for the baptism I

attended. In regards to Human Nature, during this ceremony there were several talks given by

family members. I felt that these talks gave the impression that people are basically good, but

make mistakes. Martin and Nakayama (2013) stated they seemed to believe in improving the

natural goodness of humans (p. 101) through the help of God.

During this ceremony, there was not any references to humans and nature. However, during

conversations with members of the LDS church, they believe that humans need to be good

stewards of the planet because it is Gods creation.

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It was made clear during this ceremony, that this was a necessary step for family members to

live together after they die. This reflects a Group Oriented Value. Martin & Nakayama (2013)

stated, the collateral orientation emphasizes the collectivist connection to other individuals

(mostly family members) even after death. The growing orientation emphasizes spiritual

aspects of life (p. 106). There were many references in the talks to this being the first step in

spiritual growth throughout someones life.

The talks at this ceremony included many references to the future. There seemed to be an

emphasis on planning for the future, and how this decision affects many future decisions. The

LDS religion seems to be very future oriented.

Analysis

The chosen theories seemed to help me gain a better understanding of this ceremony. I believe

the Value Orientations by Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck fit this ceremony well. The talks made by

the members of the church and family members, showed how much they are group oriented and

future oriented.

Reflection

I did not know how to feel or think about this ceremony without having any knowledge about

it prior. It seemed to me that many of their ceremonies are held privately. Although I was glad, I

could attend the ceremony and see how a baptism is done in the LDS religion. I learned that

many religions are similar and each have their own version on how a ceremony is done. My

attitude changed as I thought I was not going to be able to see the actual baptism and it was nice

experience for me. I believe the theories helped me break down the experience to help better

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understand it. I think having a basic understanding of human nature and believing myself, that

majority people are good in nature and that some make poor choices.

References

Martin, J. N., & Nakayama, T. K. (2013). Cultural, communication, context, and power. In M.

Ryan & D.B. Hash (Eds.), Intercultural communication in contexts 6th Ed. (pp. 87-125).

New York: McGraw-Hill.

Baptism. (n.d.). Retrieved February 14, 2017, from https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bd/baptism?

lang=eng