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Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck Value Orientations

Project #1

Monyka Chheng

24, February 2021

COMM 2150-502

Tamara Phillips
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Overview

Growing up I had a bestfriend who is Muslim and whenever I would visit her, she would

tell me not to wear or say certain things in her house because of her religious belief. I have

always respected her culture and her house’s rules which made me curious of Islamic practices

and culture. I will be visiting the Khadeeja Islamic Center for the Friday Prayers. It was

interesting participating in the prayers as I witnessed the cultural environment.

Religion: Islam

Islam is one of the three central Abrahamic faiths along with Judaism and Christianity.

(Global Ministries 2014). Individuals who practice Islam are called Muslims. Just like how the

bible is the sacred book for Christians, Muslims refer to the Quran or Hadiths as their sacred

book. The Quran is believed to be a collection recitations from Allah also known as God, as

received by the prophet Muhammad and Hadiths are collections of sayings about the prophet that

have been handed down through generations by trustful historians. (Global Ministries 2014)

There are two major muslims groups: the Sunni’s and the Shia. The Sunni’s follow the prophet's

closest companion Abu Bakr, and the Shia follow the prophet's cousin and son-in-law Ali.

(Francis & Knott 2016)

Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world. Pew Research estimates that there were

about 1.8 billions Muslims in the world as of 2015. (Lipka 2017) Islam may be the fastest

growing religion, but it places second after Christianity when it comes to followers. One

explanation for the excessive growth is that due to getting married in their early adult life and the

belief that one should procreate for the sake of creating a family. Muslims in the United States

are often seen as a threat to Americans after the tragic event that happened on September 11,

2001. Many Americans don’t know about Islamic culture, but as more are taught about Muslims
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attitudes and prejudice are beginning to get better. Views towards Muslims are now warmer than

they were a few years ago. (Lipka 2017)

Religious Function

I went to visit the Khadeeja Islamic Center with my Bestfriend who is Sunni. This

Mosque is located at 1019 West Parkway Avenue, West Valley City UT. The mosque started

when the first muslims in Utah, who were international students, didn't have a space for their

religious practices. The first Masjid or Mosque was established in 1984, later known as the

Islamic Society of Greater Salt Lake. (Utah Muslims)

Before I walked into the Mosque, I had to clean and purify myself before entering, which

is known as Wudu. This is practiced because individuals should cleanse themself before bonding

their relationship with Allah. Luckily I washed before arriving, but for those that are coming

from work or don’t have time to wash themselves at home, there’s generally a washroom to

purify yourself. The Prayers start in the afternoon, but you are welcome to attend when you can.

It is not mandatory just as long Muslims are doing their five prayers of the day. They have the

men and women separated, men are downstairs and women are generally upstairs. The reason for

gender separation is to respect individuals because during the time of preaching, it is quality time

with God and your spirituality, it is not time to be looking for potential spouses, but build a

closer relationship with your faith.

Men and Women are required to wear appropriate clothing, remove shoes when entering

the mosque, wear a hijab or headscard if you’re a women and listen to the Imaam, which

essentially is a Muslim preacher. The Preacher starts off with a prayer, shares examples from the

Quran, shares stories about prophets, and talks about current issues within the local Islamic
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community. There are similarities when it comes to praying, but there’s definitely a difference

between Islam and Bhudhism, which is my religious beliefs.

Value Theory

Value Orientation by Florence Kluckhohn and Fred Strodtbeck could be applied to the

religious experience I encountered recently. Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck believe that each society

has one, or possibly two, preferred responses to each question that reflect the predominant values

of society. (Martin & Nakayama 2018 Pg. 95) The Value Orientations is the nature of human

nature, relationship between human and nature, relationships between human, preferred forms of

activity, and orientation to time.

There are three possible responses or solutions to basic questions about human nature.

(Martin and Nakayama 2018 Pg. 97) The possible responses are good, evil, and a mixture of

both. Relationships between humans and nature is that nature overpowers human choices.

Relationships between Humans are that some groups value individualism and others are group

oriented, preferred forms of activities are the “doings” or “growing” orientations in an individual

to better themselves. Orientation to time emphasizes the future, present, and past, it is an

experience we learn from.

Analysis

All five principles of Kluckkohn and Strodtbeck Value orientations are something I

definitely witness within our local muslim community because as part of their faith it is

important to accomplish your five prayers or even at least one or else it could be perceived that

an individual isn’t faithful, but in different demographics some Muslims are willing to be

understanding about it as many people do have their own personal life and struggles. I witness
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group orientation and individualism within the religion because when individuals meet at the

mosque they do it as a community. Although individuals are expected to do their five prayers on

their own time when they can. But ultimately, it is really up to the individuals, the Imam told

stories and read from the Quran of past lives and practices for individuals today to practice in

order to better prepare themselves for the present and future.

Reflection

Visiting the Khadeeja Islamic center I was a little nervous because I don't know how

people react with new people joining them, but everyone was super welcoming. What I learned

about the religion is that I did not know individuals had to clean themselves five times a day

before doing their daily prayers. My attitude didn’t change about Islam, although I wouldn’t

exactly convert my religious believes because I have a deep connection with my spirituality, but

it was interesting to see the differences and similarities. I was able to witness value orientation,

but I will probably be seeing that in a lot of different cultural groups. This learning teaches me to

be more respectful towards other religious and cultural groups, I have a better understanding

because of the different principles in the Kuckkohn and Strodtbeck theory.

References

Derek Duncan (2014) What is Islam? Global Ministries. Retrieved February 22, 2021,

from https://www.globalministries.org/mee_resources_what_is_islam/
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Knott, K., & Francis, M. (2016, May 09). What's the difference between Sunni and Shi’a

Muslims? Centre For Research and Evidence on Security Threats Retrieved February 25, 2021,

from https://crestresearch.ac.uk/comment/whats-difference-sunni-shia-muslims/

Lipka, M. (2017, August 9). Muslims and Islam: Key findings in the U.S. and around the

world. Retrieved February 21, 2021, from https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-

tank/2017/08/09/muslims-and-islam-key-findings-in-the-u-s-and-around-the-world/.

Martin, J. N., & Nakayama, T. K. (2018). Intercultural Communication in Contexts (7th

ed.). McGraw-Hill. Pg. 94-100

https://www.globalministries.org/mee_resources_what_is_islam/

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/08/09/muslims-and-islam-key-findings-in-the-u-s-

and-around-the-world/

https://crestresearch.ac.uk/comment/whats-difference-sunni-shia-muslims/
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