Responses to Cultural Practices and Belonging
How the broader Australian community responds to the cultural practices of ethnic minority groups is a major factor in shaping members’ sense of belonging and inclusion.
Cultural practices include: religious observances, dietary customs, dress, language use, family structures, ceremonies, music, and social norms.
KEY TAKEAWAY: When cultural practices are accepted, celebrated, or accommodated, members of ethnic groups feel affirmed and included. When practices are stigmatised, mocked, or prohibited, members face the choice of cultural suppression or social exclusion — neither of which promotes genuine belonging.
Responses That Enable Belonging
Positive Cultural Reception
- Cultural festivals: Events like the Multicultural Festival (Canberra), Melbourne’s Moomba, and Sydney’s Chinese New Year Parade celebrate ethnic cultural practices publicly, signalling social acceptance
- Halal/kosher food options in mainstream supermarkets and restaurants: recognition of dietary practices reduces exclusion in everyday social contexts
- Workplace accommodation: organisations that allow time for prayer, modify dress codes for religious requirements (e.g. hijab, turban, kippah), and provide culturally appropriate leave
- School curriculum inclusion: when students see their culture’s history, literature, and traditions recognised in the curriculum, it affirms their identity
Accommodation in Public Institutions
- Multicultural calendars: government and employer recognition of religious holidays (Eid, Diwali, Chinese New Year)
- Interpreter services: government provision of interpreters in health, legal, and educational settings
- Anti-discrimination legislation: the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 prohibits acts that offend, insult, humiliate, or intimidate people on the basis of race or ethnicity (Section 18C)
Responses That Prevent Belonging
Cultural Intolerance and Discrimination
- Discrimination against visible religious practice: women wearing the hijab or niqab face discrimination in employment, harassment in public spaces, and political calls for bans (echoing French laïcité debates)
- Food-related exclusion: non-halal/kosher options in institutional contexts (schools, hospitals, workplaces); social ridicule of “foreign” food practices
- Language discrimination: mocking of accents; hostility to non-English language use in public spaces (“speak English, you’re in Australia”)
- Resistance to cultural accommodation: claims that accommodating minority practices is “un-Australian” or privileges some groups over others
Specific Australian Examples
- Turban in the AFL: Sikh footballers have had to navigate rules around headwear in Australian Rules Football — the AFL has progressively accommodated turbans
- Calls to ban the burqa: periodic political campaigns to ban face coverings in public spaces (proposed by some politicians, never enacted at national level)
- Chinese New Year and Lunar New Year recognition: increasingly acknowledged publicly; but businesses and schools have not uniformly accommodated it
APPLICATION: When analysing responses to cultural practices, ask: (1) which group is affected, (2) what specific practice is at issue, (3) what is the dominant group’s response, and (4) what is the impact on belonging. Connect to concepts of ethnocentrism and cultural relativism — intolerant responses typically stem from ethnocentrism.
EXAM TIP: A strong response analyses both sides — practices that are embraced (enabling belonging) AND practices that are contested or stigmatised (preventing belonging). Use at least one specific, named Australian example for each.
