African-American's Ethnic or Cultural Background Affects Ethical Convictions Research Paper

African-American's Ethnic Or Cultural Background Affects Ethical Convictions"

How African-American's ethnic or cultural background affects ethical convictions.

For most African-Americans, their history of slavery and discrimination has had the most profound, shaping effect upon their ethical convictions than any other historical experience. This is one reason that African-Americans overwhelmingly vote Democratic, when compared with other groups, given the party's support of civil rights. "Nearly 80% of blacks vote Democratic... [yet] many African-American voters -- including Democrats -- line up with conservatives on social and cultural issues," such as social issues like gay marriage" (Cloud 2008).

African-Americans tend to be more religious and to regularly attend church than their white counterparts. "After controlling for sociodemographic characteristics, African-American men reported significantly greater levels of religiosity...compared with European-American men. African-America men also reported significantly greater levels of future temporal orientation [i.e., that the future would be better than the present" (Halbert et al. 2007: 277 ). This reflects the important social role the black church has played within the African-American community. During slavery, it provided a source of connection and ways of articulating resistance in a hidden or socially acceptable manner.During the civil rights movement, it was a place where African-Americans could mobilize, organize, and share experiences. It has also acted as a source of emotional support for African-Americans during times of trouble.

African-Americans have been shown to exhibit consistent in-group differences, when compared with European-Americans. For example, regarding corporal punishment, of young children: "although middle and upper SES [social economic status] African-American parents in this study were less likely to believe in or practice spanking than lower SES African-American parents, they were still more likely to believe in or practice spanking than the primarily European-American, upper SES private practice group" (Horn, Cheng, & Joseph 2004). This may have to do with the stresses African-American parents face due to discrimination or fears that a lack of discipline will prove to be especially negative for black youth.

The ways, if any, that African-American's cultural and religious histories differ in their values? Do cultural and religious histories differ in their values?

Not all African-Americans have the 'same culture.' And while certain generalizations….....