Vocabulary Review: US Society, Culture, and Fundamentalism

Flashcard set covering key vocabulary terms, definitions, and concepts regarding American culture, immigration, religious fundamentalism, and social issues.

Ghetto

An area of a city where people of the same ethnicity live, often in poor living conditions.

Abstinence

The practice of not allowing yourself something, such as food, alcoholic drinks, or sex, for moral or religious reasons.

Creationism

The belief that God created the earth and life as we know it in seven days.

Secularism

The belief that religion should be kept separate from the way society is run.

Disarmament

The fact of a country reducing the size of its armed forces or the number of nuclear weapons.

Militia

A group of people who are not professional soldiers but who act as an army.

Lethal

Causes or is able to cause death.

To violate

To go against or refuse to obey a law, an agreement, or a rule.

To do one's chores

To do a job which is boring or unpleasant but needs to be done regularly.

Funeral

A ceremony, usually a religious one, for burying or cremating a dead person.

Culture

The beliefs, attitudes, and way of life shared by a group of people or society.

Citizen

A person who has a legal right to live in a country.

To swear an oath of allegiance

To make a formal promise to be loyal to someone or something.

Vulnerable

Weak and easily hurt.

Courtesy

Politeness, kindness, reverence, or sympathy.

To electrocute somebody

To execute someone in the electric chair.

Foe

An enemy, rival, or antagonist.

To impose something on somebody

To force someone to accept something.

To scorn

To hate, despise, or feel contempt for.

Melting pot

A metaphor used to describe the assimilation effect where different cultures are blended into a new form.

Salad bowl

A metaphor used to describe how a country's many different cultures are mixed together like ingredients in a salad, keeping their distinct features.

Multicultural society

A society in which people from all over the world feel at home.