Elements of  a culture

Answer

As a young child growing up in a conventional family, my beliefs were mainly in line with those of the entire family. My views on various social issues such as religion, politics, education, and even the more divisive ones like racism, gun control, and abortion were in line with those of the family members. The family held views on these topics were a direct result of the primary socialization.  Kay asserts in a family setting; parents are the figures of authority and therefore play an integral role in shaping the mind and beliefs of their children as their cognitive and moral skills develop (14).   From Kohlberg’s theory of moral development, children at the preconvention level of moral development, believe and trust assertions made by their parents as the truth (Gibbs 20). They, therefore, blindly follow the ideologies of their parents.  However, as I was growing up, I started developing my understanding of various matters in society. Therefore, this has led to several instances where mu beliefs differ from those held by my family. As an adult, my beliefs stem from personal principles and values. These values make me understand that some of my long-held family influenced beliefs are unjust and therefore needed to be changed.  My break from primary socialization was mainly fueled by education. Through learning, one gets a complete picture of the various issues in society and is, therefore, free to choose a side that resonates well with his/her values.  For instance, growing up in a religious family, abortion was treated as a sin regardless of the situation at hand. Life is regarded as sacred and therefore, cannot be easily terminated. However, my views on the subject became more pragmatic. The level of rigidity on the subject dropped, and therefore for me, if the child exposes the mother to danger such as death, then abortion can be done.   My views on various moral questions have become relative and depend entirely on the situation at hand.  The difference ins belief has stems from enlightenment got from education that has promoted autonomy of thought relating to such contentious topics in the society.