Question

Why do beliefs and practices from other parts of the world seem foreign or just plain odd?

Answer 1

An idea or two below:

Explanation:

There's no set answer to this so what follows is my opinion.

First off, you need to understand that I am a former American, now Canadian, living in Thailand. And the need to clarify my background is a clue as to why things will seem foreign or just plain odd to us.

I'll dig a little deeper here by saying that, in Thailand, people drive on the left side of the road. I grew up in a country (and then moved to another) where driving on the right side of the road was the norm. Talk about foreign! I kept nearly dying because I would look the wrong way when crossing the street. Now that I've been in Thailand for a couple of years, I've grown used to the traffic being on the left - and so when I watch a movie where there is traffic, if it's on the right that feels odd.

And so what doesn't feel odd is what we know, understand, or simply grew up with and have gotten used to. Conversely, what does feel odd is the opposite - things we don't know or understand or grew up with.

The important part of this question is how we approach something when we're confronted with a practice or belief from another part of the world - do we approach it with an open-minded desire to learn and understand, or do we approach it with a close-minded desire to hold onto our beliefs solely and to judge all others harshly.

I'll close this answer with a scene from the book Dune. In the book, the Duke introduces his new born son to a local leader of the native people of the land. The local leader spits on the baby. The Duke, outraged that someone would spit on his son, gets ready to kill the local leader, up until one of the Duke's men tells the Duke that the spit is a blessing; on a world where the planet is one big sand dune, water is beyond precious and the expenditure of water in any form is a big big deal. The Duke, now understanding the nature of the spitting, accepts the blessing.