cultural pluralism

Cultural pluralism is a term first populairzed by the sociologist Horace Kallen to describe the interaction of diverse cultural, ethnic, and religious groups in the U.S. Rather than assmilate into a common "melting pot," Kallen firmly believed that the freedom of America includes the freedom to be oneself, not surrendering one's cultural particularity, but bringing these particularities forward in the creation of a common democratic society. He argued that America can have plural ethnic cultures, complementing one another, like the different parts of a symphony orchestra.