--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When every ethnic and religious group…" description: "\"“When every ethnic and religious group claims a right to approve or veto anything that is taught in public schools, cultural pluralism becomes ethnocen..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86e/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr-2-2017_ethnocentrism_when-every-ethnic-and-religious-group-cl_2513200.jpg" --- # When every ethnic and religious group claims a right to… ![“When every ethnic and religious group claims a right to approve or veto anything that is taught in public schools, cultural pluralism becomes ethnocentrism. An evident casualty is the old idea that whatever our ethnic base, we are all Americans together.” quote by Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86e/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr-2-2017_ethnocentrism_when-every-ethnic-and-religious-group-cl_2513200.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86e/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr-2-2017_ethnocentrism_when-every-ethnic-and-religious-group-cl_2513200.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86e/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr-2-2017_ethnocentrism_when-every-ethnic-and-religious-group-cl_2513200.jpg) > ““When every ethnic and religious group claims a right to approve or veto anything that is taught in public schools, cultural pluralism becomes ethnocentrism. An evident casualty is the old idea that whatever our ethnic base, we are all Americans together.”” [Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr-2/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When every group can veto school content, pluralism turns into ethnocentrism, eroding shared American identity. **In simple terms:** Too many vetoes harm shared identity. Key Takeaway Promote inclusive dialogue. Themes pluralism identity education Mood analytical concerned Type political educational When to use this quote - school curriculum design - community meetings - policy making Key Concepts civic unity cultural conflict Questions to Reflect On - How can schools respect diversity while maintaining cohesion? - What mechanisms ensure fair representation? A Different Perspective Balancing diversity with common values is complex. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cultural Pluralism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cultural-pluralism-1177658/) [Ethnocentrism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethnocentrism/) [Ethnocentrism Evident](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethnocentrism-evident-1177659/) [Pluralism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pluralism/) [Pluralism Ethnocentrism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pluralism-ethnocentrism-1177657/) [Public schools](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-schools/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) ## Related quotes > [Unlike multiculturalism, cultural pluralism doesn't just mean diversity but also togetherness - primarily the understanding of the rules of the game - the European…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bassam-tibi/unlike-multiculturalism-cultural-pluralism-doesn-t-just-mean/) [Bassam Tibi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bassam-tibi/) > [ The tyranny of Harvard and Yale is another thing that transcends this problem of the set point. But what's so striking about \[Louis\] Brandeis… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-rosen/the-tyranny-of-harvard-and-yale-is-another-thing-that-transcends-this/) [Jeffrey Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-rosen/) > [ And he \[Louis Brandeis\] talks to his young acolyte, Horace Kallen, who wrote this beautiful book called Cultural Pluralism, and he comes to believe… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-rosen/and-he-louis-brandeis-talks-to-his-young-acolyte-horace-kallen-who/) [Jeffrey Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-rosen/) > [ For \[Louis\] Brandeis, you know, ethnicity and background are much less important than facts and reason. And he believes that far from wanting to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-rosen/for-louis-brandeis-you-know-ethnicity-and-background-are-much-less/) [Jeffrey Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-rosen/) > [“Multiculturalism" arises as a reaction against Anglo- or Eurocentrism; but at what point does it mutate into an ethnocentrism of its own?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr-2/multiculturalism-arises-as-a-reaction-against-anglo-or-eurocentrism/) [Arthur M. 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Government repression of unpopular views is still widespread. False or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/ethnocentrism-xenophobia-and-nationalism-are-these-days-rife-in-many/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [I think we have cultural bias and practice some ethnocentrism when it comes to ethnic food in America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-zimmern/i-think-we-have-cultural-bias-and-practice-some-ethnocentrism-when-it/) [Andrew Zimmern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-zimmern/) > [“It is characteristic of the ethnocentrism of anthropology that whereas the rationality of claims by African and other primitive diviners to be able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyatt-macgaffey/it-is-characteristic-of-the-ethnocentrism-of-anthropology-that/) [Wyatt MacGaffey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyatt-macgaffey/) > [“Saying something is 'politically correct' is often a way of dismissing the voices of the oppressed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dashanne-stokes/saying-something-is-politically-correct-is-often-a-way-of-dismissing/) [DaShanne Stokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dashanne-stokes/) > [“Don’t misunderstand me. The terrorist actions of Al-Qaeda were and are unmitigatedly evil. But the astonishing naivety which decreed that America as a whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/don-t-misunderstand-me-the-terrorist-actions-of-al-qaeda-were-and-are/) [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) > [Insularity is the foundation of ethnocentrism and intolerance; when you only know of those like yourself, it is easy to imagine that you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eller/insularity-is-the-foundation-of-ethnocentrism-and-intolerance-when/) [David Eller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eller/) > [“Beauty has laws, and an appreciation of them is not possessed equally by all. The more primitive and ignorant a race, or class, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-perkins-gilman/beauty-has-laws-and-an-appreciation-of-them-is-not-possessed-equally/) [Charlotte Perkins Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-perkins-gilman/) ## More by Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr > [“In 1856 the Know-Nothings even ran a former president, Millard Fillmore, as their presidential candidate. "Our progress in degeneracy appears to me to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr-2/in-1856-the-know-nothings-even-ran-a-former-president-millard/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr-2/) > [“for an informed judgment”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr-2/for-an-informed-judgment/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr-2/) > [“His peroration, no doubt”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr-2/his-peroration-no-doubt/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr-2/) > [“The Irish were regarded as shiftless and drunken; moreover, they were papists, and their fealty to Rome, it was said, meant they could never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr-2/the-irish-were-regarded-as-shiftless-and-drunken-moreover-they-were/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr-2/) > [“Yet the old faith in the power of Bryce's "amazing solvent" to fulfill Washington's conception of Americans as "one people" held fast. However much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr-2/yet-the-old-faith-in-the-power-of-bryce-s-amazing-solvent-to-fulfill/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr-2/) > [ “\[P\]ressed too far, the cult of ethnicity has had bad consequences too. The new ethnic gospel rejects the unifying vision of individuals from all… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr-2/p-ressed-too-far-the-cult-of-ethnicity-has-had-bad-consequences-too/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr-2/) > [ “\[I\]s there not something basically hostile to the actor's art in the consanguinity principle? After all, what is acting but an exercise in dissimulation?… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr-2/i-s-there-not-something-basically-hostile-to-the-actor-s-art-in-the/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr-2/) > [“Let us by all means teach black history, African history, women's history, Hispanic history, Asian history. But let us teach them as history, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr-2/let-us-by-all-means-teach-black-history-african-history-women-s/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr-2/) > [“In New York the curriculum guide for 11th-grade American history tells students that there were three "foundations" for the Constitution: the European Enlightenment, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr-2/in-new-york-the-curriculum-guide-for-11th-grade-american-history/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr-2/) > [“but also where the”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr-2/but-also-where-the/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr-2/) > [“Though Fidel came to boast of his Marxism-Leninism, he himself never joined the Communist Party. As the revolution careened along, the Communists may even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr-2/though-fidel-came-to-boast-of-his-marxism-leninism-he-himself-never/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr-2/) > [“To what extent did Castro at this point conceal secret communist purposes? He later said that he hid radical views in order to hold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr-2/to-what-extent-did-castro-at-this-point-conceal-secret-communist/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr-2/) > [“In 1974, after testimony from ethnic spokesmen denouncing the melting pot as a conspiracy to homogenize America, Congress passed the Ethnic Heritage Studies Program…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr-2/in-1974-after-testimony-from-ethnic-spokesmen-denouncing-the-melting/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr-2/) > [“Multiculturalism" arises as a reaction against Anglo- or Eurocentrism; but at what point does it mutate into an ethnocentrism of its own?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr-2/multiculturalism-arises-as-a-reaction-against-anglo-or-eurocentrism/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr-2/) > [“In the Skokie case, it upheld the right of neo-Nazis to parade down the streets of an Illinois town inhabited by Holocaust survivors and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr-2/in-the-skokie-case-it-upheld-the-right-of-neo-nazis-to-parade-down/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr-2/) [Explore all 31 Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr-2/) ## More Ethnocentrism quotes > [“Beauty has laws, and an appreciation of them is not possessed equally by all. 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Schlesinger Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr-2/) > [“Saying something is 'politically correct' is often a way of dismissing the voices of the oppressed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dashanne-stokes/saying-something-is-politically-correct-is-often-a-way-of-dismissing/) [DaShanne Stokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dashanne-stokes/) > [“It is characteristic of the ethnocentrism of anthropology that whereas the rationality of claims by African and other primitive diviners to be able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyatt-macgaffey/it-is-characteristic-of-the-ethnocentrism-of-anthropology-that/) [Wyatt MacGaffey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyatt-macgaffey/) > [I think we have cultural bias and practice some ethnocentrism when it comes to ethnic food in America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-zimmern/i-think-we-have-cultural-bias-and-practice-some-ethnocentrism-when-it/) [Andrew Zimmern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-zimmern/) > [“Ethnocentrism, xenophobia and nationalism are these days rife in many parts of the world. Government repression of unpopular views is still widespread. False or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/ethnocentrism-xenophobia-and-nationalism-are-these-days-rife-in-many/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Cross-cultural reality testing forces people to examine both their own and others' understandings of reality. Most people simply assume that the way they look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-g/cross-cultural-reality-testing-forces-people-to-examine-both-their/) [Paul G](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-g/) > [“But what is identity really? What is it to ‘belong’ when we cast ourselves in the mold of a social group? I ask this,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashim-shanker/but-what-is-identity-really-what-is-it-to-belong-when-we-cast/) [Ashim Shanker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashim-shanker/) > [“No centrism based on the temporary historical "glory" of any nation or region should any longer be allowed to distort our universal human understanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/no-centrism-based-on-the-temporary-historical-glory-of-any-nation-or/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“certain categories of us are more crucial to our identities than the kind of car we drive or the number of dots we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-tavris/certain-categories-of-us-are-more-crucial-to-our-identities-than-the/) [Carol Tavris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-tavris/) [Browse all 16 Ethnocentrism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethnocentrism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“When every ethnic and religious group claims a right to approve or veto anything that is taught in public schools, cultural pluralism becomes ethnocentrism. 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