14 | Visiting India, Ethnocentrism, and Population Growth

What does the typical human lifestyle and experience look like on Earth? When Caleb visited India for the first time, he had a feeling he wasn't in Kansas anymore. The radical differences in culture, food, personal space, views of marriage, road etiquette, and language caused him to think about whether the American experience was common or not.

We discuss how over 50% of human beings live in either China, India, or the continent of Africa, and the implications that has on expectations, lifestyle, and happiness. Although ethnocentrism is often presented negatively, it is actually neutral in definition and being aware of it can help us more accurately understand other cultures. In addition, with an awareness of ethnocentrism, we talk about what makes Christianity a truly universal religion and the danger of conflating political agendas with Christian values.

 

Notes & Links from Caleb:

• Men holding hands in India is not romantic or sexual. But it would be perceived that way in America.
  • https://scroll.in/article/889972/a-british-photographer-captures-the-very-indian-phenomenon-of-men-non-romantically-holding-hands
• Horn honking in India - rampant - way of letting people know you are there.
  • https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-do-indians-honk-so-much-ca-nitin-brahma
• Matrimonial Advertisements in Indian newspapers -- Marriage is viewed as more social contract / transactional
  • https://www.tribuneindia.com/classified/grommswanted
• Life Expectancy:  https://ourworldindata.org/life-expectancy
  1800-1900 (19th Century):  Average global life expectancy was 29 years old.
  1950:  Average global life expectancy was 46 years old.  USA average was 68 years old.
  2015: Average global life expectancy was 71 years old.  USA average was 79 years old.
• Womens vs. mens train cars in Delhi
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women-only_passenger_car#:~:text=Across%20India%2C%20all%20long%2Ddistance,are%20also%20allowed%20to%20travel.

  https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2016/04/04/472997605/why-i-love-riding-on-the-women-only-car-on-delhis-metro
   
• Americans Over 65 Years of Age:  https://www.un.org/en/global-issues/population
  1900:  2.2 Million
  2009:  39.7 Million
  2019:  54.1 Million
  2040 (Projected):  80.8 Million
  2060 (Projected):  90.7 Million
   
   
• Population Growth (Global):
  0000:  212 Million
  1600:  646 Million
  1800:  1 Billion
  1900:  1.34 Billion
  1950:  2.82 Billion
  2000:  6.00 Billion
  2022:  8.00 Billion
  • 1.4 Billion - India 18%
  • 1.4 Billion - China 18%
  • 1.4 Billion - African Continent 18%
  • 740 Million - European Continent 9.5%
  • 330 Million - United States 4%
  2037:  9.00 Billion (projected by UN)
  Over half of the growth between 2022 and 2050 will be in Africa.
   
   
• Research Links:
  Percentage of Americans that View America as the best:
  https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/08/29/majority-of-americans-say-us-is-one-of-the-greatest-countries-in-the-world/

 

Transcript to this episode with Caleb: https://share.descript.com/view/pKliP76e2Bz

Pat's Contact: patricktlee7@gmail.com