Ethical relativism holds that beliefs and practices in a given culture are ethical if they reflect traditional norms and values in that culture. True or false?

• A. True
• B. False
• C. It supports cultural competence
• D. It rejects that culture determines ethics

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is that moral judgments are relative to a culture’s norms. Ethical relativism holds that what counts as right or wrong is determined by the beliefs and practices of a given culture, rather than by universal standards.

If a belief or practice reflects that culture’s traditional norms and values, ethical relativism says it is ethical within that culture. So the statement aligns with this view, making it true.

Some other statements miss the point. Saying it supports cultural competence talks about the ability to interact across cultures, which is a helpful skill but not the defining claim of ethical relativism. Saying it rejects that culture determines ethics is the opposite of relativism, which holds that culture does shape ethical judgments.