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Parochialism is the state of mind, whereby one focuses on small sections of an issue rather than considering its wider context. More generally, it consists of being narrow in scope. In that respect, it is a synonym of "
provincialism Parochialism is the state of mind, whereby one focuses on small sections of an issue rather than considering its wider context. More generally, it consists of being narrow in scope. In that respect, it is a synonym of " provincialism". It may, p ...
". It may, particularly when used
pejoratively A pejorative or slur is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or a disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hostility, or disregard. Sometimes, a ...
, be contrasted to cosmopolitanism. The term insularity (related to an island) may be similarly used to connote limited exposure.


Parish order

The term originates from the idea of a
parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...
(
Late Latin Late Latin ( la, Latinitas serior) is the scholarly name for the form of Literary Latin of late antiquity.Roberts (1996), p. 537. English dictionary definitions of Late Latin date this period from the , and continuing into the 7th century in the ...
: ''parochia''), one of the smaller divisions within many Christian churches such as the
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
,
Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...
, and
Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...
churches. Events, groups and decisions within a parish are based ''locally'' — sometimes taking little heed of what is going on in the wider
Church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...
. A parish can sometimes be excessively focused on the local scale (thus within a particular point of view), by having (too) little contact with the broader outside, showing meager interest for and possibly knowledge about the universal scale.
Subsidiarity Subsidiarity is a principle of social organization that holds that social and political issues should be dealt with at the most immediate or local level that is consistent with their resolution. The '' Oxford English Dictionary'' defines subsid ...
is an organizing principle that matters ought to be handled by the smallest, lowest or least centralized competent authority. The Oxford English Dictionary defines subsidiarity as the idea that a central authority should have a subsidiary function, performing only those tasks which cannot be performed effectively at a more immediate or local level.


Terminology

The term "parochial" can be applied in both culture and economics if a local culture or geographic area's government makes decisions based on solely local interests that do not take into account the effect of the decision on the broader community. The term may also be applied to decisions and events that are considered to be trivial in the grand scheme of things but that may be overemphasized in a smaller community, such as disputes between neighbors.


Parochialism in politics

Parochialism can be found around the world and has sometimes been acknowledged by local institutions. For example, in a change of curriculum on February 7, 2007, Harvard University said that one of the main purposes of the major curriculum overhaul (the first in three decades) was to overcome American "parochialisms", referring in this case to a national point of view rather than one concerned with any particular small community. The political principle of localism is that which supports local production and consumption of goods, local control of government, and local culture and identity. Localist politics have been approached from many directions by different groups. Nevertheless, localism can generally be described as related to regionalism, and in opposition to
centralism Centralisation or centralization (see spelling differences) is the process by which the activities of an organisation, particularly those regarding planning and decision-making, framing strategy and policies become concentrated within a partic ...
. As a pejorative, the term parish pump politics is used to describe political activity that is more evidently concerned with addressing the immediate needs of the local electorate than with strategy that might affect their long-term well-being. It is more often applied with the term Gombeenism which refers to an underhanded shady individual who is interested in making a profit for him/herself.


Cosmopolitanism versus parochialism

In 1969
Everett Carll Ladd Everett Carll Ladd Jr. (September 24, 1937 December 8, 1999) was an American political scientist based at the University of Connecticut. He was best known for his analysis and collection of public opinion polls. He directed the Roper Center for ...
published ''Ideology in America'' – his study of political attitudes in the Greater
Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since ...
area. For context, he introduced the "conventional dichotomy" of liberal versus conservative in political thought, and contrasts this with an alternative dimension of cosmopolitanism versus parochialism. Ladd acknowledges the anticipation by Robert Merton of this localist versus cosmopolitan dichotomy. Ladd describes a parochial leader in terms of their largely local attachments: :They are, typically, small businessmen and locally oriented professionals who have spent all or most of their lives in the community and whose horizons and connections are narrow and limited to it. Their orthodoxies – partly due to less formal training and partly because of their associations and contacts – are the older "prescientific" ones. They have influence not because of expertise or controlling positions in major corporate structures, but because of personal characteristics – their friendships and associations with common men (typically as voters) in the community. They reflect the hostility of their marginally "have" constituents to demands for change which threaten their economic position or social status. (page 177) He makes clear that he does not demonize the adherents of parochialism: :There will be a strong temptation to draw from my construction a picture of Parochials as the bad guys of the new ideological struggle. This is not intended. The response of Parochials probably is as "reasonable", given their sociopolitical position, as is that of Cosmopolitans in light of theirs. What I have tried to suggest is that however humanely inclined they may be as individuals, Hartford Parochials are fundamentally "reactionary", reacting against a new orthodoxy, a new expertise, a new complexity, and for them a new and diminished status. Parochialism is a "reactionary" ideology in a ''civilisation texchnicienne'', one that has muffled traditional economic tensions, accumulated scientific knowledge about agonizing social problems, and acquired a staggering body of technical expertise. (Page 344) The dichotomy between parochialism and cosmopolitanism, as well as provincialism and cosmopolitanism, has been challenged in recent debates aimed at highlighting the empowering value of the parochial and the local. Tomaney, J. (2012) "Parochialism: A Defence", in ''Progress in Human Geography'', 37(5): 658–672


See also

*
All politics is local The phrase "all politics is local" is commonly used in United States politics. Variations of the phrase date back to 1932. Tip O'Neill, a former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, is most closely associated with this phrase, although ...
*
Groupthink Groupthink is a psychological phenomenon that occurs within a group of people in which the desire for harmony or conformity in the group results in an irrational or dysfunctional decision-making outcome. Cohesiveness, or the desire for cohesivene ...
*
Intellectual inbreeding Intellectual inbreeding or academic inbreeding is the practice in academia of a university hiring its own graduates to be professors. It is generally viewed as insular and unhealthy for academia. Intellectual inbreeding is thought to hinder the int ...
* Localism *
Nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...
*
NIMBY NIMBY (or nimby), an acronym for the phrase "not in my back yard", is a characterization of opposition by residents to proposed developments in their local area, as well as support for strict land use regulations. It carries the connotation that ...
*
Parochial school A parochial school is a private primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathematics and language arts. The wo ...
*
Pork barrel ''Pork barrel'', or simply ''pork'', is a metaphor for the appropriation of government spending for localized projects secured solely or primarily to bring money to a representative's district. The usage originated in American English, and i ...
*
Country (identity) The concept of country, as an identity or descriptive quality, varies widely across the world, although some elements may be common among several groups of people. Rurality One interpretation is the state or character of being rural, regardles ...


References

{{Reflist Political ideologies Political science terminology