50 Examples of Nonmaterial Culture

John Spacey, updated on February 28, 2024

Nonmaterial culture are elements of culture that are intangible such that they have no specific physical manifestation. This can be contrasted with material culture that includes all physical things produced by a culture. Generally speaking, the bulk of culture is intangible such that only a very narrow band of the human experience is captured as physical items. The following are common examples of nonmaterial culture.

Aesthetics	Archetypes
Beliefs	Color Meanings
Community	Cultural Knowledge
Cultural Memory	Culture Change
Dance	Dining Practices
Education	Enculturation
Etiquette	Expectations
Film	Gestures
Humor	Identity
Language	Marriage Customs
Media	Memes
Morals	Mores
Music	Myth
Nightlife	Norms
Pastimes	Performing Arts
Philosophies	Processes
Respect	Risk Taking
Rites of Passage	Rituals
Roles	Sensibilities
Services	Shared Experience
Social Constructs	Social Status
Social Structure	Sports
Stories	Styles
Symbols	Taboos
Traditions	Values

Many of the intangible elements of culture above also have material representations. For example, media can be intangible such as a radio broadcast or tangible such as an LP record.

Overview

Nonmaterial culture are the intangible beliefs, symbols, cultural expressions, social practices, heritage and way of life associated with a culture.

Nonmaterial Culture vs Material Culture

Nonmaterial culture is intangible and material culture is tangible. This means that nonmaterial culture has no specific physical form and material culture is physical. These are often two different aspects of the same thing. For example, food is material culture but cooking practices are nonmaterial culture.

Summary

Nonmaterial culture is the shared meaning and practices that exist within a social group. This includes symbols such as stories, beliefs such as values, cultural expressions such as a dance, social conventions such as etiquette and way of life such as parenting practices.