The music festival photo looks fun until you notice the sacred symbols worn as fashion accessories. The restaurant claims “authentic” cuisine while profiting from recipes stolen from immigrant communities who face discrimination for the same practices. When you witness cultural elements being taken, commercialized, or trivialized by those outside that culture, especially while the original communities suffer marginalization, you might wonder how faith should guide your response to these complex dynamics.
Cultural appropriation touches on deep biblical themes of respect, justice, and honoring the dignity of all people groups. The Bible speaks extensively about how different cultures should interact, from God’s heart for all nations to practical guidelines for living respectfully among diverse communities. Scripture reveals a God who celebrates cultural diversity while demanding justice for those who are exploited or marginalized.
These verses don’t provide simple formulas for navigating every cultural exchange, but they offer divine principles for approaching other cultures with honor, humility, and justice. Whether you’re examining your own practices, speaking up when you witness appropriation, or seeking to understand these complex issues better, God’s Word provides wisdom for building relationships that celebrate diversity without exploiting vulnerability.
Bible Verses About Dealing with Cultural Appropriation
1. Acts 17:26 – From One Man He Made All the Nations
From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.
New International Version (NIV)
2. Philippians 2:3 – Do Nothing Out of Selfish Ambition
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.
English Standard Version (ESV)
3. Romans 12:10 – Honor One Another Above Yourselves
Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.
New Living Translation (NLT)
4. 1 Corinthians 10:24 – No One Should Seek Their Own Good
Let no one seek his own, but each one the other’s well-being.
New King James Version (NKJV)
5. Galatians 3:28 – There Is Neither Jew nor Gentile
There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female; since you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
6. Leviticus 19:33-34 – The Foreigner Residing Among You
When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
7. Revelation 7:9 – A Great Multitude from Every Nation
After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb.
King James Version (KJV)
8. James 2:8-9 – If You Really Keep the Royal Law
You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.
New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
9. 1 Corinthians 9:19-22 – I Have Become All Things to All People
Even though I am free from all people, I made myself a slave to all people to help save as many as I could. To the Jews I became like a Jew to help save Jews. I myself am not ruled by the law. But to those who are ruled by the law I became like a person who is ruled by the law.
The Message (MSG)
10. Ruth 1:16 – Where You Go I Will Go
But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.
Amplified Bible (AMP)
11. Deuteronomy 10:19 – Love the Foreigner
You must love the resident foreigner because you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.
New English Translation (NET)
12. 1 Peter 2:17 – Show Proper Respect to Everyone
Honor everyone. Love the community of believers. Fear God. Honor the emperor.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
13. Proverbs 27:14 – Blessing Someone Too Early in the Morning
If you loudly bless your neighbor early in the morning, he will consider it a curse!
Contemporary English Version (CEV)
14. Romans 14:13 – Stop Passing Judgment on One Another
So let us stop judging one another. Instead, you should decide never to do anything that would make others stumble or fall into sin.
Good News Translation (GNT)
15. 1 Corinthians 8:9 – Be Careful That Your Freedom Does Not Become a Stumbling Block
But be careful that this freedom of yours does not cause those who are weak in faith to fall into sin.
New Century Version (NCV)
16. Matthew 7:12 – Do to Others What You Would Have Them Do to You
Therefore, whatever you want people to do for you, do the same for them, because this summarizes the Law and the Prophets.
International Standard Version (ISV)
17. Ephesians 4:2 – Be Completely Humble and Gentle
with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love.
Tree of Life Version (TLV)
18. Colossians 3:11 – Here There Is No Gentile or Jew
In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.
Lexham English Bible (LEB)
19. Genesis 1:27 – God Created Mankind in His Own Image
God created man in his own image. In God’s image he created him; male and female he created them.
World English Bible (WEB)
20. Isaiah 56:7 – My House Will Be Called a House of Prayer for All Nations
even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt-offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.
American Standard Version (ASV)
21. Acts 10:34-35 – God Does Not Show Favoritism
Then Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears him and works righteousness is accepted by him.”
Revised Standard Version (RSV)
22. 1 Corinthians 12:12-13 – Just as a Body Is One but Has Many Parts
For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
New American Bible (NAB)
23. Malachi 2:10 – Do We Not All Have One Father?
Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why then doth every one of us despise his brother, violating the covenant of our fathers?
Douay-Rheims Bible (DRB)
24. Romans 15:7 – Accept One Another
Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.
English Revised Version (ERV)
25. Psalm 67:3-4 – May the Peoples Praise You, God
Praise Thee do peoples, O God, Praise Thee do peoples — all of them. Rejoice and sing do nations, For Thou judgest peoples uprightly, And peoples on earth dost lead. Selah.
Young’s Literal Translation (YLT)
26. 2 Corinthians 8:21 – We Want to Do What Is Right
for we provide for things honest, not only before the Lord, but also before men.
Darby Translation (DARBY)
27. 1 Thessalonians 4:12 – So That Your Daily Life May Win the Respect
that ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.
Weymouth New Testament (WNT)
28. Matthew 22:39 – Love Your Neighbor as Yourself
And the secunde is lijk to this; Thou schalt loue thi neighebore as thi silf.
Wycliffe Bible (WYC)
29. Galatians 5:13 – Serve One Another Humbly in Love
For brethren, ye haue bene called vnto libertie: onely vse not your libertie as an occasion vnto the flesh, but by loue serue one another.
Geneva Bible (GNV)
30. 1 Peter 4:9 – Offer Hospitality to One Another
Be harberous one to another without grudgyng.
Bishop’s Bible
31. Hebrews 13:2 – Do Not Forget to Show Hospitality to Strangers
Be not forgetfull to lodge straungers. For therby some have receaved angels into their houses vnwares.
Tyndale Bible
32. Romans 2:11 – God Does Not Show Favoritism
For God treats everyone the same.
The Living Bible (TLB)
33. Ephesians 2:14 – He Himself Is Our Peace
Christ himself is our peace and harmony. He made peace between Jews and non-Jews by breaking down the dividing wall of hostility that separated us.
The Passion Translation (TPT)
34. 1 John 4:20 – Whoever Claims to Love God Yet Hates a Brother or Sister
If anyone claims, “I love God,” but hates his brother or sister, he is a liar. If he doesn’t love a brother or sister whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?
The Voice Bible (VOICE)
35. Matthew 28:19 – Therefore Go and Make Disciples of All Nations
So you must go and make disciples of all nations. Baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
New International Reader’s Version (NIrV)
Our Thoughts On What the Bible Says About Dealing with Cultural Appropriation
Scripture’s approach to cultural interaction emphasizes respect, humility, and justice rather than exploitation or superficial borrowing. The Bible consistently calls us to honor others above ourselves and consider how our actions affect vulnerable communities. When Paul wrote about becoming “all things to all people,” he wasn’t advocating for taking what he wanted from other cultures but for humbly serving others by understanding and respecting their contexts.
What strikes me most about biblical cultural interaction is the emphasis on relationship and mutuality. Ruth’s famous declaration to Naomi wasn’t cultural appropriation but a genuine commitment to join a community, share its burdens, and contribute to its well-being. The early church’s inclusion of Gentiles wasn’t about taking elements of various cultures for personal benefit but about creating a new community where all could belong.
The Bible’s vision of cultural diversity in Revelation shows God celebrating the unique contributions of every nation and people group. This suggests that healthy cultural exchange honors the source, benefits the originating community, and builds genuine relationships rather than extracting elements for personal use while ignoring or even perpetuating the marginalization of those communities.
Say This Prayer
Heavenly Father, You created all nations and cultures with unique beauty and wisdom that reflect different aspects of Your character. Help me to approach other cultures with genuine respect and humility rather than seeing them as sources for my own benefit or entertainment. Show me when I might be taking from cultures in ways that are harmful or disrespectful.
Give me wisdom to distinguish between appreciation and appropriation. Help me to build genuine relationships across cultural lines that are marked by mutuality, respect, and justice rather than extraction or exploitation. When I encounter elements of other cultures, help me to consider how my engagement affects the communities they come from.
Open my eyes to see when marginalized communities are being harmed by the commercialization or trivialization of their sacred or significant cultural practices. Give me the courage to speak up when I witness cultural appropriation, and wisdom to do so in ways that educate rather than shame. Help me to support businesses and practices that honor cultural origins and benefit originating communities.
Most importantly, help me to see every person as created in Your image, deserving of dignity and respect. Use me to build bridges of understanding and justice rather than participating in systems that exploit or marginalize others.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.