Examine and interpret the given quotation: "Worldwide, non-Western cultures faced fundamental challenges to their cultural identities" not so much a re-centering of culture but a decentering of culture" (Sayre, 2010, p.419).
The explosion of European colonization and empire building in the 17th and 18th century's outcome in the huge change for minority people groups. While it is incorrect to suppose that non-Western societies had been stagnant over the past few thousand years, the change they experienced was incremental and slow. With the invention of compass, caravel and better maps, all along with the recent re-discovery of the New World, non-Western cultures were in for a shock. They were about to be overrun through European cultures mainly from England, Spain, Portugal and France however as well from smaller or less organized countries like Germany, Holland and Belgium.
Cultural identity is one's view of one's self and the group one belongs to. Culture is a multi-faceted idea comprising of areas like language, clothing, food, religion, music, traditions, customs and values. Usually, in any given culture, these features of culture are centered on a handful of fundamental foundational beliefs or values. In colonial America, for illustration, culture was centered on the concepts of religious freedom, individualism, a strong work ethic, and family. All features of culture were shaped by these core values. They give the "center" on which the society and its worldview were established.