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A folk culture is a small isolated, cohesive, conservative, nearlyself-sufficient group that is homogeneous in custom and race with a strongfamily or clan structure and highly developed rituals. Order is maintainedthrough sanctions based in the religion or family and interpersonalrelationships are strong. Tradition is paramount, and change comes infrequently and slowly. There is relatively littledivision of labor into specialized duties. Rather, each person is expected toperform a great variety of tasks, though duties may differ between the sexes. Most goods are handmade and subsistenceeconomy prevails. Individualism is weakly developed in folk cultures as aresocial classes. Unaltered folk cultures no longer exist in industrializedcountries such as the United States and Canada. Perhaps the nearest modernequivalent in Anglo America is the Amish, a German American farming sect thatlargely renounces the products and labor saving devices of the industrial age. In Amish areas, horse drawn buggies still serve as a local transportation device and the faithful are not permitted to ownautomobiles. The Amishs central religious concept of Demuthumility, clearly reflects the weakness of individualism andsocial class so typical of folk cultures and there is a correspondingstrength of Amish group identity. Rarely do the Amish marry outside their sect. The religion, a variety of theMennonite faith, provides the principal mechanism for maintaining orders. By contrast a popular culture is a large heterogeneous group often highlyindividualistic and constantly changing. Relationships tend to be impersonaland a pronounced division of labor exists, leading to the establishment of manyspecialized professions. Secular institutions of control such as thepolice and army take the place of religion and family inmaintaining order, and a money-based economy prevails. Because of thesecontrasts, popular may be viewed as clearly different fromfolk. The popular is replacing the folk in industrialized countriesand in many developing nations. Folk-made objects give way to their popularequivalent, usually because the popular item is more quickly or cheaplyproduced, is easier or time saving to use or leads more prestige to the owner. | 
