In sociology, culture is understood as the shared beliefs, values, practices, and material objects that characterize a group or society. It encompasses the learned and socially transmitted ways of life, including language, customs, norms, knowledge, skills, and symbolic codes that shape how people think, act, and relate to one another

. More specifically:

• Culture represents the collective ideas and habits that members of a society learn, share, and pass down across generations, forming a "whole way of life"

• It includes both material artifacts (physical objects) and nonmaterial elements such as beliefs, values, norms, and customs that guide behavior and social interaction

• Culture is the framework through which individuals interpret their social world and is closely linked to social structures and organization, meaning culture and society are interdependent

• Sociologists analyze culture as a system of symbolic meanings and practices embedded in social life, which influence and are influenced by social processes

• Culture is dynamic, changing through collective social actions while maintaining continuity over time

In sum, culture in sociology is the complex, shared, and socially learned system of meanings, behaviors, and material expressions that define the way of life of a group and connect individuals within society