culture war

[ kuhl-cher wawr ]

noun

1. a conflict or struggle for dominance between groups within a society or between societies, arising from their differing beliefs, practices, etc.:

   a culture war over the right to own a gun; China’s culture war with the Western world.

Word History and Origins

Origin of culture war¹

First recorded in 1875–80; a loan translation of German Kulturkampf ( def ). The contemporary sense was first recorded in 1985–90 .

Example Sentences

As a bastion of liberal ideas, the Golden State and Newsom himself also play an outsized role in the “culture war” debate over ideology in America, driven in part today by the governor’s relentless campaign against Trumpism.

From Los Angeles Times

She said the two former schoolmates had found themselves on “opposite ends of a culture war.”

From Los Angeles Times

Some more conservative members of the Democratic Party are taking this as an opportunity to punch out at their left-leaning colleagues: Rahm Emanuel, speaking to Puck News, diagnosed the issue with Democrats as a lack of comfort in using the term “illegal alien,” a culture war fight 20 years settled.

From Slate

They are upset about culture war issues like diversity training and transgender kids even though they aren't personally affected by that either.

From Salon

Now, the narrative feels more like a permanent state of mind as well as a culture war weapon.

From Los Angeles Times