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Show enough at this point merely to attack the myth of Mormon cultural homogeneity--common sense would be enough to take us this far. 26 Other, more meaningful questions remain. If Mormonism in the nineteenth century existed, not as a single stream of cultural co r-(9ensus, but rather~ as a set of sophisticated contradictions, how can we explain its nonetheless strong image of cohesion and solidarity? If town life did not make all Saints the same;- bu \ in fact, allowed cultural differences to exist, what forces were there that continued to foster a collective sense of social purpose and responsibility? Such questions are raised but not answered by the material record and we must look further into theories of culture and social change for solutions to the problem at hand. In a study of house form on the Faroe Islands, the Danish enthnologist Bjarne Stoklund outlines what has become a standard explanation for folk architectural diversity: In many ways the house is a reflection of the society around it. Where we find a very homogeneous building tradition and interior design, we can with some certainty conclude that there is a high degree of cultural integration, a harmony regarding the goals, norms and values of life. In such well-integrated societies there would be a tendency to choose from among several possible solutions to the construction of a building, for example, only one, or--where several building methods were employed--to set forth precise rules for which houses were to be constructed in which way. In other societies, such as old peasant societies in the process of breaking up or urban settlements just being established, the norms for the correct building methrid or the correct design will often be much more 1ax .27 One must ask, where does Mormon society fit into Stoklund s dichotomy? 1 It has been convenient, obligatory even, to view Mormon society as an established entity with a fixed set of cultural values perpetuated by an efficient set of social norms. In such a place we would expect to find, as Stoklund indicates, a homogeneous building tradition. 11 If, however, |
