Final answer:
A group of people with shared values, characteristics, and interests is called a community. Society is a broader term, encompassing both the community and its shared culture, which includes the norms, beliefs, practices, and political structures. Culture specifically refers to these shared beliefs and practices within society.
Step-by-step explanation:
An umbrella term to describe a group of people with shared values, characteristics, and interests is called a community. In sociological terms, a community can be defined either as a group of people with shared interests and values or as a group of people who live in the same place. On the other hand, society refers to a group of people who live in a definable community and share the same culture, which includes the people, institutions, shared beliefs, cultural ideas, and typically a political authority. Sociologists also emphasize that society involves interaction among its members. The difference between society and culture is nuanced but important: while they are often used interchangeably, society encompasses the broader aspects of the community and culture, whereas culture specifically refers to the shared values, beliefs, norms, language, practices, and artifacts of the people within that society. Sociologists advocate for cultural relativism, assessing others using their cultural standards, and recognizing that our experience with cultural differences is influenced by our tendencies toward ethnocentrism and xenocentrism.