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afolkcultureisasmallisolated,cohesive,conservative,nearlyself-sufficientgroupthatishomogeneousincustomandracewithastrongfamilyorclanstructureandhighlydevelopedrituals.orderismaintainedthroughsanctionsbasedinthereligionorfamilyandinterpersonal.
relationshipsarestrong.traditionisparamount,andchangeesinfrequentlyandslowly.thereisrelativelylittledivisionoflaborintospecializedduties.rather,eachpersonisexpectedtoperformagreatvarietyoftasks,thoughdutiesmaydifferbetweenthesexes.mostgoodsarehandmadeandsubsistenceeconomyprevails.
individualismisweaklydevelopedinfolkculturesasaresocialclasses.unalteredfolkculturesnolongerexistinindustrializedcountriessuchastheunitedstatesandcanada.perhapsthenearestmodernequivalentinangloamericaistheamish,agermanamericanfarmingsectthatlargelyrenouncestheproductsandlaborsavingdevicesoftheindustrialage.
inamishareas,horsedrawnbuggiesstillserveasalocaltransportationdeviceandthefaithfularenotpermittedtoownautomobiles.theamish'scentralreligiousconceptofdemut"humility",clearlyreflectstheweaknessofindividualismandsocialclasssotypicaloffolkculturesandthereisacorrespondingstrengthofamishgroupidentity.rarelydotheamishmarryoutsidetheirsect.thereligion,avarietyofthemennonitefaith,providestheprincipalmechanismformaintainingorder.
bycontrastapopularcultureisalargeheterogeneousgroupoftenhighlyindividualisticandapronouncedmanyspecializedprofessions.secularinstitutionsofcontrolsuchasthepoliceandarmytaketheplaceofreligionandfamilyinmaintainingorder,andamoney-basedeconomyprevails.becauseofthesecontrasts,"popular"maybeviewedasclearlydifferentfrom"folk".
thepopularisreplacingthefolkinindustrializedcountriesandinmanydevelopingnations.folk-madeobjectsgivewaytotheirpopularequivalent,usuallybecausethepopularitemismorequicklyorcheaplyproduced,iseasierortimesavingtouseorleadsmoreprestigetotheowner.