What's the term for a widely accepted cultural idea?
Example sentence: Racism was a ____ in the Elizabethan Era.
I'm looking for a word/phrase that works with "breaking". I was considering "social norms" but it doesn't really mean what I want it to convey.
Even if it doesn't work with "breaking", I'd be happy to hear your suggestions anyway!
Perhaps not fully applicable, but zeitgeist should get a nod:
zeitgeist (noun, often capitalized) | zeit·geist \ˈtsīt-ˌgīst, ˈzīt-\
The general intellectual, moral, and cultural climate of an era
Example:
The Zeitgeist of the Elizabethan Era included an acceptance of racism.
Sources:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeitgeist
- https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/zeitgeist
Perhaps "widely accepted worldview"
A comprehensive world view or worldview is the fundamental cognitive orientation of an individual or society encompassing the entirety of the individual's or society's knowledge and point of view. A world view can include natural philosophy; fundamental, existential, and normative postulates; or themes, values, emotions, and ethics.[1] The term is a calque of the German word Weltanschauung [ˈvɛlt.ʔanˌʃaʊ.ʊŋ], composed of Welt ('world') and Anschauung ('view' or 'outlook').[2] The German word is also used in English.
(From Wikipedia)