The focus of the investigation is a critique of the assumptions of homogeneity and coherence that significantly burden not only the classical concept of culture but also the everyday understanding of cultural identity. These misunderstandings overlook the internal plurality of cultures; they also promote the oppression of individuals by their group of origin in the context of multicultural identity politics. The cultural community thus becomes a freedom-restricting "shell of belonging." This fundamental danger of multiculturalism can only be countered by a context-sensitive liberalism that takes the recognition demands of cultural minorities seriously while simultaneously politically prohibiting any fixation of cultural identities.