what does "it" refer to in this sentence "...by those whose culture it is"?

Question

This is a sentence from an LSAT:

According to one proposed definition, a culture is the totality of the customs practiced by those whose culture it is.

Could someone please explain what does "it" refer to?

Thank you very much,

Leon

Answer 1

If you concentrate on the relative clause

[those] whose culture it is

You could rewrite it as a main clause in this way:

It is their culture.

So it here is a personal pronoun referring to their culture. You could replace "it" with "this" referring to the same:

This is their culture.

You can also have similarly structured sentences with other personal pronouns:

I am their teacher. (so in your specific sentence, the similar construction would be whose teacher I am)

Answer 2

It refers to "a culture". The definition is self-referential.

a culture is the totality of the customs practiced by those whose culture it is.

Perhaps it will be clearer to substitute a specific culture, such as Arstotzkan (a fictional culture).

Direct substitution:

Arstotzkan is the totality of the customs practiced by those whose culture Arstotzkan is.

although we would swap the last two words because it sounds more natural:

Arstotzkan is the totality of the customs practiced by those whose culture is Arstotzkan.

Answer 3

"It" refers to a specific culture.

The sentence refers to cultures (plural), but an individual can only 'have' one culture at a time, hence 'it' is singular.