A community refers to a group of people with more or less common cultural beliefs, who live closely together in a defined area. These people practice similar economic activities, use similar methods, and mostly share the same views about various issues. Anciently it was meant to denote a group of people living preferably nearby and at a specific geographical location. Recently, with the advancement in technology which has removed some obstacles that hindered movement and communication, geographical location is no longer an issue. Community is an important part of human life; to a considerable extent, it determines the interaction and cohesion between human beings. Man is a social animal and one can not live without depending on others, hence the significance of the community in our society. This paper seeks to highlight the importance of community integration, and how the various components of religion address the issue of the community.
Religious studies are mostly concerned with the way people conduct themselves in society, have on many occasions been consulted in defining how the community should be run under various circumstances. In the ancient days, communities were run by the laws of the religion which the community was professing, and in case of any departure from what was expected of one the punishment was administered by the leaders of religion, for example, the Council of Chalcedon, whose judgment was considered final. This made community poses diverse differences from one part of the world to the other since religions were distinct from one another. Those people who believed in Celtic Christianity had different ways of life from the others who did not follow the laws of that religion. Nowadays communication has improved the transmission of various cultural beliefs to different parts, as a result, people of various locations in the world tend to exhibit similarities in the way they conduct themselves within their communities.
Anciently, the church had one vital law that Christianity was useless to an individual if one was to be saved alone, therefore people cared for one another and were very concerned with well being of the community as a whole. The Benedictine rule also emphasizes the importance of communal prayer and the use of the Book of Common Prayer which is believed to improve unity amongst people. For the years that Christianity has been there, the mainline has been for people to love and care for one another, as is evidenced by the monks and Cistercians who live together and share everything they have. Unfortunately, development and technology have made community just another term in the dictionary whose meaning is there for study purposes only, since people do not mind about others especially the unprivileged. Peter preached the canon law of love for all people and treating each one equally while it was Martin Luther’s wish that people should not fight and should live together in peace. The Lord’s Supper was also a sign of love to one another which every Christian is encouraged to observe.
The protestant church gives priority to dependency on the scripture alone as the source of guidance and dwelling on faith, and this has helped in making the community a better organ of society. According to the Protestants, every person in the community is an ambassador of spreading the word of God; hence each one had a role to pray in spreading Christianity, therefore exhibiting that community is inevitable. It’s is this unity that was being emphasized during the period of great awakenings.
On the other hand, the Eastern Orthodox Church depicts the community as reflecting the life that God lived with his disciples, and which human beings are required to follow. There is an organization of authority that reflects the importance of unity in the community and what should be done by everybody. It is the belief of the Eastern Orthodox, that ultimately all human beings will join God in heaven and live together as one forever. Christians are encouraged to live in a community and to extend their love to one another, hence fostering the teachings of Jesus Christ who suffered for everybody without discrimination.
Incidentally, the Roman Catholic Church beliefs that the current church is the continuation of the community church from ancient times. Though the Roman Catholic respects the justice of an individual to make his or her own decisions, it coaxes them to hold on to each other for spiritual support and to enhance Christian cohesion. There is a universal agreement that the church is a group of people with common interests, which include devotion to God and serving others in the community. In this sense, Roman Catholicism acknowledges that people must live as a community and individualism are against the will of God.
People used to live in communities in the past, and everything was done in a group knowing that the neighbor was part of one like one’s children or siblings. During the age of enlightenment, tolerance was emphasized while people were encouraged to be more subtle in their judgment against others in a move that boosted unity in the community. Surprisingly, nowadays the world is so disintegrated that people just care about themselves, and whatever happens to their neighbors does not matter to them.
The community is very vital to society, hence people should try as much as possible to be aware of others around them. In conjunction with that, Jesus stressed the need of the community by bringing his disciples together to live as brothers, and also through teaching the importance of loving our neighbors. Mother Teresa showed a good example by dedicating her life to serving humanity and making the less fortunate in society have a reason to smile. It’s paramount therefore for people to maintain cohesion amongst them, and to be their brothers’ keepers.