affiliation, but a concrete group of people that entered into a relationship with Jesus and
with other people.”^64 The gatherings of these people came to be known as“communion”
and“fellowship.”These important occasions within the community contributed to feel-
ings of interdependence and group cohesion. This notion of community as part of
Christianity goes back to the apostles, who used these communities to take care of the
poor (2 Cor. 8:24), provide hospitality to travelers (Rom. 16:2), and generally comfort
one another. In each of the instances, the focus was on God’s people praying together.
Even at the Last Supper, Jesus chose to be with others instead of spending his last night
alone. There is not a single reference about that occasion that points to a private prayer
session. Schmidt and his colleagues summarize this key component of Christianity with
this single sentence:“In essence, all worship is praying with others.”^65
Today, for Christians, the church remains a key element in how community is
revealed. Not only is it a“house of worship”and a place of great reverence, but it is
also a place where people gather in groups and share a common identity. For our pur-
poses, it is the social dimension of Christianity that offers insight into the communi-
cation aspects of this tradition. Visit any Christian church, and you can observe the
strong influence of cooperative spirit in how churches have special services for young
children, sanctuaries for baptisms, meeting halls, and countless social gatherings.
That sense of community and organized worship has contributed to the social
dimension found in Western cultures. Americans are social creatures and belong to
numerous clubs, committees, and organizations. The French historian Alexis de Toc-
queville pointed out over two hundred years ago that Americans had a large series of
networks and associations that went well beyond their family unit.Christianity and Individualism
At the same time that Christianity encourages community, it also stresses the uniqueness
of each individual. The individual is perhaps important because each person is“God’s
creation.”Plus, they can have a one-on-one relationship with God. Most scholars main-
tain that Christianity and Judaism were the first religions that placed“greater emphasis
on the autonomy and responsibility of the self.”^66 In short, Christianity and Judaism are
the religious traditions that“discovered the individual.”^67 Before the arrival of these two
religions, people were seen as members of tribes, communities, or families and behaved
in ways that reflected the collective nature of their existence. Although family and com-
munity remained important, Christianity highlighted the significance of each person.
Even the Bible carries examples of individualism. The Gospels are replete with scenes
in which Jesus interacts with just one person at a time. It is clear that“Jesus emphasized
the personal side of religion.”^68 As Matthews points out, Jesus“wascontenttoeatwith
tax collectors, talk with a prostitute in the home of a host, to defend a woman whom a
crowd accused of adultery, to talk with a Samaritan woman at a public well.”^69
You also can see the significance of the individual in that part of Christian theology
that begins with the assumption that the world is real and meaningful because God cre-
ated it. An extension of that idea is that human beings are significant because God
created them in his image. In a culture that values the individual, Christianity is an
especially appealing religion, as each person can have a one-to-one bond with God.Christianity and“Doing”
Western culture, as will be discussed in detail in Chapter 6, is one that encourages
activity and action. Some of the roots of this philosophy can be traced to ChristianityCultural Expressions of Christianity 119Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).