2nd of a 4 part series adapted from a final research paper for my Asian American Theology course (for the 1st Part, Introduction, click here)
COLLECTIVITY
Definitions
In the midst of all the particularities of Asian American experience one common factor is the Asian background of collective cultures that persists with Asian Americans.[1] Collectivity is not always expressed in the same ways and it is not exclusive to Asian cultures but it is an overarching rule rather than the exception found in Asian cultures. Though expressed in differing ways and nuances, many religions and worldviews of Asian cultures have a common sense of something that connects all life.[2] Whether explicitly religious or part and parcel of the culture this sense of connectivity is expressed in the social ordering of collectivism, that places the needs of the group above the individual, as attested in many Asian cultures. Collectivism emphasizes the “we” whereas individualism emphasizes the “I”.[3] Attending concepts of shame and honor are often found in collective cultures where individual actions are magnified socially.
Potentials and Problems
The potentials of collectivity are in the ways it can help us consider others outside of ourselves whether it be family, neighbors, community, and the world. Collectivity trains us to adapt, adjust, and accomodate to the needs of others. Self-sacrifice makes more sense in collectivity and is a tangible expression of love that Asian Americans can be connected to more closely through their heritage. Collectivity can keep the individual accountable to others, more readily see systemic issues, and be a check to a dangerous progression of Western liberalism where the rights of an individual reign supreme no matter the social cost.[4]
However, collectivity itself unchecked has its own set of problems. In the name of maintaining social order, people are entrusted with power to arbitrate power but then can hold on to it and abuse it. Collectivity is especially susceptible to this abuse of power, using hierarchy for hegemony rather than for helping. Collectivity is not immune to the danger of merging with worldly use of power for domination rather than service, silencing opposition and minorities on the margins. In the centering of collective concerns, individuals can be erased.
In Scripture
Reading the bible with the lens of collectivity in mind helps us to highlight connections we may not readily see and give us clues to ways of operating in a Christ redeemed collectivity. The bible begins with a sense of the collective Triune God, distinct roles yet unified – Creator, Spirit, and Word. The Hebrew word for God the Spirit is ruach which can also mean breath. God breathed into humanity and thus the Spirit reminds us of the breath of life that has animated us all. Even after sin and death enter the story, God enters into covenantal relationship with humanity as God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jesus himself reminds us that God is “not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.” (Luke 20:38 NIV). Here we see collectivity speaks to ancestors that have passed and the eternality of people, which makes sense to many Asian traditions that venerate their ancestors.[5] This understanding can enrich the concept and experience of the communion of saints past in the present.
Collectivity can also explain the reality of not just individual responsibility but corporate responsibility – which is why Achan’s whole family was held responsible for his sin as well as why Nehemiah, upon hearing of Jerusalem in ruins, would repent not only for his own sins but for those of his family, his people of Israel, and his ancestors long gone even though Nehemiah was born and raised in Babylon. God speaks not only to individuals but addresses collectives, from Israel to surrounding nations and from individual disciples of Jesus to the whole Church and world. Even epistles were circulated to churches and communities. The loss of the 2nd person plural “you all” in English (and in predominant English translations of the bible) is a loss to the US American culture and indicative of its blind spot to collective and systemic community and responsibility. In fact, our salvation even rests on the idea of collectivity in that just as we became collectively responsible for the sin of the one Adam, we who trust in Jesus receive collectively the righteousness of the one Jesus.[6]
Application
In Jesus we, who trust in him, have a way forward with a redeemed collectivity. The analogy of the Church as the Body of Christ captures this collectivity well. The individual is in service to the whole but the whole must also recognize and honor the individual, with special care for the most vulnerable. All this comes under the headship of Jesus, in a healthy model of hierarchy that uses his power not to dominate but to serve. In God’s hierarchy, as a check to power, God holds those in positions of leadership to greater accountability and responsibility. Even shame and honor are redeemed in that the locus of the good is not relative to the whims of the social order but are bestowed by God and find their grounding in God.[7]. The healing of Jesus is holistic in that like the story of the bleeding woman he not only heals her physically but replaces shame by honoring her in front of the people and so heals her socially. Asian Americans Christians through their proximity to collectivity can, in Christ, see and embody a redeemed collectivity to the larger Church and the world.
Part 3: The Bible Through an Asian American Lens: Invisibility
Part 4: The Bible Through an Asian American Lens: Liminality
[1] Edara, “Relation of Individualism–Collectivism and Ethnic Identity.”
[2] In Taoism is found the concept of chi (which is even referred to in Buddhism), In Hinduism there is prana, In Polynesian worldview there is mana, and in many indigenous cultures we find animism.
[3] Edara, “Relation of Individualism–Collectivism and Ethnic Identity.”
[4] Koyzis, Political Visions and Illusions, 27-62.
[5] Chan, Grassroots Theology, 188-197.
[6] Keller, “Racism and Corporate Evil”
[7] Chan, Grassroots Theology, 82-89.
treevalley in the inner city 