Communities of Imagination
Benedict Anderson, aka Aaron Binenkorp’s Imagined Communities is an influential human sciences text that traces the post-colonial development of nationalism that this post will analyze from the lens of the religious decline of power in the West. Anderson says the 18th Century marked the dawn of nationalism and the “dusk of religious modes of thought.”[1] He leverages the revolutionary influence of the enlightenment as the breakaway catalyst to escape colonial strongholds, but fails to capture the successful emergence of Christendom. While he makes a lot of religious associations in his seminal work, very few of them are Christian. When he did reference Christianity it was generally washed down and lumped together with other non-Christian world views. I did find a redeeming section where Anderson tied his idea of nationalism to the paradigm of Christian modernism. He compared the Biblical genealogy from Abraham to Christ as a sharp “reminder of this narrative’s modernity.”[2]
According to Wikipedia, there are three primary models of nationalism; primordialism, ethnosymbolism, and modernism.[3] Primordialism sees nationalism as a natural phenomenon, ethnosymbolism sees it as evolutionary phenomenon, and modernism sees it as a recent community development originating from the effects of a modern society.[4] Anderson uses modernism as the basis for his nationalistic theories.
Anderson’s primary thesis, the imagined community, is the phenomenon of how people groups “regard themselves as belonging to the same community, even if they have never met, and have nothing in common otherwise.”[5] Xidias is a Macat author whose review of Anderson’s work gave me hope through his critical thinking and analysis of Imagined Communities. I did not know this, but Macat focuses on “making the ideas of the world’s great thinkers accessible and comprehensible to everybody, everywhere, in ways that promote the development of enhanced critical thinking skills.”[6] Praise the Lord, because I was struggling to find ways to connect with Anderson.
So, with the help of the Macat tool, I have adapted my examination lens to look at Anderson’s text through “the decline of religion and the advent of the printing press.”[7] I personally do not see how religion declined, from the Christian point of view. Instead, the enlightenment and the fathers of the reformation challenged religious traditions and helped bring back the 1st Century organic church. I do agree, the invention of the printing press is a theological game changer that put the Word of God into the hands, hearts, and minds of people groups on a global scale.
Two more dated articles on Anderson’s work follow. First, Reid’s analysis describes how Anderson’s notion of nationalism is more like a perceived religious destiny than the outcome of a series of individual choices. [8] Paraphrasing Reid and combing my cross-cultural experiences I think people innately seek their creator. Because of that Anderson’s modernistic nationalism offers humankind a kind of abstract spiritual explanation for the problem of evil in the world that causes suffering and death.[9] A negative critique from Reid, who was writing at the time computers were just coming into the homes of average people and before the world wide web, says that Anderson’s “print capitalism” fails to address the impact and surge of information from “electronic media and satellite hook-ups.”[10] If Reid only knew how fast the impact of information technology and the rapid advance of globalization would impact nationalism, he might have challenged Anderson to update thesis on print capitalism with the phenomenon of virtual capitalism. Second, a journal review calls Anderson’s work a “modern classic on nationalism from a leftist perspective.”[11] Furthermore, Anderson’s “anti-Eurocentric stance” helped make Imagined Communities an academic success.[12]
In the spirit of transparency, this post was difficult for me to connect with. Nevertheless, I credit my time with 1st semester authors Bayard, how to orient and maintain a peripheral perspective, and Roundtree’s SQ3R (survey, question, read, recall, and review) as examples of why I was able to “read around” Anderson and finally find a way to engage and connect with his communities of nationalism.[13] I hope to use the concept of imagined communities to help in my upcoming focus group survey and research on spiritual warfare. The use of community imagination fits my need to engage the North American church, lay ministry, armor of God ministry stewards, and pastoral leaders in a safe conversation and analysis on the problem of spiritual warfare. I discern that the use of imagination during the analysis and discussion of spiritual warfare within the small community of my focus group and ministry stakeholders will prove helpful. Macat author Xidias recommends and I believe Anderson would support the analysis of the unique cultural expression called spiritual warfare in the Christian community.[14]
Stand firm,
M. Webb
[1] Benedict Anderson. Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. Rev. ed. ed. (London: Verso, 2006) 10.
[2] Ibid., 208. Matt. 1: 1-17.
[3] “Nationalism,” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nationalism (accessed January 18, 2018).
[4] Ibid.
[5] Jsaon Xidias. An Analysis of Benedict Anderson’s Imagined Communities. (Macat Library. London: Routledge, 2017) 5.
[6] Ibid., 6.
[7] Ibid., 9.
[8] Anthony Reid. “Imagined Communities. Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. (Book Review).” Pacific Affairs 58, no. 3 (1985): 497.
[9] Ibid.
[10] Ibid., 499.
[11] “Benedict Anderson. Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. London: Verso, 2006. 240 Pp. £12.00. ISBN 1–84467–086–4.” Forum for Modern Language Studies 45, no. 2 (2009): 216.
[12] Ibid.
[13] Pierre Bayard. How to talk about books you haven’t read. Bloomsbury Publishing USA, 2007.
Derek Rowntree. Learn How to Study: Developing the study skills and approaches to learning that will help you succeed in university: A virtual tutorial with Professor Derek Rowntree. Kindle ed. Wappingers Falls, NY: Beekman Books, 1989.
[14] Xidias, Analysis of Anderson’s Imagined Communities, 73.
About the Author
Mike
7 responses to “Communities of Imagination”
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Hey Mike, I used the Macat Library text as well. Very helpful!
From an American perspective, the Enlightenment did not result in the decline of Christianity, but it certainly did in the European context. Most of those who fled to the New World from Europe did so because of religious persecution. That meant that the US was predominantly settled by the Christian devout, while Europe was left with the more secular minded and nominally religious people who had no reason to “flee.”
Jennifer,
Thanks for your comments and insights. This was the first time I found the Macat Library, I will watch it for other sources in our Dmin journey.
M. Webb
Hi Mike!
While you are transparent about struggling to connect this text with your research, I think you did a great job on your post. I’m anxious to hear about your focus groups and how you will incorporate the concept of imagined communities into your questions.
I was trying to think deeper about your thoughts on IMAGINED COMMUNITIES in a way to “regard themselves as belonging to the same community, even if they have never met, and have nothing in common otherwise.”
To me, the list is unlimited where this definition could apply. Especially when is says they have never met and have nothing in common otherwise.
I suppose that is why they call it “imagined”!
Whether I imagine it or not, you and are in community together in a variety of ways–Idaho connections, love for Jesus, Doctoral students at George Fox, advisees of Dr. D…
I think I could make it simpler. We are Brothers!
Great post Mike. For some reason it reminded me of my booth at the fair a couple years ago. Because I am a little spoiled sometimes, I have a church booth in the air-conditioned building; at one end of the room was the Donald Trump booth, at the other was the Hillary Clinton booth. Then on one side of my booth was the legalize marijuana booth, and elsewhere was a lgbt booth. It was amazing how many people were divided by the Donald/Hillary issues, and yet by the time they made it past the other booths, they rejoiced together that there was a booth promoting Jesus Christ at the fair. I cannot help but be curious how many nations we are allowed to associate ourselves with.
Mike,
Great insight, I too had difficulties in finding a connection with this text. I usually feel (whether it is true or not) on the defensive with many of the readings we are assigned but most of the time I find a way. This book really felt like a diatribe against eurocentrism but that is really ok it all comes out in the wash.
Hey Mike,
Thanks for this post– and for the background reading you did on this. I like to see that someone else was also reading around the text and trying to find out more in order to understand it better.