The Myth of Meaning: 11 Society as Church — Collective Identity and Secular Communion

The Problem

Human communities often act as though shared beliefs, norms, and rituals are sacred, generating a sense of collective purpose. Social cohesion is treated as a source of meaning, imbuing cultural participation with a quasi-divine significance.

The Distortion

This mirrors the structure of the Church: society becomes the vessel of transcendent authority. Shared norms and practices are treated as objectively binding, and collective identity assumes the role of divine order, regulating significance and sanctioning deviation. Even secular civic or cultural systems inherit this theological pattern.

The Relational Alternative

From a relational perspective, collective identity is emergent, not imposed. Meaning arises through the interactions, negotiations, and alignments within the community. Social practices are patterns of relational actualisation, not channels of pre-given significance. Participation generates significance; it is not a matter of inheritance or decree.

Takeaway

Society as church is theology in secular guise. Relational ontology shows that collective meaning emerges from ongoing interaction, not from authority or divine sanction, making significance contingent, dynamic, and participatory.