Communities :)

What is a community?

A community is a group of interacting people. It often refers to a group that share the same values or thoughts. A community can be as large as a country or a nation or a small as a family.  In biology a community is a group of organisms living or sharing the same environment and interacting with one another but when referring to humans, communities are a little more complex.

Citizenship is the state of being a citizen in a particular community. For example, someone can be part of a political, national or social community. A citizen can either participate in his community or not. For example someone does not have to vote but when he does he is an active citizen although in certain communities people have obligations.

Here are some examples of communities:

·         Town

·         Country

·         Language

·         Sports teams

·         Religion

·         Family

·         Ethnic groups

What does it mean to be part of a community?

Somme communities are optional like the town you live in or the sports team you are in. In those communities you can make the choice whether you want to be part of them or not. There are some communities you are born in and in which you will be in for your whole life. Things like you family, your language, your ethnicity or your religion are usually not changed during a lifetime. What communities all have in common is the way members have obligations and advantages for being part of them. For example, being part of a country has obligations like paying taxes or voting but also has benefits like a health care or an educational system. Leaving communities can have negative impacts on someone’s life. For example an Islamic person who leaves his family and marries someone from another religion will have consequences like losing his heritage. The polygamist and Amish communities also have strict rules and when people leave, they get banned and ignored by their friends and family. People have the choice to be part or not of the community but being part or not has consequences.


Every organisation is related to one another and has consequences on others. In other words being part of a group has positive and negative aspects. It has its responsibilities and obligations but also its advantages.