Humans
are tribal.
This is not a new insight. We’ve been splitting ourselves into groups based on any and every available characteristic for millennia.
In her important new work,
Political Tribes, Yale’s Amy Chua writes:
We crave bonds and attachments which is why we love clubs, teams, fraternities, family.
But though this inbuilt tribalism pushes us toward positive engagement and creation of community, it has its dark side, too. Chua notes:
[T]he tribal instinct is not just an instinct to belong. It is also an instinct to exclude.
Christianity does not erase our tribalism. But it should transform it—recreate it into something useful in service to God and others. At its best, our tribal instinct can help motivate…
