Immigrant societies like USA, Republic of South Africa, Canada, Australia, New Zeeland depend on personal identity derived from achieved status (occupation, creative output, enterprise success). This contrasts with "the old country" where who you are is not confused with what you do. You are a member of a family lineage and location. Identity is BE not DO-based. When meeting a person in the context of an immigrant society, one of the first questions is "what do you do," not "who are you."
Social scientists have explored some of these curious characteristics. but there are ramifications for Christianity, too, since the central idea is relationships. God is love and serving others is based on knowing them personally, not anonymously. For immigrant societies where a culture of (tangible, visible, external) achievement (including 'virtue signaling') is so prominent, it is relatively easy to make friends. But those friendships often are shallower than counterparts in non-immigrant societies. Foreign visitors to USA, for example, or people who mingle with expatriate USA citizens often remark that these North Americans are "so friendly" but that friendships are easily discarded to make room for the next one. By extension, it would seem that the relationship-foundation for Christian love of one's neighbor and indeed of one's Creator is also quick to form, but easily discarded.
The second observation about USA immigrant-composed social patterns is that ego seems more prominent; one is A Person before one is Belonging to a Group. Imagery of "rugged individuals" and "making one's own luck" and "pulling oneself up by the bootstraps" are examples of this praise for single-handed protagonists. On the one hand, when "I" is so inflated, at least some people will become self-aware of this and therefore take steps to establish habits of seeing and hearing that dwell on non-self or minimal ego. That is likely a small fraction of the popular culture, though. When movies and folklore are hero-centric, young people take this as normal and worth aspiring to become. To outsiders it might be comical to see people striving to be the biggest and best, as if respect or worth comes from peer accolades alone. With regard to implications for Christianity interpreted in USA, the idea of Jesus washing the feet of his apostles and underscoring humility is just one more "topsy-turvy," paradoxical illustrations of growing as a Christian.
Naturally the seemingly simple teaching of Christianity that God is Love, and that one's highest calling is to love one's neighbor as oneself has a slightly different accent in each society and language and historical moment; perhaps there are systematic different angles of view for men versus women, too. But sticking to the immigrant societies where identity is problematical (required to be expressed; not something born with) and built upon Ego and Achievement, and where friendships are temporarily formed with little friction, these few observations in this article suggest that the USA version of Christianity has several quirks. Among these peculiarities is the burden of Ego getting in the way of a Servant's Heart. Many selfless Christian brothers and sisters can be found in USA, too, of course, but as a national scale generalization this preoccupation with promoting oneself does stand out. Likewise the relationship heart of Christianity takes on a different form in USA where relationships are so readily made, but also readily abandoned.
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