ABSTRACT
The relationship between man, the community, and environment is one of the lasting themes to which every generation makes its contribution based upon knowledge and historical circumstances. The basic problem of the community in the Western world is therefore to be seen in terms of what happened historically to the structure of power and function in the larger society. Much thought is being given these days to the need for community centers, especially in the suburbs and in many of the "model" towns which are coming into existence in so many parts of the world. The old communities—tribe, clan, joint family, and guild—were held together to a very large extent by sacred, even religious, bonds. The reason why religion has figured so prominently in social history is that in any community a feeling of meaning, of shared purpose, is essential to the prosperity of the community.
