From an outsider’s perspective, Americans are far more involved in church, praying and religion generally than anything I am used to or have noticed in the western countries I have lived in. On the other hand, America is also much more into individualism and looking out for immediate family and self than the western countries I have lived in (I’m thinking welfare, unemployment benefits, state housing, free accident medical cover, cheap state health, community socials and buildings, community services etc). I know there are areas of the states where there is definitely community spirit and care, but on the whole, it appears that it is basically every man (or woman) for himself. Is this not at odds with the ideas of christianity (and indeed other religions) and loving thine neighbour etc? I personally, would imagine it is far more scarey to lose one’s job (or not be able to find one) or one’s home in the US, than it is in other places, especially as health insurance is tied up with employment.
There’s nothing incompatible between the American individualistic spirit and the “love your neighbor” ethos of Christianity.
In fact many American congregations support private charity efforts, ranging from soup kitchens and food pantries to Habitat for Humanity. Look at the number of medical centers with “Christian,” “Baptist,” “Methodist,” etc. in their names. All founded by religious groups. Although many of them are getting out of the business of running hospitals, the philosophy of private charity remains.
Americans tend to feel that the government will screw things up more than fix them. So they don’t trust the government to do a very good job most of the time.
Many American Christians would probably tell you that the government should not get involved in community care as much as private people should. As kunilou says, it’s more often done by churches or groups.
As one example, if my family were in trouble some way, my church’s advice would be to see who in the family could help us. Then we would see how the church could help us. When other resources have run out, it’s time to go to the government, but not until other avenues have been tried. So if we can’t buy enough food, we might try asking family members for help or getting food from the local food storehouse before applying for food assistance from the government.
My husband is financial clerk for our local congregation, and though of course he never tells me who receives help, it’s hard for me to miss the fact that he sometimes gets called out to cut emergency checks for rent/utilities needs or whatnot. A lot of people get help through churches without going to the government at all.
It has been my experience (YMMV) that most practicing and/or self-proclaimed Christians know very little or nothing at all about their own religion. This makes it difficult to find a logical link between Christianity and its adherants’ behavior.
The other posters are correct in that Americans see their neighbor and their community as the primary givers of support and aid in times of need. Reading your OP, I realize what different viewpoints that I, and lots of Americans, come from versus others in the Western Hemisphere. To many of us, the American government(s) are there to provide basic services. They are not there to run our lives, be our guardian, or coddle us. That is the place of the family, community, and church or other of your choosing. There are plenty of private charities out there more than willing to help anyone. No one is starving and contrary to poplar belief, no one of sound mind is homeless for long. That is in no way contrary to most religious beliefs. I see no contradiction whatsoever. Individuals and private groups are the ones responsible for helping themselves and others on their own free will and it tends to work quite effectively.
America, remember, was founded by Protestants and Puritans. A deadly combination if ever there was one. The Puritanism is what gives us the work ethic later adopted by the Protestants, it comes from the idea that your salvation is preordained from birth; there’s no sense in improving yourself as a person, so you might as well just work hard and try to gauge your fate by your success or lack thereof. The Protestants, when they split from Catholicism, did away with the mediators to God. Suddenly people had a personal relationship with God, they could read the Bible themselves and work out the implications and decisions for themselves, whence comes the every-man-for-himself attitude. Americans therefore cling desperately to that, and anything even remotely connected with that, because they lack the social solidarity of other Western nations.
Thanks for your thoughtful replies. Whilst I do detect a certain amount of “the government should…” whenever there is a problem in society here, I think we too have a strong protestant work ethic. I know that I expect the government to do certain things because that is what I pay my very high taxes for - but I don’t think the majority of people in non-American cultures think they are being coddled by the government. I can’t imagine that the number of people stuck in welfare dependency is any greater outside of the US.
Maybe because the vast majority of us are not affiliated with a church, when we are in need, it has to be the government? But also, I doubt that many churches provide what you say US churches provide by way of help.