Main Difference
The main difference between Society and Community is that the Society is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations and Community is a group of interacting living organisms sharing a populated environment; a social unit of human organisms who share common values.
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Society
A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same geographical or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Societies are characterized by patterns of relationships (social relations) between individuals who share a distinctive culture and institutions; a given society may be described as the sum total of such relationships among its constituent of members. In the social sciences, a larger society often exhibits stratification or dominance patterns in subgroups.
Insofar as it is collaborative, a society can enable its members to benefit in ways that would not otherwise be possible on an individual basis; both individual and social (common) benefits can thus be distinguished, or in many cases found to overlap. A society can also consist of like-minded people governed by their own norms and values within a dominant, larger society. This is sometimes referred to as a subculture, a term used extensively within criminology.
More broadly, and especially within structuralist thought, a society may be illustrated as an economic, social, industrial or cultural infrastructure, made up of, yet distinct from, a varied collection of individuals. In this regard society can mean the objective relationships people have with the material world and with other people, rather than “other people” beyond the individual and their familiar social environment.
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Community
A community is a small or large social unit (a group of living things) who have something in common, such as norms, religion, values, or identity. Communities often share a sense of place that is situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, town, or neighborhood) or in virtual space through communication platforms. Durable relations that extend beyond immediate genealogical ties also define a sense of community. People tend to define those social ties as important to their identity, practice, and roles in social institutions like family, home, work, government, society, or humanity, at large. Although communities are usually small relative to personal social ties (micro-level), “community” may also refer to large group affiliations (or macro-level), such as national communities, international communities, and virtual communities.
The word “community” derives from the Old French comuneté, which comes from the Latin communitas “community”, “public spirit” (from Latin communis, “shared in common”).
Human communities may share intent, belief, resources, preferences, needs, and risks in common, affecting the identity of the participants and their degree of cohesiveness.
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Society (noun)
A long-standing group of people sharing cultural aspects such as language, dress, norms of behavior and artistic forms.
“This society has been known for centuries for its colorful clothing and tight-knit family structure.”
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Society (noun)
A group of people who meet from time to time to engage in a common interest; an association or organization.
“It was then that they decided to found a society of didgeridoo-playing unicyclists.”
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Society (noun)
The sum total of all voluntary interrelations between individuals.
“The gap between Western and Eastern societies seems to be narrowing.”
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Society (noun)
The people of one’s country or community taken as a whole.
“Our global society develops in fits and starts.”
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Society (noun)
High society.
“Smith was first introduced into society at the Duchess of Grand Fenwick’s annual rose garden party.”
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Society (noun)
A number of people joined by mutual consent to deliberate, determine and act toward a common goal.
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Community (noun)
A group sharing a common understanding, and often the same language, law, manners, and/or tradition.
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Community (noun)
A residential or religious collective; a commune.
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Community (noun)
A group of interdependent organisms inhabiting the same region and interacting with each other.
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Community (noun)
A group of people interacting by professional, social, or other purposes; a virtual community.
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Community (noun)
The condition of having certain interests in common.
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Community (noun)
Common enjoyment or possession; participation.
“a community of goods”
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Community (noun)
Common character; likeness.
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Community (noun)
Commonness; frequency.
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Society (noun)
the aggregate of people living together in a more or less ordered community
“drugs, crime, and other dangers to society”
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Society (noun)
the community of people living in a particular country or region and having shared customs, laws, and organizations
“modern industrial societies”
“the ethnic diversity of British society”
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Society (noun)
a specified section of society
“no one in polite society uttered the word”
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Society (noun)
the aggregate of people who are fashionable, wealthy, and influential, regarded as forming a distinct group in a community
“a society wedding”
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Society (noun)
a plant or animal community
“the analogy between insect society and human city is not new”
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Society (noun)
an organization or club formed for a particular purpose or activity
“the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds”
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Society (noun)
the situation of being in the company of other people
“she shunned the society of others”