Philosophy and/of Worship

This research guide is designed for students, teachers and scholars with interests in studying congregational worship practices, including fields of study that have not traditionally studied worship practices extensively.

Download the research guide.

The audience for this guide includes upper level college students who might want to look at congregational worship practices through the lens of philosophy of religion, graduate students in worship and other related Christian practices, and Christian scholars and teachers in a wide variety of colleges, seminaries, divinity schools, and universities in several different denominational traditions.

The research guide includes the following elements:

• An overview of how Christian philosophy of religion, as well as subdisciplines of aesthetics, semiotics, ethics, and other fields, could be used to gain insight on dimensions of congregational worship practices, including preaching, prayer, baptism, Lord's Supper, music, art, architecture, language, cultural dynamics, piety, and more

• Significant publications (books, articles, online sources) in the past 15 years that have explored these intersections of philosophy and worship, with annotations that explain their value

• 10-15 classic resources in which either were or could be used to study and reflect on worship, with annotations that explain their value

• An overview of research needed for the future

• Additional publications of note