An Introduction To Worship And Social Justice

The author of this article urges us to reconsider worship practices that often perpetuate injustices. Because corporate worship requires imposing rules and customs to enable people to celebrate and work together, it is important that such customs ascribe worth to every member in the body of Christ. Christian public worship is an important form of social control-a way to influence people. That may sound paradoxical or even evil, but until we admit that worship involves control, we cannot easily discuss worship's relation to justice. Social control does not necessarily apply to private worship or personal devotion, although it can, because such worship is often heavily shaped by community practice. Whether in spontaneous or structured prayer, an individual worships privately-in isolation from others-more or less at his or her own pace and convenience. Public worship is different. Because it is a social act, certain constraints are necessary. Social control in worship is not intenti…