David R. Bains

A survey of the history, theology, and contemporary diversity of Christian worship. Students will examine key issues in the development and practice of Christian worship through examination of theological and liturgical texts and participant observation.

Upon completion of this course students will be able to:

1. describe and interpret major historical developments, theological positions, and liturgical practices in an intelligent and persuasive fashion
2. analyze worship spaces, liturgical texts, patterns of worship, worship services, and prescriptive texts on worship with respect to their theological assumptions and historical antecedents
3. evaluate worship practices in terms of their theology, fidelity to tradition, and contemporary effectiveness.

Essays 30%: Three essays of five to ten pages will be assigned. One each in the first three units. Each is worth 10% of the final grade. For each essay there are two dates. By the first date you must have notes and or drafts ready for in class discussion. You may turn these in as a rough draft for a quick review from the instructor and/or your peers. On the second date a final copy is due.

Exact essay assignments available at a later date.

I: Report on a visit to a Sunday (or Saturday evening or Feast-Day) eucharistic liturgy in a Roman Catholic, Episcopalian, Lutheran, or Orthodox church. One visit is required,. You are encouraged to go more than once, especially if this tradition is unfamiliar to you.

Monday, February 19--class discussion, bring notes and drafts if you have them.

Friday, February 23--Essay due by 3pm in religion department office

II Essay on Christian use of images and sacramentality.

A. Focusing on the treatises on images by John Calvin and John of Damascus, explain what you believe to be the proper role of the veneration of images in Christian worship. Be sure to give careful attention to refuting counter arguments.

B. Option on documents on sacraments TBA

Monday, March 5--class discussion, bring notes and drafts if you have them

Friday, March 7--Essay due by 3pm in religion department office

III: By Monday, April 9, you must attend a non-eucharistic service of worship in which preaching plays a central role. This may be at your own church or at another church. If your home church, pick a Sunday on which you will observe and think about the church carefully. Drawing on everything you have studied in this course so far, try to describe as decisively and percisely as you can what the goals of worship in this particular congregation. What is meaningful about the way people worship. The music, the style of hymnody, the style of song. Your paper should balance description with critical assessment and analysis.

Is this service billed as "traditional" or "contemporary"? Based on your observations what does this mean both about the practice and the theology of the service.

Monday, April 9--class discussion, bring notes and drafts if you have them.

Tuessday, April 17--Essay due by 3pm in religion department office

Mid term exam 20%: In class on March 19

Final Project 25%: Your final project should demonstrate you ability to apply what you have learned in this course to a contemporary, theological, or historical problem.

Option I: A detailed assessment of a worship service. This may be of a church you have written about early in term. Interview worship leaders, congregation members, and visitors for their understanding of the service. Examine all texts and prescriptive documents used in the service. Evaluate the goals of the service and whether or not they are met. Make recommendations for improving the goals of the service and the end result.

Option II: A paper on the theology of worship. Drawing on readings from this term and other research write an theological essay on some aspect of worship. Possible topics include: the Lord's Supper, Baptism, evangelism, preaching, music, prayer, architecture, the church year, dress and vestments, marriage, burial, reconciliation. In your paper, present your own views on this theological issue and discuss at least two other viewpoints.

Option III: A paper on the history of worship. This paper should present your own original research on some aspect of the history of Christian worship. Primary sources for this paper can include liturgical texts, hymnals, old church bulletins, church archives, sermons, articles and other prescriptive reflections on worship, diaries, oral history interviews, extent church buildings. You might, for example, want to research the history of worship in a local congregation. What did worship look like thirty, fifty, or even seventy years ago? Alternatively, you might want to examine the history of some theological issue or the views on worship of some historic person.

Topic due: April 20

Approved Bibliography: April 30

Preliminary draft or report: May 11

Final project due: Monday, May 21

Participation and Quizzes 25%: Class meetings will be divided between lecture and discussion of the readings. Be sure to bring the readings being discussed to class each day. You are expected to complete the assigned reading before class and come to class prepared to contribute to a thoughtful discussion of the readings. Several times throughout the term you will be assigned in-class writing assignments, quizzes, or presentations. In-class writing will be graded on a pass-fail basis. Short essays and quizzes will be given letter grades. Field visits for units IV and V are also a part of this grade. These visits must be completed by April 30 and May 14, respectively. Quizes are provisionally scheduled for Feb. 14, Apr. 18. The final exam slot is reserved for a quiz or test as well.

Field trips both on your own and with your class are an integral part of this course. While many of these experiences may be satisfied by attending services at times other than Sunday morning, this course will require you to attend a Sunday morning service at a church other than your own at least once. See guide to field visits for further details.

The attendance policy of the Department of Religion and Philosophy will be enforced.

Roll will be taken each day. In a MW class a student may miss four classes without penalty. After the fifth absence your final grade will be reduced one letter grade. After the sixth absence the student will receive an FA for the course.

Three tardies count as one absence. If you come in after your name is called, you will need to notify your professor at the end of the class period, or else the tardy will become an absence.

Make-up exams will be given in case of illness or family crisis. However, you must contact the professor as soon as possible prior to or immediately following a scheduled exam. Make-up exams for insufficient reasons will result in an automatic penalty of one full grade off your exam score. It is your responsibility to contact the professor and arrange a make-up at his convenience.

Papers that are turned in after the set due date will be penalized one full letter grade for each week that they are late.

Students with disabilities who seek accommodations must make their request through the Advisor for Students with Disabilities located in Counseling Services on the lower level of Pittman Hall, or calling 726-4078 or 726-2105. A faculty member will only grant reasonable accommodations upon notification from the Advisor for Students with Disabilities. Samford University complies with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.