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Multicultural Worship: Theory and Practice
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Multicultural Worship: Theory and Practice

A special issue of Religions (ISSN 2077-1444). This special issue belongs to the section "Religions and Theologies".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2021) | Viewed by 21459

Printed Edition Available!
A printed edition of this Special Issue is available here.

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Eunjoo Mary Kim

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Divinity School, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA
Interests: multiculturalism; Christian preaching; Christian worship; postcolonialism
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We live in an unprecedently globalized multicultural world in the 21st century. Christian churches and worship leaders are challenged to be conscious of the significant impact of multiculturalism within and beyond the church and provide worshipers with theologically faithful and culturally appropriate worship services. As a response to these challenges, this Special Issue deals with various multicultural issues emerging from contemporary liturgical contexts: What is multicultural worship? Why should Christian worship be multicultural? How can multicultural worship be designed to be relevant to a particular liturgical context? How can liturgical elements (e.g., worship space, symbols, language, sermons, prayers, music, and sacraments) be prepared from the multicultural perspective? This Special Issue aims to help worship leaders and scholars explore these questions and develop their theology and method of multicultural worship.

The scope of this Special Issue includes five areas: (1) worship in multiracial or multiethnic contexts; (2) worship in monoracial or monoethnic contexts; (3) worship in multigenerational contexts; (4) worship in ecumenical contexts; and (5) worship in multireligious contexts. You are invited to write an article focusing on one of these areas with a critical analysis of the current practice of worship in that area. For example, you may choose area (1) and investigate what is going on in worship among multicultural congregations and interpret why this is going on. You are also expected to articulate a theology of multicultural worship in terms of its nature, purpose, and character appropriate to multicultural congregations and propose creative liturgical ideas and strategies for the practice of multicultural worship in a particular liturgical context. In addition, a sample liturgy with annotations that call attention to distinctive liturgical characteristics and explanations about the specific liturgical context and theme should be attached to your article. Biblical, historical, socio-cultural, religious, aesthetic, or other scientific research may be necessary to developing your theory and practice of multicultural worship.

While there are some resources available to study multicultural worship, this Special Issue uniquely contributes to the study of multicultural worship with diverse approaches to various liturgical contexts. I invite you to contribute an article to this Special Issue to make it an invaluable resource for teaching and learning multicultural worship.

Prof. Dr. Eunjoo Mary Kim
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • multiculturalism
  • worship
  • liturgy
  • theology of worship
  • multicultural worship
  • Christian worship
  • intergenerational worship
  • ecumenical worship
  • interfaith worship
  • bilingual worship
  • joint worship

Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 283 KiB  
Article
Intercultural Worship and Decolonialization: Insights from the Book of Psalms
by Safwat Marzouk
Religions 2023, 14(2), 152; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14020152 - 28 Jan 2023
Viewed by 1410
Abstract
This essay unpacks the relationship between an intercultural approach to worship and the vision of decolonization. It argues that for justice and liberation to be front and center in intercultural practices, there is a need to analyze the power dynamics that are present [...] Read more.
This essay unpacks the relationship between an intercultural approach to worship and the vision of decolonization. It argues that for justice and liberation to be front and center in intercultural practices, there is a need to analyze the power dynamics that are present in the midst of a diverse worshipping community. Equally important is that the vision of decolonization needs the intercultural approach because of its ability to build bridges between people who are different, so that the faith community can overcome fragmentation by experiencing truth telling, healing, and transformation. The essay goes on to suggest that the book of Psalms offers rich resources for envisioning an intercultural worship that seeks to embody alternatives to oppressive, exclusionary, and alienating politics of assimilation and segregation. The book of Psalms, which was, for the most part, composed or redacted in the shadow of different empires, proclaimed God’s reign as a faith posture in the face of oppressive empires. This central motif of God’s reign, which appears in psalms of lament and psalms of praise, restores the agency of the oppressed by giving them a voice and holds those who abuse their power accountable. Practices such as lament and praise allow a diverse worshipping community to pay attention to how people experience power differently, and it calls them to be authentic and truthful so that these diverse people may work together towards transformation, justice, and healing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Multicultural Worship: Theory and Practice)
17 pages, 296 KiB  
Article
Exploring Intergenerational Worship of Interdependence in a Korean American Context
by Namjoong Kim
Religions 2022, 13(12), 1222; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13121222 - 16 Dec 2022
Viewed by 1257
Abstract
Formed alongside the arrival of the first Korean immigrants in Hawaii in 1903, the Korean American Protestant Church has played a significant role in the social, political, and religious lives of Koreans in the United States. However today, membership is declining and the [...] Read more.
Formed alongside the arrival of the first Korean immigrants in Hawaii in 1903, the Korean American Protestant Church has played a significant role in the social, political, and religious lives of Koreans in the United States. However today, membership is declining and the newer generations represent a smaller part of the movement leading the Korean American Protestant Church to review and reform its current respective practices of ministry in terms of language, teaching, preaching, worship, and theological orientation. This article focuses on the critical issues that the Korean American Protestant Church is facing and examines the current common practice of Korean American worship. Additionally, this article proposes theological and liturgical suggestions that could be utilized to help realize the goal of Korean American intergenerational worship. These suggestions are formed against the background of five notable characteristics of the Trinity—flexibility (innovation), communication (sharing and empathy), interconnection, ubiquity, and holistic artistry—which are essential to achieving intergenerational worship and its design. As a sample liturgy, worship combined with a meal invites children and young adults, born and raised in the United States, to participate in leadership roles with first-generation adults, which directly correlates with the aforementioned characteristics. As such, in essence, liturgies like these will lead worshippers to experience the embodied theology of intergenerational worship, based on a practical and theological concept of interdependence and awareness. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Multicultural Worship: Theory and Practice)
11 pages, 253 KiB  
Article
The Multicultural Church of “Le Jour du Seigneur”
by Pierre Hegy
Religions 2022, 13(8), 737; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13080737 - 12 Aug 2022
Viewed by 1219
Abstract
Multicultural worship is defined here as a form of worship that is attractive to both non-religious outsiders and religious insiders. It is most appropriate in our times of religious decline. This paper presents a Catholic television program which involves collaboration with Protestants, the [...] Read more.
Multicultural worship is defined here as a form of worship that is attractive to both non-religious outsiders and religious insiders. It is most appropriate in our times of religious decline. This paper presents a Catholic television program which involves collaboration with Protestants, the secular state television, secular writers, and university professors. This Sunday service consists of two parts: a discussion called “le magazine” and the mass taking place every week in a different parish. During the pandemic, when there were strict restrictions from March 2020 to September 2020, the program aired innovative worship services, centered on music and images, broadcast from a small Paris studio. When in September 2020 the pandemic was thought to be over and the major restrictions were lifted, the program became theologically and pastorally more multicultural than ever before. The conclusion offers other examples of multicultural worship adapted to our times of religious decline. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Multicultural Worship: Theory and Practice)
14 pages, 224 KiB  
Article
Public Lament and Intra-Faith Worship in an Appalachian Context
by Heather Murray Elkins and Jeffrey S. Allen
Religions 2022, 13(7), 620; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13070620 - 04 Jul 2022
Viewed by 1185
Abstract
On 5 April 2010, the largest mining disaster in the US since 1970 occurred at the Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia. Twenty-five miners were known to have died in the explosion, with the fates of four miners unknown. Families of the [...] Read more.
On 5 April 2010, the largest mining disaster in the US since 1970 occurred at the Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia. Twenty-five miners were known to have died in the explosion, with the fates of four miners unknown. Families of the twenty-nine miners gathered together at the mine site as they awaited word as to which of the miners died and who had survived. On 6 April, the Red Cross invited representatives from the West Virginia Council of Churches to the mine site to help organize pastoral support for the families. On the evening of 10 April, five days after the explosion, word came that all of the 29 miners had died in the initial explosion. Governor Joe Manchin declared, on 25 April, for a public memorial service for the miners—an event attended by several thousand worshipers and led by clergy, denominational leaders, and public officials, including President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Senator Robert C. Byrd, and Governor Manchin. This collaborative essay traces how the pastoral, political, and relational response to trauma shaped this liturgical form. Given the oral traditions of the region, narrative will be one of the primary structures for analysis, and testimony is central to this public worship. A public secular ritual with its goals of unity and inter-riting of distinct religious voices and identities will provide a grammar for reading the service. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Multicultural Worship: Theory and Practice)
10 pages, 223 KiB  
Article
A Liturgical Model for Worship in the Multireligious Context: A Case Study Based on the Interfaith Service Held on September 25, 2015, at 9/11 Museum in New York City
by Sunggu A. Yang
Religions 2022, 13(6), 547; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13060547 - 14 Jun 2022
Viewed by 1501
Abstract
This article proposes a liturgical model for multireligious worship, namely the Pilgrim’s Service for the Ultimate Goodness of Humanity. Three key humanitarian liturgical principles buttress the proposed model; story-sharing, agreed symbols (metaphors), and de-centering. The model also proposes an overarching onto-narrative image—the pilgrim [...] Read more.
This article proposes a liturgical model for multireligious worship, namely the Pilgrim’s Service for the Ultimate Goodness of Humanity. Three key humanitarian liturgical principles buttress the proposed model; story-sharing, agreed symbols (metaphors), and de-centering. The model also proposes an overarching onto-narrative image—the pilgrim weaving and holding various liturgical threads as a whole. The end goals of this multireligious worship include, among others; (1) renewed awareness of the all-encompassing Transcendent and Its Peace, (2) interreligious dialogue and collaboration, (3) raised consciousness and the practice of radical hospitality for “strangers”, and (4) appreciation of the (religiously) marginalized. The interfaith service held on September 25, 2015, at the 9/11 Museum in New York City is analyzed and annotated, along with further suggestions, as a demonstration of the proposed model. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Multicultural Worship: Theory and Practice)
13 pages, 414 KiB  
Article
Interfaith/Interreligious? Worship/Prayer? Services/Occasions? Interfaith Prayer Gatherings
by Kathleen Mary Black
Religions 2022, 13(6), 489; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13060489 - 27 May 2022
Viewed by 2672
Abstract
Today there are many occasions when persons from various religious traditions gather together for some type of observance. These gatherings are referred to by various names: Interfaith “Worship”, Multireligious “Prayer,” Interreligious “Services,” and “Integrative Religious Prayer.” People come together to learn more about [...] Read more.
Today there are many occasions when persons from various religious traditions gather together for some type of observance. These gatherings are referred to by various names: Interfaith “Worship”, Multireligious “Prayer,” Interreligious “Services,” and “Integrative Religious Prayer.” People come together to learn more about one another, to protest injustices, to mourn disasters, and to join together to work for the common good. In some gatherings, there are also people in attendance who claim no religious affiliation at all. In other gatherings, like a community ritual event designed by the religious leaders of the town the eve before Thanksgiving, there is often an assumption that all who attend “pray” to a “God” even if the content and forms of “prayer” and the names and understandings of “God” differ. However, while Buddhists use the term “prayer,” they do not have a “god” to whom they pray. This article addresses the models of host/guest, serial interfaith occasions (when people are participant observers at a gathering where each religious tradition maintains its own integrity and contributes something to the whole in a serial fashion), and “inter-riting” (when the event is designed so the people can pray together in a unified fashion, often blurring the boundaries that commonly separate each religion). The Shinnyo Lantern Floating Hawaii, a large Buddhist-designed interfaith ritual gathering that combines the personal and the global, and offers insights into guest/host, serial interfaith, and inter-riting models, will be used as a basis for understanding these issues to assist religious leaders in their interfaith work. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Multicultural Worship: Theory and Practice)
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15 pages, 288 KiB  
Article
Finding Rhythm for Multicultural Worship: Heartful Indwelling with God and God’s Creation
by Hyuk Seonwoo
Religions 2022, 13(5), 410; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13050410 - 29 Apr 2022
Viewed by 4156
Abstract
Justice seeking is an indispensable component of multicultural worship. How can multicultural worship help the faith community worship God heartfully, indwelling with God, one another, and creation? In this article, the Tai Chi rhythm of “loosen-empty-push” will be employed as both a metaphoric [...] Read more.
Justice seeking is an indispensable component of multicultural worship. How can multicultural worship help the faith community worship God heartfully, indwelling with God, one another, and creation? In this article, the Tai Chi rhythm of “loosen-empty-push” will be employed as both a metaphoric and embodied way of integration and mutual indwelling in heartful worship. For example, in the rhythm of multicultural worship, we humbly recognize our brokenness and vulnerability while being receptive to God’s initiative love and grace (loosen). We continue to learn how to let go and surrender ourselves to the works of the Holy Spirit, also becoming part of a multicultural and mutually embracing body of Christ, whose entire life embodied God’s reconciling and self-giving love (empty). One of the characteristics of multicultural worship is solidarity with others including God’s creation through worshipers’ daily compassionate, justice-seeking lives (push). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Multicultural Worship: Theory and Practice)
10 pages, 203 KiB  
Article
Bilingual, Intergenerational Worship and Ministry for Unity
by John Yu
Religions 2022, 13(4), 287; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13040287 - 26 Mar 2022
Viewed by 1590
Abstract
Many Korean American churches have several different worship services on a given Sunday that cater to different age and language groups. The intent is to cater to the different needs of each group, where each group can worship in an age-appropriate setting with [...] Read more.
Many Korean American churches have several different worship services on a given Sunday that cater to different age and language groups. The intent is to cater to the different needs of each group, where each group can worship in an age-appropriate setting with the language they are comfortable with. However, it has also had the unintended consequence of creating factions and divisions within the church. It is not uncommon to hear about conflicts and quarrels between Korean Ministry (KM) and English Ministry (EM), from the leadership level down to the congregation members. While there may be several other contributing factors to church conflicts, one key reason is worshipping separately, which creates different spiritual identities within the church. This article proposes that through a creative and engaging bilingual, intergenerational worship and ministry, different generations in Korean American churches, and perhaps other immigrant churches in multilingual and multicultural settings, can worship and learn together as one community with a common spiritual identity. Careful planning of liturgy that is meaningful to different age and language groups is the key. A project conducted at True Light Community Church, a Korean American congregation in the Metro-Denver area, shows that different generations can be brought together in unity as they worship together regularly. In this project, basic qualitative research tools were used to plan a six-month worship and ministry program. The results show that while it is difficult to provide a meaningful, spiritual experience for every single person or generation, bilingual, intergenerational worship and ministry can bring different generations together. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Multicultural Worship: Theory and Practice)
13 pages, 236 KiB  
Article
Toward the Vision of Revelation: Multicultural Worship in a Korean Context
by Hwarang Moon
Religions 2022, 13(2), 171; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13020171 - 16 Feb 2022
Viewed by 2007
Abstract
From the end of the 1980s, when foreign workers poured into Korea, until 1995, when there was a significant increase in international marriages, a multicultural situation has slowly been developing in Korea. However, because the traditional emphasis has been on a single-race nation, [...] Read more.
From the end of the 1980s, when foreign workers poured into Korea, until 1995, when there was a significant increase in international marriages, a multicultural situation has slowly been developing in Korea. However, because the traditional emphasis has been on a single-race nation, the Korean Church has not shown much concern for the multicultural situation. Apart from some megachurches and missionary groups, the Korean Church has not been concerned with inviting immigrants and receiving them as full church members. Recently, due to a rapidly aging Korean society and the influx of immigrants entering the workforce, Korea has abruptly changed into a multicultural society. Catching up with this change, the church has started to study building a multicultural church and shifting a congregation to a multicultural church; however, almost all of these studies focus on mission strategy, leadership, or working through conflicts in the church. Currently, there are a lack of studies on worship, specifically, how to facilitate worship among people from different cultural backgrounds and how worship can draw a multicultural congregation together as one body. This chapter will study how a multicultural church can plan its Sunday public worship from a liturgical and theological perspective. Additionally, I will research how a congregation made up of people whose cultural and theological backgrounds are different can become one body in worship. For this purpose, I will examine a multicultural church in Korea, mainly focusing on how the order and elements of worship can develop understanding and unity among the people. Based on this study, I will suggest some liturgical ideas and valuable strategies for multicultural worship in Korea with a sample liturgy of multicultural worship. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Multicultural Worship: Theory and Practice)
9 pages, 214 KiB  
Article
Potting Christianity: Ecumenical Worship in Its Multicultural and Multi-Ethnic Context
by Swee Hong Lim
Religions 2022, 13(1), 73; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13010073 - 13 Jan 2022
Viewed by 1626
Abstract
In the gardening world, potting refers to the cultivation of plants by cutting, layering, and replacing nutrients-depleted soil with new soil in larger pots to accommodate the growth process. This understanding seems helpful in describing ecumenical worship. There are two perspectives about this [...] Read more.
In the gardening world, potting refers to the cultivation of plants by cutting, layering, and replacing nutrients-depleted soil with new soil in larger pots to accommodate the growth process. This understanding seems helpful in describing ecumenical worship. There are two perspectives about this phenomenon. On one end of the liturgical practice spectrum, it is perceived as a “least-common-denominator” worship form where contested expressions are cast aside and replaced by elements that are acceptable by everyone. As a result, ecumenical worship is held up as a product of complex negotiation but displays a remarkable lack of spiritual depth in its outcome. On the other end, there is the World Council of Churches—a fellowship of 350 churches that is regarded as the epitome of ecumenism in practice particularly its worship celebration. The assembly, convened every eight years, is seen as a “best practice” showcase for ecumenical worship. In fact, many of the “global songs” being sung by our congregation were premiered in this ecumenical setting. How might we make sense of these perceptions? To that end, this article seeks to describe a suitably appropriate method in planning ecumenical worship and to identify elements that this worship genre needs to consider in its rendition. The efforts of the 2022 assembly worship planning committee of the World Council of Churches serves as the case study. Theo-liturgical principles that define this worship design are examined and discussed. By this, insights may be garnered to help local congregations appreciate this distinctive liturgical form that has its raison d’etre as an expression of Christian reconciliation and unity and to understand what is needed to successfully design such services. In so doing, the work of congregations may be strengthened to face the resurgence of racism and xenophobia in their local contexts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Multicultural Worship: Theory and Practice)
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