A Sociological History of Christian Worship

ISBN-13: 9780521819558 / Angielski / Twarda / 2005 / 278 str.

Professor Martin D. Stringer

Opis

The 2000 year history of Christian worship is viewed from a sociological perspective as Martin Stringer develops the idea of discourse as a way of understanding worship's place within many diverse social contexts. Stringer provides a broad survey of changes over 2000 years of the Christian church, together with a series of case studies that highlight particular elements of the worship, or specific theoretical applications. Offering a contribution to the ongoing debate that breaks away from a purely textual or theological study, this book provides a greater understanding of the place of worship in its social and cultural context.

Recenzje

'In seeking to apply a sociological perspective to 2,000 years of Christian worship, Martin Stringer's ambitious study is … greatly to be welcomed and he has produced an original, fascinating, and thought-provoking book … Stringer's focus on 'discourse' helpfully enables consideration not just of idealised statements about worship … but also 'real utterances and actual events' … a firm commitment to one chapter for every 300 years lends the book an even-handedness too often lacking … Stringer confesses that his primary purpose in writing the book 'is to try and encourage others to become excited by the ideas and studies that I am presenting'. In this, for me, he not only succeeds greatly, but also offers a new kind of critical, theoretical edge to the study of Christian worship in history that should engage students and more experienced researchers alike.' Journal of Contemporary Religion

Spis treści

Introduction: discourse, devotion and embodiment; 1. Early Christian worship, texts and contexts to AD 300; 2. Worship and the Christianisation of public spaces 300–600; 3. Hegemonic discourses in the worship of Empires 600–900; 4. The dominant discourse of cosmological Christianity 900–1200; 5. Accessing the demotic discourses of devotion 1200–1500; 6. Worship and the rise of humanistic discourses 1500–1800; 7. The globalisation of Christian worship 1800–2000.