Religious Adaptations of the Christian Church

Virtually every aspect of our lives change or undergo some sort of adaptation over time,

and religion is no exception to this. For example, if the American Christian church is examined it

is clear that many denominations have slowly transitioned from very structured and traditional to

more open and contemporary. There even is a growing number of nondenominational churches

scattered across the country. While the main focus of this paper will be on the American

Christian church, this phenomenon can be compared to the religions of many other cultures. For

example, the English Christian church can also be compared to its American counterpart to show

what specifically has changed in America. Furthermore, while not exactly the same, the Native

American population saw a clear change in religious practices when they were introduced to

Christianity. However, all of these cultures still preserved the major practices of their original

religious beliefs in the presence of the change.

A good place to start the analysis of this change in Christian worship would be to look at

the meanings of traditional and contemporary worship. According to the Merriam-Webster

dictionary, traditional is defined as, “adhering to past practices or established conventions,” and

contemporary is defined as, “marked by characteristics of the present period.” 1 This means that

the contemporary Christian church has abandoned some traditions in order to better suit the

present culture and is open to adapt as the world continues to change. However, the basic

structure and ideas of the church have seen little change. For example, as stated by Womack in

his article, hymnals may not be used as often but they have been replaced by praise songs of

modern style which serve the same purpose. The phrase, “Now please take out your Bibles and

turn to…” may not be used regularly but the Bible verses are instead displayed electronically for

1
Dictionary by Merriam-Webster.
1
the entire congregation to see.2 Contemporary worship does not mean that the entire concept of

Christian worship has changed. Even in the absence of many old traditions the contemporary

Christian church displays many similarities to the more traditional churches that are still around

today.

By taking a more in-depth view into music it is easy to see the similarities cross culturally

between the American Christian church and the Christian churches in Europe. Hartje explains in

her article, that the praise and worship music found in American Christian churches is actually

very similar to the traditional hymns of Christian churches in Germany even though they are

presented in completely different ways. The methods in delivery of the music differ in that while

the traditional European church has hymnals filled with extremely old songs and the main

instrument is a pipe organ, the American church has evolved to incorporate a full band with

amplifiers and modern sounding songs. However, these two styles are both fairly simple in style

and serve to empower the service and unite the community.3 The style of presentation of the

music has no effect on the overall purpose it conveys to the congregation. In addition, the

similarities do not stop at European Christian churches. The majority of religions have music that

also serve this purpose that does not get altered with cultural change. Consequently, this concept

contributes to one of the characteristics of the worldview of religion as a whole.

Yet another cross-cultural similarity that shows how American Christianity has evolved

without abandoning its major beliefs is when the Native Americans were introduced to

Christianity. The Native Americans may have been forced to accept Christianity as their main

religion. However, the relationship between these two cultures still hold true for the purpose of

this paper. Holler explains in his book how Black Elk worked to preserve the Lakota tradition
2
Womack, Edwin. “What Does 'Contemporary Worship' Really Mean?”
3
Hartje, Gesa F. "Keeping in Tune with the Times”
2
while at the same time embracing the new traditions of Christianity.4 This effectively functioned

as a “win-win” scenario for the situation the Lakota people were presented with by allowing

them to keep practicing many of their traditions while conforming to Christianity. It also shows

the influence that the American missionaries had on the Native American people. The Native

Americans were forced to practice Christianity, but the religion of Christianity in America was

changed in the process due to the new cultural practices that the Native Americans used to

worship. Christianity now saw traditional Native American symbols and rituals being used in

worship. The Native Americans may have only been trying to preserve their own religion, but

they are worked to altered how Christianity was worshiped at that time in history.

As quoted from Holler, “a religion that ceases to change is a religion that is already dead

or in danger of extinction.”5 This concisely and effectively explains why the American Christian

church has changed over time. Without change the population of Christians in the United States

would be drastically declining. This is the because when the current generation of church

members died out, the new generation would be less likely to become active members of the

Christian church that was still geared towards the previous generation. Ruth classifies

contemporary worship in his article to be “worship attuned to popular culture, particularly in

entertainment forms…; a reliance upon electronic technology; a quick pace and rhythm in the

service; minimal ceremonial; an informal style of leadership; and the use of worship leaders to

demonstrate the physical and emotional dimensions of worship.”6 This style directly reflects the

mindset and attitude of the current American culture. Furthermore, this definition of

contemporary worship will change as the American society changes. Each new generation will

4
Holler, Clyde. “Black Elk's Relationship to Christianity.”
5
Holler, Clyde. “Black Elk's Relationship to Christianity.”
6
Ruth, Lester. "A Rose by any Other Name…”
3
ultimately interpret Christianity in a slightly different way which is the reason this definition will

change. However, as previously stated, this does not mean the main goals and purpose of the

Christian church is changing. The core the Christianity is always preserved while the practices

surrounding it are open to change in order for the religion to continue to remain relevant in our

everchanging society.

The arts and humanities of the American Christian church has also changed over time.

For example, if we look at the church buildings themselves it is clear that the architecture and art

pieces are not as important as they were centuries ago. One of the reasons this relates to one of

the topics in Caviness’ article. She explains how the elaborate stained-glass windows in churches

told biblical stories to the illiterate.7 Obviously, the majority of active Christians in the United

States today are not illiterate. This is why many contemporary churches today appear as normal

buildings without elaborate architecture and paintings. The Bible is available to anyone today, so

people do not have to rely on art in churches to learn the story of God in Christianity. People are

free to read and listen to the Christian Gospel so elaborate art is no longer required to show the

Gospel. Many other aspects of the traditional Christian church architecture are also absent such

as church pews and kneeling benches at the front of the congregation. The reason for this is

likely again due to the changes in society. The current generation in the United States is much

more likely to attend an informal church with a setting that reflects the modern society than a

formal, traditional church that can seem unfamiliar to people who are used to the present day and

fast paced society.

The literature used in American Christianity has also seen change over time. The Bible is

now translated into hundreds of languages apart from the original text that was written in

7
Caviness, Madeline. "Biblical Stories in Windows: Were They Bibles for the Poor?"
4
Hebrew. Furthermore, the actual wording has seen many adaptations as society as a whole has

evolved. This can be seen in comparing the King James Version of the Bible to the New King

James Version. As discussed in Farstad’s book, the King James Version of the Bible is one of the

most well-known Bible translations today. However, it uses old English and can be fairly

difficult to understand. This is one of the main reasons the New King James Version was created

which was based off the old translation but uses more modern English which is easier to

understand.8 This new translation directly reflects how Christianity in America has become more

contemporary over time. The major points of this new Bible are the same as the old one and they

tell virtually the same story. The only major difference is that this new translation more

accurately relates to the current generation of society.

As we have seen through the analysis above, even religion is not immune to change as

society adapts. However, this does not mean the core values of the religion itself changes. In

American Christianity this is seen as the contemporary churches. They may have abandoned

some of the practices of the more traditional Christian churches, but they still serve to deliver the

same messages about the Christian God. Furthermore, the differences in contemporary churches

and extremely traditional ones such as the ones found in Europe are a lot more similar than they

seem at first glance. Even outside influences such as the ones the missionaries faced when Native

Americans began converting to Christianity and using some of their traditional symbols in

worship did not change the core of the religion.

8
Farstad, Arthur L. The New King James Version: In the Great Tradition.
5
 Works Cited

Caviness, Madeline. "Biblical Stories in Windows: Were They Bibles for the Poor?" Paintings

on Glass: Studies in Romanesque and Gothic Monumental Art, 1992. Accessed 4 April

2019.

“Dictionary by Merriam-Webster: America's Most-Trusted Online Dictionary.” Merriam-

6
 Webster, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/. Accessed 1 April 2019.

Farstad, Arthur L. The New King James Version: In the Great Tradition. Thomas Nelson, 2014.

Hartje, Gesa F. "Keeping in Tune with the Times—Praise & Worship Music as Today's

Evangelical Hymnody1 in North America." Dialog, vol. 48, no. 4, 2009, pp. 364-373,

Holler, Clyde. “Black Elk's Relationship to Christianity.” American Indian Quarterly, vol. 8, no.

1, 1984, pp. 37–49. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1184160. Accessed 28 March 2019.

Ruth, Lester. "A Rose by any Other Name: Attempts at Classifying North American Protestant

Worship." American Theological Inquiry, vol. 2, no. 1, 2009, pp. 85-104,

http://libproxy.clemson.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=rfh&AN=ATLA0001763114. Accessed 3 April 2019.

Womack, Edwin. “What Does 'Contemporary Worship' Really Mean?” The People of the United

Methodist Church, The United Methodist Church, 30 Sept. 2013, www.umc.org/news-

and-media/blogs-commentaries/post/what-does-contemporary-worship-really-mean.

Accessed 2 April 2019.