"We know you have a choice--but do come to our church!": Choice, Diversity, Variety

A discussion starter

One can claim that since the seventeenth century and certainly from the eighteenth century in English-speaking countries, there has been freedom of religion and thus CHOICE for worshippers as to place of worship -- e.g., parish church or nonconformist chapel in England with similar choice in other lands. Further, one can claim that until the mid to late twentieth century it was generally true that one was fairly certain what to expect inside a place of worship, if one knew to whom it belonged. What went on, in terms of forms of worship, inside a Baptist or a Methodist Chapel in England or a Scottish (Presbyterian) parish church was wholly predictable. Likewise in the parishes of the Church of England one was fairly certain that The Book of Common Prayer was used, even if there were differences in ceremonial between one parish and another.

Now in 2004 one cannot make such a claim. As CHOICE has entered into the mainstream of life and culture in the West so that people see it as a basic right to exercise choice in virtually every aspect of life, so CHOICE (leading to diversity and variety) has entered into the whole concept and pursuit of worship. Today, one does not know what to expect on entering any building for Christian worship because the exercise of local choice with autonomy means that there are very few universal rules observed, even within churches that belong to the one jurisdiction or denomination.

In the Church of England, variety and diversity based on local autonomy and choice are commonplace. Common Worship, the new Prayer Book of this Church, takes this for granted and supplies, as its very first provision, not a service of worship but a suggested outline of a service of worship! So within the Established Church one finds everything from the use of the modern Roman Catholic Mass to forms of Lay Celebration of Holy Communion based on ex tempore prayer and to prayers to the mother goddess in feminist groups. Similar diversity and variety is to be found in the Church of Scotland and the major denominations of the United Kingdom. And what is the case in Great Britain is more abundantly so in the United States of America. The basic exception to this phenomenon is The Orthodox Church, with its various jurisdictions, which maintains the traditional liturgy, even if some of the English translations leave much to be desired.

In fact we have all become so used to CHOICE that without its presence we would probably all feel deprived or odd. We all accept the supermarket of religions in the West as a given, and, further, we seem also to accept that within each Christian brand name (i.e., denomination) there should also be variety with choice and local autonomy. Thus we are dealing with multiple choice across and within the variety of religions within the one supermarket. Of course, on close examination not a few of the brands look and taste alike but are different on minor aspects (and here the tendency is to major on minors to extol one's distinctives)!

Thus, for example, the CHOICE now for Anglicans/Episcopalians is not only between a traditional language service and a modern language service, but it is also between a set service and an informal service, and then between different kinds of each! Local worship committees or strong-minded local clergy decide what is the local offering and style and then the member or visitor takes it or leaves it. Further, local CHOICE is intensified by whether one wants to be part of a group which uses women clergy. So not surprisingly when churches get together it is sometimes a problem to decide how and what to pray, sing and read and what kind of music to employ! Try asking a crowd to say the Lord's Prayer in unison.

BUT, Birds of a feather do flock together and so within all the diversity and variety there are various ties, associations and fellowships. These tend to be the more real and meaningful when there is general agreement as to the form and content of public worship. Yet centripetal forces are few in comparison with centrifugal ones.

Is this diversity, variety, choice and local autonomy here to stay? Is it all part of the western scene in which we must operate for the foreseeable future?

It seems that it is and this prospect must surely cause us to ponder carefully whether our own brand is really all that different from others and if it is, whether it is a truly good brand, and then if we judge it to be so, is it really worth selling and if so, what is the best way to "sell" it. For in the competitive supermarket products have to be advertised, pushed and commended.

Thus, for example, if a group is convinced that the product known as The Common Prayer Tradition (worship & doctrine based upon the classic Book of Common Prayer using the King James Version) is good and worth pushing then it needs to be fully aware of the context and situation of diversity, choice and local autonomy and to form an apologetic and an outreach with appropriate communications that actually address people in this vast land of choice. Without such a strategy it will surely not make much progress.

The Rev'd Dr. Peter Toon M.A., D.Phil. (Oxon.)