Explain how the followers of Christianity may feel that the buildings in which they worship and the type of worship itself may assist them in their life and belief

Essay by english_summer May 2004

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Christianity is a very wide religion, with many followers and denominations, all of which have different views on how and where their worship should take place.

There are two main types of worship under which the denominations fall, liturgical, organised services, or non-liturgical, less formal services.

In a liturgical church, such as Anglican, Russian Orthodox or Roman Catholic the services are more structured. There are set points where the congregation joins in, and points where the priest speaks. This helps bring the congregation together as they speak and sing at certain points as one but also keeps the priest separate from the people, reminding the worshippers that God is a separate, holy being, above ordinary people.

In a non-liturgical church the services are less structured and people are invited to join in when they feel moved to. There are often no priests and a member of the congregation will lead the service.

In some denominations, such as the Quakers, there is no service at all and people only speak if they feel moved to by God. This assists people in their lives and beliefs because it reminds them that no one, a priest for example, is higher than anyone else in God's eyes and that they can all have a personal relationship with God and speak to Him as they wish. They are also trying to get back to the original way of worshipping when people worshipped in their homes because they feel traditional, liturgical churches have become so filled with statues and pictures that the important ideas in Christianity have been lost.

The buildings in which different denominations worship must reflect the needs of the worshippers. Therefore different denominations worship in different buildings.

Liturgical churches often have similar features. These have many functions: to symbolise the attributes of God,