Religion: Going Formal

‘Tis the old time religion, and it’s good enough for me.

—Gospel Hymn

For more and more U.S. churchgoers, that oldtime religion is losing its appeal. A trend toward more ritual and formality in church is on the rise, and it is now invading even the Bible Belt. Many a once plain Methodist church in Georgia, Alabama and other Southern states goes in for robed minister and choirs, stained-glass windows, sermons on theology and the life of Jesus rather than hellfire and repentance; a few even have acolytes. To some Southern Methodists, it is high time to make a stand against this creeping formalism. Said the Rev. Pierce Harris of Atlanta’s First Methodist Church last week: “If this keeps up, it will soon be difficult to tell Methodists from Episcopalians!”

Blessed & Peaceful. Pastor Harris, who writes a religion column in the Atlanta Journal, has blown up a storm among his readers with the news that, at the recent Southeastern Methodist Conference, the Committee on Hymnology petitioned the Methodist General Conference to authorize a new hymnal that they hope will omit such oldtime gospel hymns as What a Friend We Have in Jesus and Blessed Assurance, Jesus Is Mine. Musically, said the committee, they are difficult to sing; theologically they are inadequate.

Bellwether of the opposition to gospel hymns is the Rev. Bliss Wiant, 64, for 28 years a missionary in China (where he was on the faculty of Yenching University in Peking), and now director of music for the Methodist Church. In his Nashville (Tenn.) office last week, he stated his case. “We have to combat Communism with Christianity, and we just can’t do it with gospel hymns. They dope us and they dupe us. The gospel hymn is a Victorian development—sentimental and good for nothing. Its message is that everything is blessed and peaceful. That’s not the message of Christ. The message of Christ is ‘Are you able to endure all things as I endure them—even crucifixion?'”‘ If hymns must be sung, Wiant would prefer such Reformation hymns as A Mighty Fortress Is Our God and 0 God, Our Help in Ages Past.

Up the Ladder. Churchmen bucking the new formalism argue that the trend is dangerous because it denies one of the prime reasons for going to church: the chance for the congregation to participate in the service. But to the Rev. Robert McKenzie Jr., who tours North Carolina as director of Methodist youth work, just the opposite is the case. Says he, arguing for more formality: “It involves people more readily in the service. In most informal Protestant services, the minister does most of it. Ritual gives all the people a chance to participate in prayers and responsive readings. But basically, the new trend is an economic phenomenon—the higher you go in the economic ladder, the higher you go in church.”