Habitus Formation Through Contemporary Worship Music in Two Church Cases: Implications for Intergenerational Worship

This article draws upon doctoral case study data from two Protestant Christian churches to examine how contemporary worship music-making practices can reinforce and solidify the musical tastes, dispositions, and tendencies of particular demographics. Drawing upon sociologist Pierre Bourdieu’s concep...

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Main Author: Laura Benjamins
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-02-01
Series:Religions
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/16/2/237
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author Laura Benjamins
author_facet Laura Benjamins
author_sort Laura Benjamins
collection DOAJ
description This article draws upon doctoral case study data from two Protestant Christian churches to examine how contemporary worship music-making practices can reinforce and solidify the musical tastes, dispositions, and tendencies of particular demographics. Drawing upon sociologist Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of the habitus, this article examines the religious musical habitus of musicians in relation to contemporary music repertoire. For some churches, contemporary worship music-making practices may “disrupt” the habitus of a particular subset of a demographic due to their musical preferences and positioning, while contemporary repertoire may affirm the habitus of other, often “young” worshippers due to their musical preferences. Further, the research analyzes each church’s positioning within the overarching musical and theological fields in place. Case study data affirm the notion that Contemporary Worship Music is generationally based in the way it engages with the habitus, which provides implications for worship leaders and those making musical decisions within Christian church contexts.
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spelling doaj-art-97f0cc1572014f2ea77af21627dd1ed52025-08-20T02:01:24ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442025-02-0116223710.3390/rel16020237Habitus Formation Through Contemporary Worship Music in Two Church Cases: Implications for Intergenerational WorshipLaura Benjamins0Music Department, Redeemer University, Ancaster, ON L9K 1J4, CanadaThis article draws upon doctoral case study data from two Protestant Christian churches to examine how contemporary worship music-making practices can reinforce and solidify the musical tastes, dispositions, and tendencies of particular demographics. Drawing upon sociologist Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of the habitus, this article examines the religious musical habitus of musicians in relation to contemporary music repertoire. For some churches, contemporary worship music-making practices may “disrupt” the habitus of a particular subset of a demographic due to their musical preferences and positioning, while contemporary repertoire may affirm the habitus of other, often “young” worshippers due to their musical preferences. Further, the research analyzes each church’s positioning within the overarching musical and theological fields in place. Case study data affirm the notion that Contemporary Worship Music is generationally based in the way it engages with the habitus, which provides implications for worship leaders and those making musical decisions within Christian church contexts.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/16/2/237habituscontemporary worship musicdemographicspreferencessociology
spellingShingle Laura Benjamins
Habitus Formation Through Contemporary Worship Music in Two Church Cases: Implications for Intergenerational Worship
Religions
habitus
contemporary worship music
demographics
preferences
sociology
title Habitus Formation Through Contemporary Worship Music in Two Church Cases: Implications for Intergenerational Worship
title_full Habitus Formation Through Contemporary Worship Music in Two Church Cases: Implications for Intergenerational Worship
title_fullStr Habitus Formation Through Contemporary Worship Music in Two Church Cases: Implications for Intergenerational Worship
title_full_unstemmed Habitus Formation Through Contemporary Worship Music in Two Church Cases: Implications for Intergenerational Worship
title_short Habitus Formation Through Contemporary Worship Music in Two Church Cases: Implications for Intergenerational Worship
title_sort habitus formation through contemporary worship music in two church cases implications for intergenerational worship
topic habitus
contemporary worship music
demographics
preferences
sociology
url https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/16/2/237
work_keys_str_mv AT laurabenjamins habitusformationthroughcontemporaryworshipmusicintwochurchcasesimplicationsforintergenerationalworship