Worship and Faith Formation: The Formative Power of Liturgy in Christian Life

Christian communities in the 21st century are faced with the pressing challenge of forming and sustaining faith. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the place of worship has been both disrupted and rediscovered. Today, we are compelled to ask: How does worship shape faith?

The following Special issue of Religions, “Worship and Faith Formation”, is centered on this particular question. It seeks to deepen theological and liturgical reflection on how worship forms and sustains Christian faith, both individually and communally. All ten articles explore how the repetition and embodied practice of worship within the Christian tradition shape the believer’s identity, spirituality, and ethical life.

Across these articles, a common thread emerges: the proclamation of the Word, the celebration of the sacraments, and the sharing of the table all serve to activate communal memory and shape a shared ecclesial identity. From Paul’s Eucharistic exhortation to the Corinthian church, to Luke’s theology of the hospitable table, to the repeated use of the Ten Commandments in the Reformed tradition, this issue emphasizes that worship is not a static rite but a formative rhythm of life.

Some contributions also explore how worship mediates the intersection of boundary and inclusion within the faith community—reshaping the ethical sensibilities and postures of believers toward the other. These insights suggest that worship is not merely a burden from the past but a living space in which today’s communities are invited to participate and be formed anew.

Of course, this volume does not exhaust the discussion. Several key questions posed in the call for papers remain only partially addressed:

• How does worship affect faith formation across different life stages and conditions—among children, youth, the elderly, and persons with disabilities?
• How do music, praise, and sensory experience shape the cognitive, emotional, and moral worlds of believers?
• What physical and psychological effects emerge through participation in worship, seen through the lens of neuroscience or psychology?
• How does the digital transformation of worship in the post-pandemic era impact spiritual formation?

Thus, rather than offering a conclusion, this Special Issue opens new doors for multidisciplinary inquiry. To explore the theme of faith formation with integrity, liturgical studies must engage in creative and substantive dialogue with Christian education, practical theology, ethics, psychology, disability studies, and neuroscience.

May this Special Issue invite fresh reflection on worship across traditions and renew our understanding of worship not merely as something we perform but as something through which we are formed. I offer my deepest thanks to all contributors.