Music as a Ritual Practice in Religious Contexts

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue of Religions invites contributions that explore and study music in religious contexts through the lens of ritual practices. What insights can be gained when the focus is on music not only as an aesthetic or spiritual phenomenon but also as a ritual practice embedded in religious contexts?

Music has long been recognized as an integral element of religious life and gatherings. From a ritual perspective, we understand that music creates social cohesion, structures a ritual or liturgical act, creates a certain atmosphere, gives people the opportunity to participate, etc. By considering music as a ritual practice, this Special Issue seeks to move beyond notions of transcendence or religious experiences alone. It aims to explore how music functions within collective rituals—how it shapes and is shaped by ritual structures.

In this Special Issue, we welcome contributions from scholars across disciplines, including ethnomusicology, theology, religious studies, liturgical studies, ritual studies, musicology, anthropology and sociology. Interdisciplinary and comparative approaches are particularly encouraged.

Original research articles, theoretical contributions and reviews are welcome. The research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Embodiment and environment: How does ritual clothing, movement (e.g., processions) or the spatial or acoustic setting influence the ritual effectiveness of music?
• Text and music: To what extent do ritual texts shape musical practice, and how does the musical setting of texts alter or enforce their ritual significance?
• Participation, inclusion and exclusion: What forms of participation are assumed or required in ritual music making? What happens when participation is hindered, whether through inability, unwillingness or illness?
• Tradition and innovation: Following the analyses of scholars such as Joseph Gelineau, how do historical models of ritual music—such as Gregorian chant—continue to function, or fail to function, in contemporary liturgical settings?
• Ritual acts: What music is appropriate for the various ritual acts, such as the beginning or end of a service, or a response after a reading from Scripture?
• How do elements such as repetition, musical form, volume of sound, timing or silence contribute to ritual meaning?
• Interreligious perspectives: Contributions are encouraged that examine ritual music in a variety of religious traditions, including Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism and Buddhism. Interreligious perspectives deepen the understanding of music as ritual practice.
• Different musical styles: From Gregorian chant to contemporary worship music, from classical to popular styles, how do different musical styles function in ritual practices?

We hope that this Special Issue will stimulate new research in the field of religion, ritual and music.  

We request that prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 200–300 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send this to the Guest Editors, or to the Assistant Editor Loretta Chen (loretta.chen@mdpi.com) of Religions. Abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editors to ensure a proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo a double-blind peer review.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Martin Hoondert
Dr. Hanna Rijken
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• music
• ritual
• religion
• liturgy
• worship
• embodiment
• sound
• sacrality
• participation
• tradition
• innovation