Liturgy, Music, Theology

Dear Colleagues,

Music in worship is a crucial means for forming and expressing faith and religious identity. Our theologies drive and energize liturgical and musical practices. At the same time, liturgical and musical practices are primary theological expressions (Kavanagh); they shape our theologies. Music and liturgy are also sites where theologies are constrained and contested. Existing approaches in liturgy can be entrenched, and moments of liturgical renewal can be marked by conflict, revealing debates over musical repertoires and practices, as well as religious belief and doctrine. Our practices of worship can reflect, constitute, or challenge systems and structures of power.

This Special Issue draws upon a broad understanding of music, encompassing multiple styles and repertoires, but also drawing on the concept of “musicking” as involving actions beyond just performing and listening (Small). It explores power issues with respect to culture, identity, embodiment, community, and politics enacted through music in liturgy with special attention to the theological implications. It seeks to explore the dynamics between and across these elements of worship and faith practices, engaging complexities and tensions, and coming from a range of methods and disciplinary perspectives. The central question of the articles in this collection is, “How do we sing ourselves and our beliefs into being?” Additional potential questions could include:

• How can music galvanize, transform, and/or reconfigure our liturgies and theologies?
• In what ways does theology shape our music and our embodied liturgical practices, and what are the ethical implications of this formation?
• When our worship does not connect with our lived experience, or fit our lives anymore, how might we respond and rethink what we do?
• How do we engage with changes to our musical and liturgical traditions? Alternatively, what musical and liturgical traditions do we seek to maintain and why?
• What insights can we gain from investigating cultural politics in practices of liturgy, music, and theology? How does music in liturgy affirm cultural norms and traditions or challenge them? Are cultural norms invisible or explicit in music and liturgy?
• Who is left out or excluded from our communities because they do not experience a place for themselves in our liturgies and sung theologies?
• How do we engage multiplicity and diversity—human, musical, theological—in our communal practices?

We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 250–300 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send it to the Guest Editors Anna Nekola (anekola@cmu.ca) and Becca Whitla (becca.whitla@saskatoontheologicalunion.ca) or to the Religions editorial office (religions@mdpi.com). Abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editors to ensure proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer-review.

Dr. Anna Nekola
Dr. Becca Whitla
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-blind 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.