Liturgies of creativity: A dialogue between secular music performance and Christian liturgical performance

Abstract

This is a modified version of an essay originally submitted as an assignment (entitled: ‘Bodies together: Creativity, sensuality, discovery’) during my MA in public theology at the University of Chichester. Theological reflection on contemporary music performance created a dialogue between the ‘secular’ and ‘religious’ to explore the concept of ‘liturgy’ in contemporary theological discourse. Drawing from largely Protestant and Catholic sources, I argue that while Christian worship is unique in its theological orientation, it shares with non-Christian ‘liturgies’ participation in a creative process through the ways in which the human imagination is enacted and performed. This invites further dialogue between different liturgies of creativity for human flourishing.