Includes bibliographical references (p. 240-255) and index.

Introduction : discourse, devotion and embodiment -- Early Christian worship, texts and contexts to AD 300 -- Worship and the Christianisation of public space, 300-600 -- Hegemonic discourses in the worship of empires, 600-900 -- The dominant discourse of cosmological Christianity, 900-1200 -- Accessing the demotic discourses of devotion, 1200-1500 -- Worship and the rise of humanistic discourses, 1500-1800 -- The globalisation of Christian worship, 1800-2000.

In this book the 2000-year history of Christian worship is viewed from a sociological perspective. Martin Stringer develops the idea of discourse as a way of understanding the place of Christian worship within its many and diverse social contexts. Beginning with the Biblical material the author provides a broad survey of changes over 2000 years of the Christian church, together with a series of case studies that highlight particular elements of the worship, or specific theoretical applications. Stringer does not simply examine the mainstream traditions of Christian worship in Europe and Byzantium, but also gives space to lesser-known traditions in Armenia, India, Ethiopia and elsewhere. Offering a contribution to the ongoing debate that breaks away from a purely textual or theological study of Christian worship, this book provides a greater understanding of the place of worship in its social and cultural context.--From publisher description.