Liturgy as Social Imaginary: Sacramentality and Sociality in Luther’s Liturgical Writings

TY - CONF

T1 - Liturgy as Social Imaginary

T2 - RETHINK Reformation 2017

AU - Rønkilde, Jette Bendixen

PY - 2017/11/1

Y1 - 2017/11/1

N2 - Luther´s ‘renewed’ theological discourse – particularly his understanding of sacramentality – necessitated a new liturgical practice. His understanding of real presence in the Eucharist, the priority of the lay people´s participation in the sacraments and his translation of the Bible into the vernacular transformed the previous norms of the liturgical agenda, and his emphasis of the necessity of new hymns to enable everyone to speak of God in his or her own language marks a radical counterpart to the tradition in which his works originate. The argument of this paper is that this renewed understanding of sacramentality and its inherence in concrete liturgical practice laid the foundation of a revaluation of social and religious identity. Luther emphasized how liturgy could and should have a strong pedagogical center of teaching the youth about God’s Word and deeds. The paper examines how this renewed understanding of liturgy is also a radically different understanding of the inherent social images. The aim of the paper is to investigate how Luther´s understanding of sacramentality and sociality correspond and correlate in his liturgical writings.

AB - Luther´s ‘renewed’ theological discourse – particularly his understanding of sacramentality – necessitated a new liturgical practice. His understanding of real presence in the Eucharist, the priority of the lay people´s participation in the sacraments and his translation of the Bible into the vernacular transformed the previous norms of the liturgical agenda, and his emphasis of the necessity of new hymns to enable everyone to speak of God in his or her own language marks a radical counterpart to the tradition in which his works originate. The argument of this paper is that this renewed understanding of sacramentality and its inherence in concrete liturgical practice laid the foundation of a revaluation of social and religious identity. Luther emphasized how liturgy could and should have a strong pedagogical center of teaching the youth about God’s Word and deeds. The paper examines how this renewed understanding of liturgy is also a radically different understanding of the inherent social images. The aim of the paper is to investigate how Luther´s understanding of sacramentality and sociality correspond and correlate in his liturgical writings.

UR - http://conferences.au.dk/rr2017/panels-and-paper-abstracts/

M3 - Paper

Y2 - 1 November 2017 through 3 November 2017

ER -