Religion as an Embodied Practice: Documenting the Various Forms, Meanings, and Associated Experience of Christian Prayer Postures

Religious practices such as worship services are profoundly embodied. Indeed, body postures both express and create the religious experience. While researchers have called for more attention to the corporeal nature of religion, empirical research on this topic is very limited. Drawing from a sample of U.S. Christians (N = 638), this study documents the variety of body postures adopted during a Sunday service, while taking into account of variations by church denomination, race, and other individual differences variables. The study also examines the attributed meanings of postures as well as the relationship between physical posture and the overall affective and religious experience during that service. Results show differences along two postural dimensions of interest: The postural orientation (upward vs. downward) and the use of space (expansive vs. constrictive). Specifically, upward and expansive postures, more frequent among Baptists and nondenominational Christians, are generally associated with the theme of worship, high arousal, positive affect, positive images of God, and prayers of praise. Downward and constrictive postures, more frequent among Catholics, are generally associated with the themes of prayer and reverence, low arousal affect, and humility. Together these results shed new light on the embodiment of worship

Duke Scholars

Author Patty Van Cappellen Social Science Research Institute