This article reveals how neoplatonic philosophy shaped views on dance in worship, suggesting its role is minimal across denominations.
The Bible has little to say about dancing, and different denominational traditions have developed various forms of dancing or other bodily expressions of spiritual experience in worship. Generally, however, dance plays no role in spirituality. While Christians throughout the times did engage in secular dancing, they rarely danced in worship. The article explores the roots of this development, finding them in Neoplatonic philosophy and the Enlightenment’s preference for the rational over the emotional.
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Erik W. Dailey (2025) studied this question.
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