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On The U.S. Aversion To Ritual Behavior And The Vocation Of The Liturgical Theologian, Martin F. Connell

Theology Faculty Publications

This three-part essay reflects on the vocation of liturgical theologians in a culture in which there is a general antipathy toward the influence of religious rituals on personal formation and decision-making.¹ Part ι considers a few foundational nineteenth-century authors of the American Renaissance for reflections on the aversion to Christian ritual behavior. Part 2 takes up the sermons of a few nineteenth-century revivalist preachers. Part 3 suggests five challenges to liturgical theologians who teach and think in the complex social and religious environment of the United States.