Perspectives of Korean Christian Worshipers on Spontaneous and Liturgical Dance in Worship Engagement

While the Bible recognizes dance as a form of worship and certain cultures have embraced it for its potential to deepen faith, dance has experienced restricted acceptance in numerous societies and denominations and has received minimal scholarly attention, limited to the study of liturgical dance. This study explores ways for Korean Christian worship, predominantly characterized by Oriental conservative principles, to consider dance as a regular form of worship expression. Exploring responses in a context where spontaneous dance is seldom studied contributes to a deeper understanding of this dance form as a worship practice. The study involves in-depth interviews with six spontaneous worship dancers nationwide. It also executes an observational case study and in-depth interviews with the congregants at Overflowing Church in Gimpo, Korea. This church is characterized by an introductory level of spontaneous dance among congregants, and the research aims to unveil the multifaceted impacts of this dance form. The observational case study, complemented by in-depth interviews, explores participants’ perceptions, interpretations, and satisfaction levels with spontaneous dance, going beyond introductory levels. Additionally, in-depth interviews with five liturgical dancers and ten congregants from Dongsung Church in Dongducheon, Korea, where artistic worship is actively embraced, offer insights into dancers’ influence on congregants and the dancers’ significance of their dance. The findings should provide rich insights into the emotional, spiritual, and communal dimensions shaped by spontaneous and liturgical dance within the Korean Christian worship context. By identifying dance’s multifaceted impacts, the study contributes to scholarly understanding and offers valuable insights for shaping Korean Christian worship expressions.