As a doctoral student in liturgical studies, I am becoming acquainted with journals that publish the most up-to-date scholarship on worship. These journals highlight the contributions of scholars who work on historical and theological details from two millennia of Christian worship practices across the world. Here is a short, non-exhaustive list of some of the most important ones (not ranked in any particular order):
Liturgy is the journal of
The Liturgical Conference, an ecumenical organization that was founded in 1940 to encourage church unity through liturgical renewal. The journal publishes four issues a year, each one with about six articles around a central theme. The articles are fairly short, usually around 5 to 10 pages. The range of topics is quite broad, with interests extending beyond the mainline Protestant denominations that originally founded the organization. Some recent themes include Pentecostal Worship, Worship and Mission, and Worship for Rural Churches.
The Hymn Society in the United States and Canada publishes
The Hymn: A Journal of Congregational Song. The Hymn Society advocates for and encourages congregational singing, and articles in this journal tend to focus on the history and current use of printed hymns: biographies of hymn writers, histories of specific hymn collections, and the development of hymnals in various societies around the world.
The Hymn is published four times per year, and each issue includes about four articles (each about 7 pages or less), along with updates from the Hymn Society, columns and features about the use of hymns around the world, music and text of newly-composed hymns, and reviews of hymnals and hymnology-related scholarly works.
Worship is produced by members of the Order of Saint Benedict at St. John's Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota, and is distributed by Liturgical Press. The journal was first published in 1926, and despite its Roman Catholic roots, it takes an ecumenical approach to the study of liturgy and liturgical renewal. A quote from the website describes that the work of the journal is "to reflect on the role that the various theological disciplines, as well as the arts and social sciences, play in shaping Christian worship and the lives of worshipping Christians in the world."
Worship comes out six times per year, and each issue contains about four articles, each around 20 pages, that cover a wide range of worship-related topics. A glance over the last few issues reveals quite a spectrum: where Roman Catholic priests should face while presiding at Mass, the history of Sunday as the standard day of worship, and the how the breaking of a single loaf of bread shaped the historical practices of Communion. Like most other academic journals, each issue of
Worship also has a series of reviews of book on related topics.
Societas Liturgica produces the journal
Studia Liturgica, which launched in 1962 to promote ecumenical efforts at research and liturgical renewal. This organization is more global in its scope than the others listed here, with most of its members coming from outside of North America. The range of topics is similar to
those covered in
Worship and
Liturgy, but they include a broader range that corresponds with its European and Asian readership. Recent articles include standard fare such as revisions of Anglican prayers since 1950, as well as a study of inculturation on Lembata Island in Indonesia and the eucharistic theology of the Three-Self churches in China.
Other journals of note, which are not necessarily focused on liturgical studies:
- Journal of Ritual Studies. Published since 1987 as a forum for study of ritual of all kinds. The scope here includes all ritualized aspects of human behavior, of which liturgy is a part.
- Faith & Form is an interfaith forum for religious arts and architecture, honoring work from all faiths.
- Sacred Music is the official journal of the Church Music Association of America. It is aimed almost exclusively at Roman Catholic liturgists and musicians.
- Global Forum on Arts and Christian Faith is produced online by the International Council of Ethnodoxologists. Each issue features a range of articles, working papers, and reviews on topics related to the expressive arts in Christianity around the world. The topics consider a broad spectrum: music, dance, drama, visual arts, and storytelling. (Full disclosure: I am the Reviews Editor for GFACF.)
