Date

6-17-2026

Department

School of Music

Degree

Master of Arts in Worship Studies (MA)

Chair

Hanna Byrd

Keywords

Worship war, musical style, unity, culture, singing, song choice, assessment

Disciplines

Music

Abstract

The rise of Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) in the last hundred years has gradually led to the so-called worship wars in the late twentieth century. While scholars (Lester Ruth, Ted Peter, and Vernon Whaley) note that the tension has several fronts, Ruth points out that the most obvious front line of combat in the wars was music on instrumentation, song repertoires between hymns and choruses, and the role of song in corporate worship. To keep the peace, many churches have settled for either one style of service, combined the two in the same service, commonly known as a blended service, or offered alternative services with different musical styles. While on the surface, churches appear united, many are still dealing with the tensions of the worship wars, suggesting “larger issues of social identity.” This thesis identifies that an Anglican Church in the North West (ACNW) has divided the congregants by offering “traditional” and “contemporary” services with notably different musical styles, endorsing a style preference. Subsequently, what worshippers sing can impact their spiritual well-being and their relationships with God. More importantly, the segregation could possibly threaten the unity of the church and the loss of its identity. This thesis will employ Qualitative Research, in the form of participant observation and autoethnography, providing a case study emerging from observations of three different Sunday services over a three-month period at ACNW. The focus of this thesis is to examine the song repertoires in each service and what they may reveal about the spiritual formation and unity of the church.

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