On Earth as in Heaven? - by Melanie Ross (Paperback)

About the Book

"In On Earth as in Heaven? leading scholars who presented the 2023 Yale Institute of Sacred Music liturgy conference break new disciplinary ground by investigating complex dynamics of liturgical production, distribution, and power throughout history. This collection critically engages the tension between 'earthly' materialities and eschatological visions of Christian hope, offering innovative methodologies, case studies, and approaches that promise to stimulate further research in liturgical studies and beyond"--

Book Synopsis

Explore the ways material economies have shaped past liturgical practices and continue to underlie our worship today.

Because the "stuff" of Christian worship is inextricably enmeshed in the marketplace, it seems that our liturgical practices, materiality, and economics are forever intertwined. In On Earth as in Heaven? leading scholars who presented the 2023 Yale Institute of Sacred Music Liturgy Conference break new disciplinary ground by investigating complex dynamics of liturgical production, distribution, and power throughout history.

This collection critically engages the tension between "earthly" materialities and eschatological visions of Christian hope, offering innovative methodologies, case studies, and approaches that promise to stimulate further research in liturgical studies and beyond.

Review Quotes

"Liturgy is where religion becomes a matter of seeing, touching, and tasting. It is the divine in the tangible creation--with all its messiness and practical demands on us--witnessing to the centrality of our understanding of being the creation within Christian faith. What these fourteen contributions offer us are glimpses into just how material our worship has been, is, and, indeed, must be. This collection is an important antidote to the siren voices of many in our culture who want to imagine worship as some perfect 'otherness' and in doing so only promote a disembodied gnosticism."
Thomas O'Loughlin, professor emeritus of historical theology, The University of Nottingham-- (1/28/2025 12:00:00 AM)

"This volume offers food for thought on a crucial though often neglected aspect of the celebration of the faith of Christians, namely its connection with the world of money and commerce. As such, it situates itself in the growth of interdisciplinary conversations that scholars of liturgy hold, embrace, and ought to cherish. A lineup of excellent specialists guarantees the fine quality of the essays, which are organized chronologically. What one can learn from the history of interactions between the economy and the life of worship is that the economy of salvation, as much as it is a mystery, is worth a lot also in monetary terms. I very much hope that the insights from this book will generate much more reflection and that it will equally stimulate critical discussions, not only about how business and trade interrogate liturgy but also about the reverse, how Christian worship questions fundamental assumptions of neoliberal economics."
Joris Geldhof, KU Leuven
-- (2/27/2025 12:00:00 AM)

About the Author

Melanie C. Ross is associate professor of liturgical studies at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music and Yale Divinity School.