How High Church/Low Church are You?

[DC Al Fine]

How high church/low church are you? Are you a "smells and bells" or a CCM person?

I'm fairly high church, especially for a conservative Protestant. Rote prayers, lectionary, and creeds etc, have grown on me. I think the liturgical structure is better for educating Christians. There's also a big romantic element; saying the same prayers that my father said, and his father, and his father before him.

What about you? Irreligious people feel free to comment as well.

[Free Speech Enjoyer]

The services I go to are fairly low church, but I wouldn't be opposed to additional "smells and bells" for a change if it was seriously proposed.  That said, I don't put much emphasis on the way the prayers themselves are done, so long as they center around the same message.

[H. Ross Peron]

Conservative low church Presbyterian. I prefer simple services with hymn-singing and focus on the sermon. I support the recitation of creeds tho'.

Stuck with "youth services" with CCM and crappy sermons.

[Tokugawa Sexgod Ieyasu]

High Church Anglican/Episcopalian. It's not something on which I'm hugely insistent but I do strongly prefer it, and also prefer to hew towards Catholicism in areas like Eucharistic theology.

[Deus Naturae]

I'm mostly secular, but I do attend religious services on Christmas. Every year, I rotate between my mother's and father's families, and I must say that I greatly prefer the grand spectacle of my mother's Christmas mass to the drab proceedings that go on in my father's Methodist church.

[All Along The Watchtower]

I'm fairly high church, especially for a conservative Protestant. 

You'd think by the dictionary definition of "conservative" that low church Protestants would be on average, less conservative than high church types.

[All Along The Watchtower]

I'm fairly high church, especially for a conservative Protestant. 

You'd think by the dictionary definition of "conservative" that low church Protestants would be on average, less conservative than high church types.

Though maybe in lifestyle, they are.

[DC Al Fine]

I'm fairly high church, especially for a conservative Protestant. 

You'd think by the dictionary definition of "conservative" that low church Protestants would be on average, less conservative than high church types.

Yeah, I never understood that, but then again, I'm a conservative mainline so I'm biased

[Robert California]

I consider myself pretty High Church.

[LastVoter]

lol Church

[TJ in Oregon]

Toward the High Church end of things even for Catholicism, particularly when it comes to music, but I don't care much about the actual bells or "smells" (incense) one way or another. I do enjoy when common Mass parts are sung in Latin and tend to prefer translated Gregorian chants to most of the more recent music. I also take communion on the tongue, which is something my church in Wisconsin is trying to bring back.

[tik 🪀✨]

I was raised to dislike the stuffy intangible impersonal pomp of "high church" in favor of the more down to earth, "Jesus is my buddy" stuff. I'm irreligious now but that distinction stuck. I prefer happy clappy to smells and bells. Wow. Finding it really hard not to make a sex reference to that sentence.

[falling apart like the ashes of American flags]

Low church. I tried to think of a "so low its under ground/hipster" joke but couldn't think of one.

[dead0man]

I grew up "low church" and would be still if I participated.  I don't mind ritual so much, I just hate the "fancy" that usually comes along with it.

[Mopsus]

High Church (non-religious). Since I'm not spiritual, the ritual aspect of religious service is the part which interests the most. If only there were a nice Mystery Cult active in my area...

[Filuwaúrdjan]

High Church (non-religious).

Yes, that's usually the way.

[Cassius]

Catholic, so very High Church.

[RI]

Relatively High Church though incense makes my head hurt, and I don't care for the use of Latin that much. I suppose I'm probably less High Church-inclined than your average practicing Catholic. Comes with the lack of a Catholic upbringing, I'd presume.

[DC Al Fine]

Catholic, so very High Church.

Where are you within the Catholic spectrum though? I've met Catholics who are lower church than I am

[Mopsus]

High Church (non-religious).

Yes, that's usually the way.

The question is, is my preference for High Church on account of the fact that I don't actually have to attend one...?

[DemPGH]

No Church.

No, I was raised low church, and the informality of it never did anything to foster my spirituality. I also attended high church services / ceremonies a number of years ago (Roman Catholic), and while the structure provided for a more formal and organized experience, the effect was the same. I think if I were spiritual, religious, etc., however, my personality and mindset would almost certainly lead me to a high church environment.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

High Church (non-religious).

Yes, that's usually the way.

The question is, is my preference for High Church on account of the fact that I don't actually have to attend one...?

It was a joke at the expense of High Church Anglicans.

[Mopsus]

High Church (non-religious).

Yes, that's usually the way.

The question is, is my preference for High Church on account of the fact that I don't actually have to attend one...?

It was a joke at the expense of High Church Anglicans.

Now I know that High Church Anglicans are stereotyped as non-religious. Learn something new every day.

[Cassius]

Catholic, so very High Church.

Where are you within the Catholic spectrum though? I've met Catholics who are lower church than I am

Tis a good point. The Church I attend is a pretty formal one (though it uses English as opposed to Latin), so I'm guessing its more to the conservative side (though not ultra-high Church). Mind you, I don't attend half as often as I should, and it seems to have become a little less formal as of late. My very high church was probably an overstatement in terms of the Church I attend, although not in terms of my own preferences (no offense to Protestants, but I can't abide a plain Church )

[Oldiesfreak1854]

I'd probably be more High Church overall.  I prefer traditional hymns and services, but I also have no problem with CCM on principle (most of it is just poorly written and performed), or even the use of creeds (though the Bible supersedes them all.)  So I guess I'd be more Low Church for my own church and denomination.