Christian practices are the ways in which Christians express their beliefs in daily life, communal worship and special observances. They vary significantly between denominations — from the elaborate liturgy of the Roman Catholic Mass to the silent worship of the Quakers — but all aim to deepen the relationship between believers and God, and to build the Christian community.
How do Christians worship and what forms does worship take?
Worship — the act of honouring and communicating with God — is central to Christian practice. It takes two main forms:
Liturgical worship follows a set order of service from a written text (liturgy). The Roman Catholic Mass, the Church of England's Common Worship service, and Eastern Orthodox services are all liturgical. Key elements typically include: readings from the Bible (Old Testament, New Testament, Gospels), a sermon (preaching on the scripture), communal prayer, and the Eucharist.
Non-liturgical (informal) worship is not prescribed in a set text. Evangelical, Baptist, Pentecostal and charismatic services are typically non-liturgical: contemporary worship songs, spontaneous prayer, extemporaneous preaching, and (in Pentecostal traditions) the gifts of the Holy Spirit (speaking in tongues, healing, prophecy) may all feature.
The Church of England occupies a middle position — its services have a set structure, but within that structure there is significant flexibility, and informal ("Fresh Expressions") services exist alongside traditional ones.
What unites different forms of worship? All Christians worshipping together gather "in the name of Jesus" (Matthew 18:20 — "where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them"), read from the Bible as the word of God, and aim to encounter God in some form.
What is prayer and how do Christians pray?
Prayer is communication with God. Christians understand it as both speaking to God and listening — not only formal petition but also praise, confession, thanksgiving and contemplation.
Forms of Christian prayer include:
| Type of prayer | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Adoration | Praising God for who God is | "Praise God from whom all blessings flow" |
| Confession | Acknowledging sin and asking forgiveness | "Lord, have mercy" (the Kyrie) |
| Thanksgiving | Expressing gratitude for specific blessings | "Thank you for healing my father" |
| Supplication / Intercession | Asking God for specific needs (personal or for others) | Praying for someone who is ill |
| Contemplative prayer | Resting in God's presence; listening rather than speaking | Centering prayer; Lectio Divina |
The Lord's Prayer (Our Father) is the most universally used Christian prayer, given by Jesus in Matthew 6:9–13. Its structure — opening with address and praise, asking for God's will, requesting daily needs, seeking forgiveness, and asking for protection — is a model for all Christian prayer.
Different Christians pray in different ways: Catholics pray the rosary (a series of meditations on events in the life of Jesus and Mary); many Evangelical Christians engage in spontaneous, conversational prayer; contemplative monks and nuns practice extended periods of silent prayer.
What are the sacraments and why do they matter?
A sacrament is an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace — a physical ritual that, in Christian theology, conveys God's grace to the participant.
Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christianity recognise seven sacraments:
- Baptism — initiation into the Church; forgiveness of original sin; entry into new life in Christ
- Confirmation — mature affirmation of baptismal faith; reception of the Holy Spirit
- Eucharist (Holy Communion/Mass) — sharing bread and wine, believed to become the body and blood of Christ
- Penance/Reconciliation (Confession) — forgiveness of sins through confession to a priest and absolution
- Anointing of the sick — prayer and anointing with oil for those who are seriously ill
- Holy Orders — ordination of deacons, priests and bishops
- Matrimony — the marriage of a man and woman, understood as a sacramental covenant
Most Protestant churches recognise two sacraments: Baptism and the Eucharist (which Protestants may call the Lord's Supper or Holy Communion). Protestant theology generally holds that Christ instituted these two explicitly in the Gospels. The Eucharist is understood differently: Catholics believe in transubstantiation (the bread and wine truly become Christ's body and blood); most Protestants believe the bread and wine are symbols or memorials (memorial theology) or that Christ is spiritually present in the act (real presence theology, held by Lutherans and some Anglicans).
Baptism raises an additional denominational difference: whether to baptise infants (paedobaptism — Catholic, Anglican, Methodist, Lutheran) or only believing adults (credobaptism — Baptist, many Evangelical churches). The Baptist argument is that baptism should follow conscious faith; the infant baptism argument is that it is a sign of God's grace given before the individual's response, echoing Old Testament circumcision.
What is the Eucharist and why is it so important?
The Eucharist (also called the Mass, Holy Communion or the Lord's Supper) is the central act of worship for most Christians. It re-enacts the Last Supper, at which Jesus took bread and wine, broke them and said: "This is my body, given for you... This cup is the new covenant in my blood, shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins" (Luke 22:19–20; 1 Corinthians 11:24–25).
For Catholics, the Eucharist is the "source and summit of the Christian life" (Catechism of the Catholic Church). The Mass is a re-presentation of Christ's sacrifice — the priest, acting in persona Christi ("in the person of Christ"), offers the sacrifice anew. Receiving communion is understood as receiving Christ himself.
For most Protestants, the Lord's Supper is a memorial meal that proclaims Christ's death "until he comes" (1 Corinthians 11:26) and spiritually nourishes believers, but it does not re-present a sacrifice.
For Quakers and the Salvation Army, who have no sacraments, all of life should be "sacramental" — fully lived in God's presence, with no special moments set apart.
What is Christian pilgrimage?
Pilgrimage is a journey to a sacred place undertaken for religious reasons — prayer, penance, spiritual renewal or thanksgiving. Major Christian pilgrimage sites include:
- Jerusalem (Israel/Palestine): The sites of Jesus's ministry, crucifixion (Calvary/Golgotha) and resurrection (the Church of the Holy Sepulchre). The holiest Christian city.
- Rome (Italy): St Peter's Basilica (built over the tomb of the Apostle Peter), the Vatican, the catacombs.
- Lourdes (France): Site of the apparitions of the Virgin Mary reported by Bernadette Soubirous in 1858; a major site of healing pilgrimage, particularly for the sick.
- Santiago de Compostela (Spain): The Way of St James (Camino de Santiago) — medieval pilgrimage route to the cathedral containing the relics of the Apostle James.
- Canterbury (England): Shrine of St Thomas Becket, martyred Archbishop of Canterbury (1170 CE); the setting for Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.
- Walsingham (England): England's "Nazareth" — a medieval shrine to the Virgin Mary, still visited today.
Christians debate whether pilgrimage is necessary. Protestant traditions generally regard it as optional rather than meritorious: God is equally accessible everywhere. Catholic and Orthodox traditions place greater value on the physical journey to sacred places, venerating the relics or sites connected with Christ, Mary and the saints.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant worship?
Roman Catholic worship centres on the Mass and the seven sacraments, with formal liturgy in Latin and the vernacular, a strong role for the priest as mediator between God and the faithful, and veneration of Mary and the saints. Eastern Orthodox worship is highly elaborate, with incense, icons, chanting and a clear distinction between clergy and laity in the physical space of the church. Protestant worship varies enormously — from the ordered liturgy of Lutheran and Anglican services through to spontaneous, charismatic evangelical services. The key Protestant principles (from the Reformation) are that all Christians have direct access to God without a priestly mediator (priesthood of all believers) and that scripture alone is the authority for practice (sola scriptura). These principles produce simpler, often less hierarchical forms of worship.
What does the Church of England believe about Baptism and the Eucharist?
The Church of England (Anglican tradition) is deliberately broad, containing Catholic, Reformed and Evangelical strands. On baptism, it practises infant baptism. On the Eucharist, the Church of England's official position avoids precisely defining what happens to the bread and wine — the Thirty-Nine Articles (1563) reject transubstantiation but do not commit to a specific alternative, allowing space for a range of views from real presence to memorial. This deliberate theological breadth — the "Anglican Comprehension" — means that two Anglican churches can have significantly different Eucharistic theology and practice while both remaining Anglican.
What is the Church's role in social and community action?
Christian social action flows from beliefs about the image of God in every human being (Imago Dei), the commandment to love one's neighbour, and Jesus's identification of himself with the poor and marginalised ("whatever you did for the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me" — Matthew 25:40). In practice, churches run food banks, homeless shelters, hospices, schools and community centres. Christian Aid, CAFOD (Catholic Agency for Overseas Development) and the Trussell Trust (a foodbank network with Christian roots) are major UK examples. Some Christians emphasise "social gospel" (working for justice here and now); others emphasise personal evangelism (proclaiming the Christian message for individual conversion). This tension — between transforming social structures and transforming individuals — is an ongoing debate within Christianity.
How do Christian practices relate to Christian beliefs?
The GCSE specification links beliefs and practices — and exam questions often ask students to explain this connection. Key links to know: the Eucharist enacts the belief that Jesus's death was a sacrifice for sins (atonement doctrine); baptism enacts the belief in new birth and forgiveness through Christ (salvation); prayer expresses the belief that God is personal, accessible and active; pilgrimage expresses the belief that particular places and moments can mediate encounter with God; community action expresses the belief in the Imago Dei and neighbour-love. In each case, the practice is not separate from the belief — it is the belief made physical and embodied.
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