In this thread, posters recommended that you wear “church clothes” to court. Except for weddings and funderals, I haven’t been in a church for over 30 years. Back then, at least for services in my church, you were supposed to dress to show respect for the deity. This generally meant suits for the men and modest dresses and pant suits for the women, with the rules being more lax for children.
Granted, there were a couple of progessive churches in town of the “Buddy Christ” variety, whever even (gasp) rock music was played during services, and they had much more of a come-as-you-are attitude, with the thinking that as long as you’re in church, hey, it’s all good. But there weren’t many of these.
A couple of years ago, I used the phrase “church clothes” to someone, and they had no idea what I was talking about. They had never heard of the concept and thought it was silly. Since then, other Christians I’ve talked to expressed the same opinion. So my question is, is “dressing up” for church services an outmoded concept? Or is it kind of a mish-mash, depending on what church you go to?
I always dressed up to go to church, but I think Christians are now either beginning to think their god doesn’t care what kind of shoes they’re wearing, or are sick of getting dressed up to go to church. Even my very traditional mother goes to some new-fangled hippie church where it is okay to wear jeans. She still dresses up, though, but about half the attendees do not.
Dressing up is an outmoded concept. Depending on the congregation, I’ve seen just about anything. Suits and dresses to club wear and work clothes. On the average I would say “business casual” is probably the norm for most Christian churches.
The exception is the Orthodox Catholic. Suits and ties are still expected there.
I certainly wouldn’t wear a suit and tie to church. I wouldn’t wear any variety of denims or shorts though. Basically aim for a nicely pressed long sleeved, button up shirt with black or blue slacks and matching shoes/socks. Short of the occasional wedding or funeral, that’s as dressed up as I ever get.
I do have to admit the last time I attended church services, I was somewhat annoyed when I saw several adults wearing flip flops. I would call that too far over the line.
The congregations of black churches still dress up. I see them often at the local cafeterias after church. The ladies wear very nice dresses and hats. The men are in suits. It always brings a smile to my face. It reminds me of my childhood attending church.
Sundays are the only time you get to see people dressed up like that anymore. Suits you wear to an office job are more conservative and boring.
People do wear jeans to church too. But, the black churches are much more traditional.
I regularly attend church, and despite that fact that we do not dress up at our church (well, some of the people still dress up, but generally not), I would understand the term "church clothes’ to mean a suit (or at least a tie) for men and a dress (or pants suit) for women, but not tuxedo formal.
Further, I would expect pretty much everyone in the US to know what the term “church clothes” means (even people who never attend church).
However, I have never heard the term “Buddy Christ.” I gather from the context that its a pejorative referring to the protestant denominations believing in having a personal relationship with Christ?
I think the prevailing attitude is “We don’t care what you’re wearing. We’re just glad you’re here.”
I’d be very surprised to learn that my grandmother had ever attended Sunday services wearing pants. I rarely wear dresses. I do wear dress pants and never sneakers to church. I think it’s still expected that folks will not wear anything too revealing, but other than that there seem to be few expectations.
For Sunday school I insist that my son wear a shirt with a collar (usually a polo shirt) and nothing ripped or dirty. He wears jeans some weeks. His dad objects because he was never allowed to wear jeans to Sunday school.
I just remembered that my grandmother used to refer to "Sunday Go to Meetin’ " clothes.
Our church was getting a little lax in our dressing. Then one weekly bulletin mentioned something about the overly casual dress of some of parishioners. I now dress in business casual for church. At the worst I’ll wear jeans. However before the gentle reminder, I would occasionally wear cargo shorts. I’ve seen some kids wear the cargo shorts and sandals. I’ve also seen some women dress in what I would call a ‘rather provocative’ way. Enough to where I’m thinking “Woah!” Then I think “Hey, I’m in church I shouldn’t be thinking that way.”
:smack:oops, didn’t even think to google it. Thanks, MLS. The sad thing is that I have seen Dogma but didn’t remember “Buddy Christ” until I saw the picture on wiki.
I’d be surprised at someone who didn’t even know what the phrase meant. Kids these days. shakes fist I know plenty of churchy types who go to those come-as-you-are churches, and even though they don’t dress up per se, they’d know what that phrase friggin’ meant, at least. It’s a useful shorthand, and the closest equivalent I’ve ever heard is “having lunch with your grandmother clothes,” and “church clothes” is shorter, so pfft.
Church wear today is definitely more casual than it was when I was a kid. I remember hating getting “dressed up” on Sunday mornings, but as I’ve gotten older I’m on board with making some effort to show respect for the house of the Lord. I usually wear khakis and a golf shirt or button down; my wife wears a skirt and top. I am occasionally irritated to see teens (generally) in NFL jerseys or graphic tees and rumpled cargo shorts and flip-flops. I just wait until I get home and then I yell at some kids to get offa my lawn.
These days I always wear a shirt and tie, and my wife usually wears a nice dress or skirt and blouse. If I need to participate up front, I wear a suit or a sport coat.
Our church is fairly conservative—women rarely wear pants to services, and men always have a tie. College-age kids wear pretty much whatever they please, though they do tend to avoid jeans.
On a side note, I’m still working on just how much “fuzz” my Stratocaster can produce before old ladies faint in the aisles. I still haven’t had the courage to try anything more than clean tone.
If I’m going to have a role in the service - ushering, or as lay reader - I’ll wear a suit. There are a few folks who still dress formally for church but they are mostly older types.
Ties/sports jackets are common but not the majority of men. The most common is akin to “business casual” - khakis and button down shirts. This is what I usually wear although I’ll sometimes break out the tie/jacket if it’s not too hot.
We also have a large representation of musician/artist types in our congregation (this is Nashville after all). They often wear jeans (even ripped) and t-shirts.
So we have the whole spectrum, and no one looks twice if your wearing a pinstripe suit or cowboy boots, ripped jeans and a concert t-shirt, or if your hair is short, spikey, green or shaved.
My BIL is a pastor of a very “come-as-you-are” type of church, and sometimes he preaches in jean shorts. I am somewhat old-fashioned, so I choose not to wear shorts to church. I also generally choose to wear a collared shirt (such as a golf shirt), but that is just my personal preference.
I think the whole trend these days is that what really matters is that God is more concerned with a person’s heart and soul rather than his or her outward appearance.
Sadly, since the phrase “church clothes” elicits blank stares, perhaps we should use the phrase, “interview clothes”. However, even that phrase may not have any meaning any more.
When I attend devotional gatherings, I try to dress fairly nicely. If not a dress or skirt/top, then at least dressy pants and a nice blouse or sweater. I do, however, try to wear shoes that are easy on/easy off, because the gatherings are often held at homes where the homeowner prefers everyone to take off their shoes. Of course, if I didn’t take off my shoes, they’d never say anything, but hey, I try to be polite!
My 10YO mudgirl goes to a Christian church on Sunday mornings and on Wednesday evenings. Wednesday is very casual, and she’ll wear whatever she wore to school that day. Sundays, though, she likes to dress up. She’ll select one of her dresses (which she never wears to school), make sure her hair is neatly brushed, put on some jewelry, and if she has time, even some lip gloss. Her church is pretty casual, in that they don’t have a ‘dress code’ or anything, but I think it’s cute that she takes so much time and effort figuring out what to wear to church, so I make sure she has at least three dresses clean to choose from!
Phoenix is extremely hot most of the year. My Episcopal church here is fairly casual. Shorts are rare, even on the hottest days. I’d define the usual dress as smart casual. Almost always nice jeans or business casual. All Saint’s Day will be the first dress up day since Pentecost and I’m sure the congregation will be dressed quite well.
