Reasons That Baptists And Some Other Christians Frowned Upon Or Prohibited Dancing

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams posts presents some online excerpts that explore the reasons that Baptists (and some other Christian denominations) in the past and even now frown/ed upon or prohibit/ed dancing.

The Addendum to this post presents some responses to the quora.com question "What's the difference between Baptist and Southern Baptist?"

This pancocojams post provides some historical background and other context that help to explain some of the comments from African Americans and other Americans that are posted to YouTube discussion threads about praise dancing, Gospel line dancing, Gospel Hip Hop songs and certain other "secular" sounding religious songs. 

The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, and educational purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
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Click the "African American praise dancing" and the "Black Gospel mine" tags below for some pancocojams posts about those subjects. 

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ONLINE EXCERPTS
These excerpts are given in no particular order and are numbered for referencing purposes only.

EXCERPT #1
From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dancing_ban

[...]

"Religious Bans

 Christianity

Various Christian groups believe that dancing is either inherently sinful or that certain forms of dancing could lead to sinful thoughts or activities, and thus proscribe it either in general or during religious services. These include some[which?] adherents of Mennonite, Hutterite, Baptist, Seventh-day Adventist, Church of Christ, Restorationist, and Holiness movement sects.

 The Church of the Nazarene, a Methodist denomination originating in the Holiness Movement, recommends against "All forms of dancing that detract from spiritual growth and break down proper moral inhibitions and reserve."[3]

 A 19th century catholic theologian similarly teaches:[4]

 There are balls which are gravely licentious, either on account of immodest dances or of the costumes and dresses introduced at them. In these no one should take part. Even modest dances are rarely without danger, and a Christian should not frequent them from choice and of his own free will.[4]"

Many Christian churches determine doctrine locally and may be non-denominational, and these vary on their stances on social dancing.

In contrast, some strains of Charismatic Christianity practice rituals in which the Holy Spirit is believed to cause spontaneous dancing, among other behaviors.

Mormonism advocated dance and participated in recreational dancing since it was organized in 1830. Founder Joseph Smith was a skillful dancer and enjoyed hosting dances in his home. Dancing continues as an integral part of youth and adult activities in the Church. [5]."

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EXCERPT #2
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worship_dance
"Dance has historically been controversial within Christianity. Many records exist of prohibitions by leaders of most branches of the Christian Church, for such reasons as the association of dance with paganism, the use of dance for sexual purposes, and a Greek-influenced belief in the separation of soul and body. Beginning in the second half of the 20th century, and especially following the Second Vatican Council, there was a significant growth in the use of dance in Christian worship. This received a boost from the charismatic movement of the 1970s, which initiated a transition to contemporary worship in many churches."...

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EXCERPT #3
[Pancocojams Editor's Note: The following comments are selected responses from that quora.com page.  Based on their accompanying photographs, it appears that all of the responses to this question are from White people. Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.]

From : https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-scriptural-justification-for-some-Christians-forbidding-or-looking-down-on-dancing "What Is The Scriptural justification for some Christians forbidding or looking down on dancing?"

1. Nathan Ketsdever, lifelong theological questioner, writer, & arm chair philosopher

Answered Nov 7, 2014

"Update:

 The Southern Baptist Convention doesn't take a stance:

The Southern Baptist Convention has not taken an official stance on these matters. Because each church is autonomous, each issue is addressed and determined by the local church.

Original answer:

As someone at the heart of the Bible belt geographically--I am not sure how this came about culturally, but it probably arose due the admonitions in the Bible to not lust. The challenge is that the Old Testament certainly has examples of dancing. I don't know how they doctrinally got around those examples.

A Google search reveals that Southern Baptist even has a Dance Ministry, which suggests that any "rule" has long sense given way to individual interpretation.

I don't think this is one that sits well with the average church goer or the pastoral staff in the SBC. I don't think this is a serious issue. It may have been one in the 60s or 70s, but I don't imagine its treated by the majority of staff or church goers as guidance on the issue."

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2. Rebecca Billy, , Minor in religious education.

Answered Nov 7, 2014

"I know it's been looked down upon for some time, even recently, but it has less to do with actual scriptural rules against dancing than with the tendency of Southern Baptists to avoid anything which might be construed as "causing one to stumble" in the faith. Thus, drinking is prohibited based upon Paul's admonition to not be drunk with wine, and dancing is prohibited based upon the idea that it might encourage lust in observers."

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3. Keith Rockefeller,  studied History & Political Science at Nebraska Wesleyan University (1990)

Answered Dec 20, 2018

"I grew up in a GARBC Baptist Church, which is a denomination many people would consider legalistic.

The rationale is that Christians should be separated from the world and its practices in order to be godly. For this reason, many Baptists and other Christians added additional rules for the practice of their faith that excluded certain practices such as dancing, listening to pop or rock music, using tobacco, going to movies, using alcoholic beverages, owning televisions, using playing cards, using tarot cards, reading horoscopes, using profanity of any kind, and not associating with those who do. They also stressed that one should not work on Sundays, go out to eat, do any kind of heavy house work, going to stores, engaging in any kind of commerce, and such like, should dress modestly, men should keep their hair cut short and even not have facial hair, women should not wear men’s clothes, and should go to church wearing dress clothes and never appear wearing blue jeans, shorts, or sportswear. .

The problem was that these rules are not found in the Bible. They tended to create resentment among believers, and drove many from their ranks."

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4. Reginald McRee, , studied Business at University of Southern Mississippi,

Answered May 2 [no year given]

"I was raised and still am an Independent Baptist, and we typically do not dance. I have seen Independent Baptists get pretty boisterous and jump up and down, and even run aisles in church, but ABSOLUTELY no dancing with anyone at a prom or school dance. Why? Because it apparently causes sexual tension. One pastor I used to sit under used Proverbs 6:27 to preach against dancing. “Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?” Personally, I believe it depends on the type of dancing you partake in."

Understand, though, that most Southern Baptists seem not to be truly against dancing as much as it is just generally discouraged by church leadership. Much of that is just because the church leadership tends toward being old and male, and dancing was once considered rather risqué.

EDIT: The original question referred to Southern Baptists, so that us what is reflected in my answer."

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EXCERPT #4
From https://baptistnews.com/article/dancing-baptists/#.Ya0q0tDMK1s "Dancing Baptists?" by Nora O. Lozano, August 5, 2015
"Two weeks ago, during the celebrations of the BWA World Congress and the Women’s Department Leadership Conference, many Baptists from around the world worshipped together with our Baptist sisters and brothers from South Africa. Some had the privilege of physically attending these events, while others, like me, were online participants as the congress worship services were streamed live, and videos of the women’s conference were posted on Facebook.

I am sure there were many things that caught the eye of the attendees (physical and online). For me, one of them was the worship style full of festive colors, music and dancing. During the transmission of the services, the cameras were not only focused toward the stage, but also to the audience. I found it fascinating how different brothers and sisters reacted to this kind of worship style. Some were comfortably dancing, while others were as stiff as they could be.

In my corner of the world, many Baptists struggle with dancing. Some of them do not see any problem with social dancing at parties and weddings but may struggle with dancing in the church, perhaps not with an occasional special piece, but with generalized dancing during the worship service. Some other Baptists, like many Latinos/as, struggle with the whole idea of dancing (liturgically or socially).

This struggle was present as I was growing up. I was taught in my conservative Mexican Baptist church that Baptists do not dance. In fact, dancing was considered a sin. In my child and teenage mind, this restriction applied to social dancing; liturgical dance was not even a part of the picture, but if it were, it would be considered sinful, too.

Even though the Bible mentions different references about dancing (Exodus 15:20; 2 Samuel 6:14; Ecclesiastes 3:4; Psalm 150:4; Matthew 11:17; Luke 15:25), I believe there are historical reasons that led to the adoption of this restriction: 1) the teachings from foreign Baptist missionaries, mainly from the United States; 2) an anti-Catholic sentiment that motivated Baptists to attempt to differentiate themselves by not doing what Catholics were doing (social dancing); 3) An additional effort of differentiation, but this time from Pentecostal and Charismatic traditions, by avoiding any strident music or physical movement during worship time.

As I moved to new places due to studies or ministry opportunities, I continued to be surrounded with Baptists who in general were uncomfortable with dancing, and lately, with some others who are attempting to challenge this uneasiness. For instance, in the recent CBF General Assembly there was a workshop titled, “Baptists Learning to Dance.”

While this is the reality for some Baptists, it is not for many others around the world who feel very comfortable dancing. Through the years and different experiences, I have learned to see dancing as part of culture. Two events helped reinforce this idea. I had the privilege of attending both the 2005 BWA World Congress and the Women’s Leadership Conference in Birmingham, England. During the latter event, the attendees enjoyed presentations from the different regional fellowships. When it was time for the Caribbean Baptist Fellowship women to present, they burst into the meeting hall dancing. Once they stopped, the group’s leader explained that Caribbean people do everything in dance, so it was natural for them to dance during their presentation and worship time.

Later that year, I spoke in a Women’s Leadership Conference in Hyderabad, India. While there were women from different denominations, most of the attendees were Baptists. The event lasted five days, and by the second day some of them asked me: “How do they dance in your church?” I laughed on the inside. I just could not imagine the people of my San Antonio Baptist church, nor the people from my church in Monterrey, México, dancing during their worship services. So I replied: “We do not dance.” They were astonished! From that moment on, it seemed that they were trying to find an opportunity to get me to dance during the worship services, and they did! Perhaps they were trying to fix my worship practices.

The issue of culture is fascinating and perplexing. For some reason, God, in spite of the challenging complexities, made us cultural human beings. Perhaps it was to keep us humble as no human being can know all cultures. Maybe it was to keep us intrigued so that we could learn from each other. Unfortunately, instead of learning, often we feel threatened, and tend to lessen/devalue/dismiss the other’s perspective, worldview, and practices, in summary, his/her culture.

As I/we continue to attempt to understand and appreciate the rich cultural and liturgical diversity of the Baptist family worldwide, I hope that the practice of dancing by some will not become an issue of judgment and division, nor an occasion to devalue others’ cultural practices.

For some Baptists, the issue of “no dancing” has been a defining feature. Years ago, I had a conversation with a college classmate about our religious traditions. When I shared that I was a Baptist, he told me: “So you belong to the group who do not dance, drink or smoke” (of course, I do not see these three in the same cluster, but space limitations forbid me to write about the other two). His categorization saddened me. I wished he had said: “So you belong to the group who are compassionate, loving, respectful, peaceful, supporting and helping of each other and the community.”… 

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ADDENDUM : RESPONSES TO THE QUESTION "WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BAPTIST AND SOUTHERN BAPTIST?"
From https://www.quora.com/Whats-the-difference-between-Baptist-and-Southern-Baptist 

1. Fred Smith, Southern Baptist since 1971

Answered Jul 9, 2019

Originally Answered: What is the difference between Baptist and Southern Baptist?

There are many kinds of Baptists. They share similar doctrines but are part of different organizations. The Southern Baptists are the largest group of Baptists in the nation. Other Baptist groups include the National Baptists, the General Association of Regular Baptists, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, the Primitive Baptists and many others.”…

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2. Thomas Wall, Christian for over Sixty Years

Answered Feb 15, 2019

"It not possible, or at least not practical to answer the question as stated since there are at least Sixty-Two (62) different Baptist Denominations! Here is just a little about Three (3) of the largest, with the Southern Baptist as by far the largest of these three.

Southern Baptist

The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a Christian denomination based in the United States. With more than 15 million members as of 2015, it is the world's largest Baptist denomination, the largest Protestant denomination in the United States, and the second largest Christian denomination in the United States after the Catholic Church.

The word Southern in Southern Baptist Convention stems from it having been organized in 1845 at Augusta, Georgia, by Baptists in the Southern United States who split with northern Baptists over the issue of slavery, specifically whether Southern slave owners could serve as missionaries.

Since the 1940s, the Southern Baptist Convention has shifted from some of its regional and historical identification, especially since the late 20th century, the SBC has sought new members among minority groups and to become much more diverse. In addition, while still heavily concentrated in the Southern United States, the Southern Baptist Convention has member churches across the United States and 41 affiliated state conventions. Southern Baptist churches are evangelical in doctrine and practice. As they emphasize the significance of the individual conversion experience, which is affirmed by the person having complete immersion in water for a believer's baptism, they reject the practice of infant baptism. Other specific beliefs based on biblical interpretation can vary somewhat due to their congregational polity, which allows local autonomy.

The average weekly attendance is over 5 million.

National Baptist

The National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., more commonly known as the National Baptist Convention (NBC USA or NBC), is the largest predominantly African-American Christian denomination in the United States. It is headquartered at the Baptist World Center in Nashville, Tennessee and affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance. The denomination claims approximately 31,000 congregations and reports having an estimated 7.5 million members.

American Baptist

The northern Baptist are now understood to be The American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA) with about 1.2 million members.

After the American Civil War, another split occurred when most freedmen set up independent black congregations, regional associations, and state and national conventions, such as the National Baptist Convention, which became the second largest Baptist convention by the end of the 19th century. Others joined new African-American denominations, chiefly the African Methodist Episcopal Church, which was established in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the early 19th century, as the first independent black denomination in the United States."
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The bold font was used in this response.

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