Explain to me worship

[Trepa Mayfield]

First off, a bit of context: I am an atheist, whose parents were both atheists, and have never had close enough theist friends to discuss religion. So I've sort of had to glean what I could from the internet and such. I think I understand faith. I've got mythology well in hand. What I don't understand, at all, is the concept of worship.

What is it, exactly? Why is it good?

[mswas]

Worship is the act of bringing oneself into union with the divine. Acts of devotion center oneself in one's faith. It's kind of like a form of contemplation/meditation.

[Solfy]

Worship is different things to different people. For me, worship is a chance to gather with like-minded individuals and engage in practices that remind me that my petty concerns of the week aren't all there is to this life, that I am part of a larger whole, and that even within the scheme of my own individual life this week's concerns are manageable.

I suppose it's also an opportunity for people to be grateful and/or penitent before a higher power of their choosing.

[73 LeBaron]

Textbook response: Worship is the normal response to the Divine.

Experiential response: An opportunity for a group to gather in community for shared religious experience.

Dialectical response: the practice of the opiate of the people

LeBaron--M.Div. 1987, apostate since 1999 or so . . .