Nonliturgical

Nonliturgical refers to forms of religious worship or church activity that do not follow a fixed liturgy or prescribed order of service. In Christian usage, liturgy denotes structured prayers, readings, rubrics, and sacraments that are repeated according to tradition. Nonliturgical practices emphasize flexibility, spontaneity, and congregational participation outside of a formal rite.

Nonliturgical worship is common in many Protestant and non-denominational communities, including some Baptist, Pentecostal, and evangelical churches, as well as groups such as the Quakers whose meetings center on silent or unstructured worship rather than a standardized ritual. In these settings, services may feature extemporaneous prayer, spontaneous singing, personal testimony, or sermons that do not adhere to a fixed order.

Although nonliturgical, such worship is not necessarily unconstrained; leaders or congregations may establish patterns or guidelines, but those patterns are not mandated by a traditional liturgical book. Nonliturgical services often place emphasis on direct personal experience of God, contemporary music, and interactive or participatory elements.

Historically, calls for less formal worship arose within various reform and revival movements as a means of making faith accessible and relevant. In modern contexts, nonliturgical forms coexist with more liturgical practices and may be part of a broader spectrum of worship styles within a denomination.

See also: liturgy; worship; Quakerism; nonconformism; evangelicalism.