Liturgical Professional: Norms and Worship Practice

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Hans-Georg Ziebertz
• Subject Area: Roman Catholic Theology
• Term: from 2015 to 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 276484990

According to the liturgical constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium (SC) only the pope and the bishops are allowed to add, remove or change anything in the Liturgy at will. However, the empirical reality shows that this is not necessarily observed in the local communities. The research project investigates how professionals with a church mandate to chair liturgical celebrations apply normative specifications to the liturgy and why they make deviations from these norms. The project wants to show whether, and if so what options are used and whether, and if so what additions, modifications or deviations are made, particularly how the specifications are interpreted and which motives and insights determine the action. Since they are all professionals, the study assumes that the actors are able to explain their practice reasonably and plausibly. How they do this will be researched with a qualitative-empirical design that works with guided interviews. Thus, about 100 professionals from four German dioceses (women and men) who perform liturgical services are interviewed. The interviews are then analyzed by applying the Grounded Theory and the appropriate software. The research of the reception of liturgical concepts is an innovative fundamental contribution for the understanding of the impact of the liturgical reform of the Second Vatican Council.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants