What do you think about dancing: is it sinful? I don't think so, it's just having fun in life; but a lot of churches don't agree. What do you...

Most major religions have a place for music in their services or rituals of worship. Dancing is also an important part of many religious traditions, including the Jewish faith and Sufism. Even the Anabaptist Mennonites and Amish, often considered very conservative and strait-laced, are known to dance at their church functions. The prohibition against dancing seems to be a trend among certain Southern Baptist and Pentecostal churches. This is not because these religious denominations have any official stance prohibiting dancing; rather, they believe that individual churches should have autonomy in creating rules for their congregations. It is individual churches that make rules against dancing and other social behaviors. In some Baptist churches, in the southern states in particular (such as Louisiana, Florida, Alabama, Georgia) there is no dancing allowed in the church itself or on church grounds. Some churches only prohibit "sexually suggestive" dancing.

It is believed these prohibitions may have arisen out of the Christian Fundamentalism movement, which gained popularity in the late 19th century, in part as a response to the growing body of evidence for human evolution. In addition to revising Christian Protestant doctrine to include close adherence to the bible as history (as opposed to literature), many fundamentalists avoid certain behaviors such as drinking alcohol, dancing, or attending concerts or plays. Interestingly, in recent years the term "fundamentalist" is used less commonly to refer to this rather strict form of Christianity: more commonly these days the adherents refer to themselves as "Evangelicals" or simply "Christians."

As for what I think: music and dancing can be profoundly beautiful and powerful expressions of spirituality. I grew up singing religious music from many cultures, as my music teacher and choir director loved this kind of music, and we performed a wide variety of music inspired by worship, including Negro Spirituals, Gregorian chant, and religious poems by William Blake set to music. I can't imagine why dancing, a natural response to music, should not be part of someone's spiritual experience.