https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7153-2782
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Abstract
The call on churches to be places of inclusion and full participation for people with disabilities is clear. Yet many congregations still struggle to design worship services in ways that are accessible to everyone in their faith community. This qualitative study identified salient aspects of Christian worship services that require consideration within churches that are striving to ensure broad accessibility. Though interviews with 37 people with varied disabilities (e.g., autism, hearing impairments, intellectual disability, physical disabilities, visual impairment), we identified 15 dimensions of worship services that warrant careful attention: postures, communication, sense of community, architecture, contributions, attitudes, expectations, technology, supports, interactions, sensory factors, liturgy, understanding, theology, and transportation. We discuss the implications of these findings for worship leaders and suggest avenues for future research aimed at promoting accessible worship services.
Author contributions
The first author conceptualized the study. The first, second, and fifth authors contributed to data collection. The first through fourth authors conducted the analyses and contributed to writing. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Authors’ note
We are grateful for the contributions of Harley Blevins, Jessica Capretto, Andie DeFreese, Yasenia Edwards, Sylvia Liang, and Megan Lively to this project.
Competing interests
The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.
Ethics approval and consent
The study was conducted in line with procedures approved by the Vanderbilt University Institutional Review Board. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.