In one of my recent threads where I asked a question about getting married for Muslims I found it interesting how someone said that in the weddings after the couple is wed.The men go to dance but not the woman.I also remeber hearing a years ago that in some Churches (by this the person meant certain denominations in Christianity) they dont allow dancing.Does any know of any religions where danching is not allowed?.If so why?.Thank you very much so for your time.
Methodists as I recall didn’t permit dancing or card games (gambling) until quite recent times. Very strict personal standards.
Strict Church of Christ ban partner dancing of all forms. I had many friends in high school that their parents did not allow them to attend banquets because of “potential dancing.”
Strict Southern Baptists ban dancing in the church service.
However, remember that most of the “protestant” religions as a whole have guidelines for the churches to follow. The churches can have their own rules about the congregation’s beliefs.
EDIT:
The why to the ban of these? I am not sure myself. I was raised Baptist and attended a liberal Church of Christ Wednesday church service for a year or so.
The Church of the Nazarene does not allow dancing, and there are also some Baptists churches that do not…although, I’m not sure if it’s a standard rule for Baptists or not. It definitely is a rule with all Nazarene churches though.
Peace and blessings,
Julie
Many churches of the Wesleyan holiness tradition did not allow it. Most of them have softened their positions. The old saying about Baptists not dancing is not as true as it once was.
The theory is unmarried people who engage in couple dancing touch. touch leads to arousal… You get the picture.
I’m going to guess the Quakers and the Amish, but I don’t really know. Just guesses.
There is no dancing allowed in the Assemblies of God high school in our city, except in school musicals. My daughter attended the school for a year in the year 2002, and instead of a prom, they had a dinner.
It’s kind of funny-I grew up in the Conference Baptist Churches, where dancing was not allowed (I’m not sure whether that rule has been changed). But eating was encouraged, and we had plenty of church potlucks and picnics.
So guess what–today I’m fat and out-of-shape. Hmmm :rolleyes:
The evangelical Protestant churches have changed so drastically in their “rules” over the last ten years, and they seem to be evolving constantly. So it’s entirely possible that both A of G and Conference Baptist denominations have changed so that now dancing is allowed.
Most of the fundamentalist churches, many of which are non-denominational, do not allow dancing.
Evangelical Friends typically don’t dance. Non-programmed Friends may enjoy a glass of wine and share a dance with their spouse or partner.
Amish, Mennonites, Brethren, Brethren in Christ typically do not dance…Amish for sure…but there are “moderate” Mennonites and Brethren that may “look the other way”.
My mother’s faith - sort of a blend of Baptist and Pentecostal teachings - does not dance. I’ve been told various reasons: first, that they believe dancing was the primary factor in John the Baptist’s beheading (I dunno - I tried to argue that he was set to be executed anyway, but this wasn’t accepted readily :shrug:) and second, that dancing is a tempetuous activity that leads to immoral activity between a man and woman (however, even married couples can’t dance, so…?)
Keep in mind, though, that her faith teaches against women and men swimming together, women wearing short hair and makeup, women dressing like men (they wear long skirts instead), etc. But yes, there are many faiths that still practice this. I went to a prominent Southern Baptist university when I first went away to college, and the town forbade dancing and any dancing clubs. We were told in our Freshman Orientation that it was against school policy to host, participate in, or attend any dancing activities.
My tee-total, straight-laced family, who are Campbellite “Christian Church”, a fairly conservative denomination, are all ball-room dance fanatics (except for me). My parents are members of Elks and Moose lodges entirely for the purpose of attending dances. My father even serves as “DJ” on occasion. My brother used to ballroom dance professionally and even competed internationally in so-called “theatre arts”. Today he gives lessons and teaches at a local university. They see nothing in their faith that proscribes the rhumba, paso doble, west-coast swing, or the occassional cha-cha.
The Church Of God Of Prophecy that I grew up in did not allow dancing wearing makeup going to the movies or anything like that looking back i have no idea why they didnt allow any jewelry either nit even wedding rings go figure however i think they do now.thank goodness i am nowCatholic and part of the One True Holy and Apostolic Church
Some of the stricter Jewish sects and communities do not allow dancing for women in synagogue, but instead women remain seated in their own section of the synagogue whilst the men and children dance. It was also unheard of that a woman should dance with the Torah scroll, something which is now slowly being changed. Partner-dancing is still looked down upon in some Ashkenazi Jewish communities.
Muslims tend to differ in their acceptance of dancing and of music. Some more liberal Muslims approve of dancing and music, such as in Turkey and in Sufi sects. The strictest Islamic scholars ban both of these, and allow only solo voice songs sung by men only (called nasheeds or nashyids), and dancing is strictly banned.
I’ve also come across Baptist preachers (I was a Baptist) who also banned or at least looked down upon dancing as somehow being immoral, especially for young people. Although I could never find a Scriptural basis for this…
There’s numerous examples of dancing in the Bible which are not connected in any way to anything remotely immoral. Indeed, the Bible makes a clear distinction between immoral and moral forms of music, singing and dancing.
I can think of the following examples of ‘moral’ dancing:
Exodus 15:20- Miriam dances and plays music to celebrate the Israeli escape from Israel, along with many other women.
2 Samuel 6: 12-16- King David celebrates the return of the Ark to Jerusalem.
Psalm 143:9- Talks about praising God through music and dancing.
These are just the ones I can remember…
I’m certain that Amish people DO allow dancing among married couples, but I could be wrong.
A long time ago and in a galaxy far, far away (Utah), Brigham Young opined that ballroom dancing was immoral. Now, Brigham Young University sends teams of ballroom dancers on international tours to perform, and the local units of the LDS Church generally hold a monthly dance for the youth and young single adults.
Seventh Day Adventists do not allow dancing.
I thought that a sword was the primary factor in John’s beheading? :shrug:
My mother came from a Nazarene background; at the Nazarene college which she attended, girls wore skirts no matter what (if the weather was cold, they were allowed to wear slacks UNDER the skirts on the way to school, but the slacks had to be removed while inside the building. Once a guy decided to obey the no-slacks rule, and it wasn’t pretty.) Dancing was verboten, but as long as they didn’t actually move their feet, they could sway or wobble to the music and get away with it.
(I think the Nazarene behavioral and dress codes have changed. The denomination itself seems to have altered significantly.)
I haven’t been SDA, but I did attend an SDA church for a while; from what I understood, SDA’s don’t actually prohibit dancing, makeup, movies, caffeine, meat, birthdays, perhaps not even alchohol; they just advise against them (with differing degrees of gentleness according to the subject in question). But some SDA congregations are much stricter than others, so perhaps there are some churches which really prohibit while others simply advise against?
That’s because the wedding ring is a pagan corruption introduced by idolatrous forces trying to turn us into blue-faced heathens! (Personally, I blame it on time-traveling Jesuits). 
I got married in the Nazarene church and we didn’t have dancing because of that. But the skirts at the university thing must have changed. I have two close friends who went to SNU, Southwestern Nazarene University, and they wore pants all the time. 
Catholics oppose some kinds of dancing.
The means by which M. Vianney brought about the suppression of dances in his parish have become famous. His victory, in this matter, was decisive, but the struggle was long and obstinate. So inveterate was the passion for dancing that it cost the holy priest twenty-five years’ efforts before he succeeded in extirpating it.
—The Cure’ d’ Ars, Abbe’ Francis Trochu, TAN Publishers 1977, Part Two, Chapter Five, page 145.
It seems to me to be important to distinguish between one form of dancing and another. Is every dance identically acceptable or unacceptable, virtuous or vicious? Without standing against St. Jean Vianney’s opposition to dances that promote promiscuity, I intend to dance with my daughter this Saturday at the reception after she is married.