Bugnini’s Novus Ordo, clamshell church architecture, chatting in the pews, etc.
Ockham, I wouldn’t call these “Protestant ways”. I would call them “worldly ways” or “secular ways.”
When I was growing up (Conference Baptist in the late 1960s), we weren’t allowed to chat in the pews. Oh, my goodness, no! In fact, in the early part of the century, back when my parents were children, a person would get a very severe look and possibly even tapped on the shoulder by a deacon if they spoke about trivial things during church!
We were expected to enter the sanctuary (nave) and sit quietly without visiting. We were supposed to dress up, including hat and gloves and for girls and ladies, and shirts and ties for boys and men. Most of us had “Sunday clothes” and “Sunday shoes” that we wore only for church.
Even in the 1980s, there were signs outside the doors of our sanctuary that informed the people to be silent when they entered the sanctuary. For several years, our pastors and deacons would kneel at the front of the sanctuary for 10-15 minutes to discourage chit-chat and encourage prayer and silence in the santuary. Usually the organ or piano played softly to encourage quiet and peace in the sanctuary.
(Nowadays, in many Protestant churches, you are likely to see a praise and worship band playing/singing worshipful choruses and hymns before the worship service begins, again, to discourage visiting and encourage prayer and worship.)
And our architecture was not clamshell. I’m not sure what you call it–straight aisles leading up to the altar, straight pews, and for years, those pews were not padded! (Would that be “gothic” style?)
Most of the Protestant churches in our city, at least the older Protestant churches, are exactly the same way–straight and narrow pews and aisles.
As for today, well, I know of very few Protestant churches with clamshell architecture. In fact, I don’t know of any! We have hundreds of Protestant churches in our city, and I’ve played piano at quite a few of them! I honestly can’t think of any “clamshells.” (Maybe it has to do with the fact that we live in the Midwest amidst rows of corn and beans, rather than at a beach with ocean waves and sand!)
Today, most of the new Protestant churches have a very “flexible” sanctuary, with chairs that can be removed so that the sanctuary can be used as a fellowship hall, theater in the round, game room, lecture hall, concert hall, gymnasium, etc. In fact, they are often referred to as “muliti-purpose rooms” rather than “sanctuary.”
I don’t know what Bugnini’s Novus Ordo is. Sorry.
At any rate, I think a lot of the things that you are unhappy about with Catholic Mass did not come from Protestants at all, but rather, from the world, especially the academic and corporate world. Back in the early 1960s, a lot of classrooms started rearranging to allow for maximum interaction between students and teachers, and there is a lot of chattering, discussion, debate, and panel-type presentations. I can remember the first year when our teacher arranged all the desks in a circle (I was in 3rd grade!) Now many classrooms are like that, especially in colleges. And many corporate affairs (conferences, seminars, etc.) are the same way. It’s all so open and customer (student) centered.
I think that this kind of thing has permeated both Catholic and Protestant churches, and I think you’ll find that a lot of Protestants are just as unhappy with the carnival atmosphere as Catholics are. One backlash against this free-for-all atmosphere is happening in evangelical circles–the “emergent” church or “alternative” church, which often makes use of various ancient practices like silence, candlelight, no music, lectio divina, and contemplation.
Certainly the Protestant churches are more amenable to innovations because many of the denominations, especially evangelical, have always utilized a very flexible liturgy.
But I don’t think it’s at all accurate to say that the Protestant churches originated these kinds of behaviors. I hope you will re-consider your theory and think about what I am saying, and perhaps consider not making such a statement about Protestants in the future. I honestly don’t think Protestants are to blame.
Dissatisfaction with evangelical worship was one of the reasons I returned to the Catholic Church.