Why do Protestants dress better (or more formal) on average than Catholics?

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Pariah_Pirana

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Why do Protestants appear to dress better (and/or more formally) for their Sunday services than Catholics for Sunday Mass? I think I have attended Sunday Masses (and seen enough Protestants entering their parishes) in enough states/cities/town to have observed a truly statistically representative sample.

If we roll back to around 1965, ALL Christians dressed very well for both the Sunday Mass and other services. The effects of the late 1960’s and the 1970’s most certainly took a toll on how Catholics dressed for the Mass. While there certainly has been a mild recovery, Catholics still don’t dress as formally as they did prior to this septic period in history.

So why do Protestants as a whole dress better and more fomally on Sundays?

Did they too relax their standards during this period? If they never did, I could see why they continue to dress better today. If they did, how did they recover more fully? Is the peer pressure (in typically far smaller parishes) a great deal higher?

It has been my experience that Eastern Catholics and Orthodox also dress far more formally (in their tiny parishes) than Latin Rite Catholics. Again, is it a matter of size, peer pressure or something more on the spritual side?

(Please don’t ruin this thread with a great deal of inane postings about “tlm parishes.” Thanks in advance.)
 
Well, I’m not sure your premise holds up as a representative sample. In my town, for example, both Catholics and Protestants dress just about the same. If anything, “dress up” days are pretty much limited to Christmas, Easter, weddings and funerals. “Regular” Sundays the “older” people tend to dress “up” more than the younger ones, no matter what the religious affiliation. But even the more “dressy” women wear pants rather than dresses. (Did you notice I’m from BRRR–I mean, VER–mont?)

And certainly outside the U.S. in the third world countries there is an attempt to present oneself as best one can, though poverty is endemic.

We’re all individuals. Maybe the culture and tradition in your area, mixed with whatever learned behavior or “peer pressure” or whatever again in YOUR area, yields the results you note; maybe different culture/ tradition/ “peer pressure” in MY area yields the results note.

That being said, it would be nice if all of us Christians made a little more of Sunday and church, from our dress to our demeanor to our thoughts, words and actions on that day of the Lord.
 
Pariah Pirana:
Why do Protestants appear to dress better (and/or more formally) for their Sunday services than Catholics for Sunday Mass? I think I have attended Sunday Masses (and seen enough Protestants entering their parishes) in enough states/cities/town to have observed a truly statistically representative sample.

If we roll back to around 1965, ALL Christians dressed very well for both the Sunday Mass and other services. The effects of the late 1960’s and the 1970’s most certainly took a toll on how Catholics dressed for the Mass. While there certainly has been a mild recovery, Catholics still don’t dress as formally as they did prior to this septic period in history.

So why do Protestants as a whole dress better and more fomally on Sundays?

Did they too relax their standards during this period? If they never did, I could see why they continue to dress better today. If they did, how did they recover more fully? Is the peer pressure (in typically far smaller parishes) a great deal higher?

It has been my experience that Eastern Catholics and Orthodox also dress far more formally (in their tiny parishes) than Latin Rite Catholics. Again, is it a matter of size, peer pressure or something more on the spritual side?

(Please don’t ruin this thread with a great deal of inane postings about “tlm parishes.” Thanks in advance.)
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This is just my opinion, so here it is.
First, we are required to go to mass. Sometimes we just “Go as we are” to make it.
Second, we are told so often that many Catholics don’t even bother to go to mass, that some of us feel that we are saintly just for attending.
Third, the touchie-feelie people have taken over. I felt perfectly okay to show up in a Flowered skort at my old parish. Now in my Holy Parish, NO WAY!
Fourth, people don’t care about being a good example so young people don’t learn.

Just my opinion!
 
Yes, so sad. What I think is the priests need to start addressing it in the homily and the bulletin, and if no changes are made, start giving a blessing to the irreverently dressed individual, instead of Holy Communion.
 
Piriah ~
I somewhat question the premise too. As a convert from a HUGE evangelical non-denom mega church… CASUAL was the norm… “Come as you are - worship Jesus!” And boy do they.
Maybe it is less common - to dress “common” in the mainstream churches.
It seems like there were two extremes: People who go out of their way to look casual; sweats, tee-shirts, court shoes, etc… And then there were people who spend way too much money on their church clothes and take a lot of pride in how they look.

I prefer to dress in a way that goes unnoticed. But maybe people notice that too! :confused:
Just dress modestly and be clean, thats all I care about.
 
Tantum ergo said:
Well, I’m not sure your premise holds up as a representative sample. In my town, for example, both Catholics and Protestants dress just about the same. If anything, “dress up” days are pretty much limited to Christmas, Easter, weddings and funerals. “Regular” Sundays the “older” people tend to dress “up” more than the younger ones, no matter what the religious affiliation. But even the more “dressy” women wear pants rather than dresses. (Did you notice I’m from BRRR–I mean, VER–mont?)

And certainly outside the U.S. in the third world countries there is an attempt to present oneself as best one can, though poverty is endemic.

We’re all individuals. Maybe the culture and tradition in your area, mixed with whatever learned behavior or “peer pressure” or whatever again in YOUR area, yields the results you note; maybe different culture/ tradition/ “peer pressure” in MY area yields the results note.

That being said, it would be nice if all of us Christians made a little more of Sunday and church, from our dress to our demeanor to our thoughts, words and actions on that day of the Lord.
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I feel very comfortable with the sample – more than 1/2 the states of the Union, with just about equal representation in each region of the USA. Over 100 parishes of all different shapes and sizes.

Your offering is just that – a sample size of 1 that is in no way statistically representative of the US as a whole.

In a country the size of the USA, one can always find a community that is polar opposite to the aggregate norm of the country…
 
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ridesawhitehors:
Piriah ~
I somewhat question the premise too. As a convert from a HUGE evangelical non-denom mega church… CASUAL was the norm… “Come as you are - worship Jesus!” And boy do they.
Maybe it is less common - to dress “common” in the mainstream churches.
It seems like there were two extremes: People who go out of their way to look casual; sweats, tee-shirts, court shoes, etc… And then there were people who spend way too much money on their church clothes and take a lot of pride in how they look.

I prefer to dress in a way that goes unnoticed. But maybe people notice that too! :confused:
Just dress modestly and be clean, thats all I care about.
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Again, s=1.
 
netmil(name removed by moderator):
This is just my opinion, so here it is.
First, we are required to go to mass. Sometimes we just “Go as we are” to make it.
Second, we are told so often that many Catholics don’t even bother to go to mass, that some of us feel that we are saintly just for attending.
Third, the touchie-feelie people have taken over. I felt perfectly okay to show up in a Flowered skort at my old parish. Now in my Holy Parish, NO WAY!
Fourth, people don’t care about being a good example so young people don’t learn.

Just my opinion!
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The two I emboldened are quite interesting indeed. I never thought about that.

The rest are not unique to Catholics (over Protestants or the Orthodox.)
 
Hello. Where do you Catholic get your information concerning just how Protestants dress for Sunday Services?

How do you know? I have been going to the very same Roman Catholic Church for 44 years and I do not pass a Protestant Church on the way to Church.

If I had to answer this question from an abstract, apriori stance I would say they (the Prots.) dont have the Eucharist or an ordained ministry. What do they have? Songs, pianos and companionship. So they wear the better garments to boost their egos. Thats all they have.
 
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Exporter:
If I had to answer this question from an abstract, apriori stance I would say they (the Prots.) dont have the Eucharist or an ordained ministry. What do they have? Songs, pianos and companionship. So they wear the better garments to boost their egos. Thats all they have.
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Your retort seems more silly than anything else.

We had the Eucharist back in 1965 and they didn’t when ALL Christians dressed well on Sundays. What changed?

ONE NEW thing that hit me is that many of the Protestant congregations that I notice may not even have existed in 1965. If they were created in say 1990, they wouldn’t have the baggage of the 1960/70’s…
 
I don’t think the retort was silly or meant to be silly. I thought we were supposed to be focusing on the mass, the Eucharist, the Word. It’s true that I don’t like it when the young girls come dressed inappropriately or the altar boys have those ENORMOUS sneakers on under their altar boy clothes. It is distracting, but being really dressed up can also be distracting and can be vain too. I only dress up when I am up on the altar for cantoring or choir. I go to daily mass. Do you think I should get dressed to the teeth for that too? I’m just trying to understand this better. I don’t mean to be offensive.
 
Dressing well is a sign of respect when you are visiting someone. If that someone is special, you dress well. If you don’t care, you wear whatever you have. I seem to recall a parable in which Our Lord tossed a bozo out of a wedding feast for not being dressed appropriately. His meaning was spiritual, but the image was understandable and acceptable to his audience.

People don’t like to hear this, but it’s too bad: if the Pope or the President comes to dinner you will dress well or else the world will know you are a slob. If you come to Mass in anything less than something “nice” - you are a slob. THAT DOES NOT INCLUDE THE MYRIAD LEGITIMATE CASES IN WHICH PEOPLE CANNOT WEAR SOMETHING NICE AT THAT TIME. That being the case, it would be inappropriate for people to be accosted at the church entrance for wearing crummy clothes - unless they are immodest, which is another thing altogether.

Hopefully you are not troubled by this “inane” commentary by an attendee of the “TLM.”
 
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benedictusoblat:
Dressing well is a sign of respect when you are visiting someone. If that someone is special, you dress well. If you don’t care, you wear whatever you have. I seem to recall a parable in which Our Lord tossed a bozo out of a wedding feast for not being dressed appropriately. His meaning was spiritual, but the image was understandable and acceptable to his audience.

People don’t like to hear this, but it’s too bad: if the Pope or the President comes to dinner you will dress well or else the world will know you are a slob. If you come to Mass in anything less than something “nice” - you are a slob. THAT DOES NOT INCLUDE THE MYRIAD LEGITIMATE CASES IN WHICH PEOPLE CANNOT WEAR SOMETHING NICE AT THAT TIME. That being the case, it would be inappropriate for people to be accosted at the church entrance for wearing crummy clothes - unless they are immodest, which is another thing altogether.

Hopefully you are not troubled by this “inane” commentary by an attendee of the “TLM.”
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Still, how come the Protestants by and large dress better and/or more formally than Catholics for their Sunday services?
 
Pariah Pirana:
Still, how come the Protestants by and large dress better and/or more formally than Catholics for their Sunday services?
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Unfortunately for us Catholics, I think many Protestants have a better understanding of keeping the sabbath holy. Many of them are simply more committed to their faith. They go to their service and then go to an hour or more of Sunday school. Try to get Catholics to do that and you might have a rebellion. The bottom line is that we do a terrible job of educating our adults in the faith. With proper adult catechesis, everything would get better–mass attendance, dress, stewardship, music, priestly vocations, adherance to church moral teaching, etc. We simply have forgotten what we have, and we no longer appreciate it. Some parishes are lucky, but most are in this situation.
 
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Chris-WA:
Unfortunately for us Catholics, I think many Protestants have a better understanding of keeping the sabbath holy. Many of them are simply more committed to their faith. They go to their service and then go to an hour or more of Sunday school. Try to get Catholics to do that and you might have a rebellion. The bottom line is that we do a terrible job of educating our adults in the faith. With proper adult catechesis, everything would get better–mass attendance, dress, stewardship, music, priestly vocations, etc. We simply have forgotten what we have, and we no longer appreciate it. Some parishes are lucky, but most are in this situation.
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I concur. We Catholics do a terrible job at catechesis at all levels on the average here in the USA. Very good point.
 
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Walburga:
I don’t think the retort was silly or meant to be silly. I thought we were supposed to be focusing on the mass, the Eucharist, the Word. It’s true that I don’t like it when the young girls come dressed inappropriately or the altar boys have those ENORMOUS sneakers on under their altar boy clothes. It is distracting, but being really dressed up can also be distracting and can be vain too. I only dress up when I am up on the altar for cantoring or choir. I go to daily mass. Do you think I should get dressed to the teeth for that too? I’m just trying to understand this better. I don’t mean to be offensive.
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No one said anything about being “dressed to the teeth.”

Interesting how you suggest that dressing-up can be “distracting and can be vain too”, yet you only dress-up “when I am up on the altar for cantoring or choir.” I find that fascinating.
 
I have seen no evidence–and I pass several Protestant Churches on Sunday morning on the way to Mass, since our church is on “church alley” in our town–that they dress any more formally than Catholics. Here older women tend to wear dresses, working women tend to wear suits, younger women tend to wear pants or slacks, and teens tend to wear jeans (a better choice than the immodest slinky dresses they adopt when they do dress up). I think this has more to do with culture than religion. Looking at any church parking lot, you would not be able to tell the deonomination by either the dress of the people or the cars.

the exception is tiny non-denominational or pentecostal chapels that are out in the country in the colonias. Like the historic black churches in northern cities, where I come from, these congregations tend to dress very formally on Sunday, more casually on Wed. evening which are usually youth services. Poorer people seem to have more awareness of the message that is sent by what one wears, and the respect or lack of it that is denoted by appropriate dress for the occassion. I was told by a highly respected black pastor in Cleveland that the reason poor inner city blacks take such care to dress well for Church, aside from showing their respect for God and each other, is that at that time by their dress they show they are equals (with their white employers) before God.
 
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benedictusoblat:
People don’t like to hear this, but it’s too bad: if the Pope or the President comes to dinner you will dress well or else the world will know you are a slob. If you come to Mass in anything less than something “nice” - you are a slob.
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People don’t like to hear that because it’s your opinion, and it counts for nothing.

As I said in the other thread on dress codes, these discussions are doomed to go nowhere, to argue around the same tired circle over and over again.
 
Well, before this thread gets shut down because of the increased nastiness of the tone, let me add my two cents. Since this is a subjective question, all answers will necessarily be subjective as well, including mine. I can only speak to what I see.

I grew up in Southern California and now live in a suburban area of Arizona. There are lots and lots of different kinds of churches in each area. It has been my observation that IN GENERAL non-Catholics tend to dress “nicer” for Sunday services than Catholics do for Mass. For example, I can’t remember seeing anyone going into a Protestant or Mormon church wearing shorts and wrinkly t-shirts. A lot of people in this area, especially in the summer, justify dressing very casually because of the heat, but year round others (Mormon men for example) wear shirts with ties and often jackets, the ladies wearing tasteful and modest dresses.

I don’t know what the reason is except that most of us only aspire to the heights that those around us are satisfied with.

If the few who are concerned with this issue want to see it changed, a good way to start is to set an example an teach their children to do the same. I’ve noticed this in other areas. A small example: For a long time no one in my parish bowed at the words in the creed “By the power of the Holy Spirit He was born of the Virgin Mary and became man” as prescribed. A small unorganized cadre of us have made a point to do it, and it seems–very gradually–to be catching on.

Sometimes you have to be the oddball for a while to get the ball rolling.
 
As a recent former Protestant now Catholic I will say that I personally dressed up much more at my old church than I do now. Everyone did - I would have been very out of place if I showed up in anything other than a dress or very nice slacks. My children also were always in dresses - our Sunday best. Now that we’re Catholic we don’t dress up because no one else does. I still try to wear something nice but never a dress because I would feel so out of place surrounded by the throngs in jeans & flip flops. Ditto with my kids - no more dresses. I am especially suprised when the family that brings up the (ok… what’s the term? I have no idea… is it “gifts?”) Anyhow, when that family isn’t even dressed - jeans, flip flops & a tiny t- shirt on the teenage daughter w/ a picture of Elmo on it. It seems so out of place in our beautiful church with the Priest in his beautiful vestments (right word?) up at the alter. Just my opinion…
 
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