Embodied Learning and Church Seating

Does the way we sit teach us how to think about community?

Young Peasant Seated in a Church (Jeune paysanne assise dans une eglise); French; Alphonse Legros; 1837 - 1911; Source: The National Gallery of Art

CEFR Level B1-B2

I often think about the physical space of a church. If, as Susan Hrach proposes, embodied learning involves how the environment we are in shapes the way we think, then the way a church meeting hall is set up is part of the spiritual education attendees receive.

The Throne

In every church meeting hall (AKA sanctuary) I have seen, there are seats arranged so that people are facing in one direction. The exception is the Orthodox Church where people stand rather than sit. The place they face is either called the front of the room or, if it is raised, the stage, which is sometimes called the altar. From this stage or altar, the leaders speak and sing. Sometimes, leaders have big fancy chairs while the rest of the people have normal seating. The effect is that the preacher is on a throne, surrounded by favored attendants, and the others are the preacher’s subjects, gathering in hope of an audience with the king. In my opinion, the furnishings and room design create this impression and no amount of humility or salt-of-the-earth nature on the part of the minister can counteract it. 

Even in cases where the speaker has a stool or stands the entire time, the typical church meeting hall arrangement immediately tells everyone that some people are more important than others, at least in this particular context. There may be valid logistical reasons for this, but for people who have read Matthew 20:20-27, Mark 10:35-45, and related passages, making a few people more important is confusing. One of the big messages of Jesus’ life is that his followers don’t get to be in positions that others immediately recognize as in charge of other people. 

The take-away question here is: 

How can we design church meeting halls so that the embodied message is that no one is more important than another?

I have ideas, but they all require questioning what a church should be, what should happen in church, and what the role of the preacher/priest is.

The Seat Rows

The other part of church seating that may be teaching us a spiritual message is how we all sit shoulder to shoulder, nose to tail. Again, an argument can be made for the logistical need for this. My question is, why have we accepted that the various things that create this need are necessary in a church? 

If we preach that Christians are a family or that those in a single church are a community, what does our side by side, nose to tail seating arrangements tell us about what it means to be part of a family or community? To me, it says that simply existing in the right place at the right time and performing the rituals required by the group are all it takes to belong. Actually knowing the people around you is unnecessary. “Welcome to the family! Perform as we say and you’ll be fine. Learning your name or getting to know you is optional, a nice bonus, but don’t expect it. We’re all family, after all.”

Again, I have ideas for how seating could better reflect the communal nature of Christianity, but those, too, require rethinking what a church should be, what should happen in church, what the role of the preacher/priest is, and what the point of being in Christian community is.

The take-home question is:

How could church meeting hall/sanctuary seating be arranged to give the message that getting to know people is an important part of communal life?  

Ending Thoughts

As I write this, the part of me that has a long background in Pentecostal spaces is frantically waving its hand to ask why everything has to have a spiritual meaning. My response is that I don’t think everything has a spiritual meaning. 

When I ask about chairs that face The Most Important Person In The Room, I am not suggesting that this automatically means that person has turned into an idol for the congregants. I am not saying that. Never! What I am saying is that in my experience, which has some backing from scholars, the physical environment teaches us things, even if we don’t intend for that message to be given. Since that is the case, I think it is worth intentionally asking what our church seating is teaching.