Fundies and the Different Types of Dancing

[roddma]

I grew up Church of Christ with the no dance rule , but it seemed to only mention modern dance where couples touch each other. It still is unclear what they think on ballet, clogging etc. Fundies I assume believe even simple innocent dances like Hokey Pokey are wrong at least in public and a kid bopping their head to a musical toy is sinful..

[polecat]

I grew up Church of Christ with the no dance rule , but it seemed to only mention modern dance where couples touch each other. It still is unclear what they think on ballet, clogging etc. Fundies I assume believe even simple innocent dances like Hokey Pokey are wrong at least in public and a kid bopping their head to a musical toy is sinful..

I think it depends on the fundy. I was raised that all dancing was sinful (as was any music with a backbeat), but I have some fundamentalist friends whose daughters are in ballet. They just wear really long ballet skirts.

[Cleopatra7]

Conservative and traditionalist Catholics don't have a problem with dancing per se, but the only dancing they consider "modest" is of the old school European type: waltzing, polkas, folk dancing, especially from traditionally Catholic countries. Anything associated with rock or hip hop is considered immodest. However, like most art forms, waltzes and polkas were both considered obscene when they first made the jump from peasant villages to the balls of the rich, which goes to show that anything considered "immodest" eventually becomes "classy" when enough time has passed.

[Hane]

Why don't fundies have sex standing up?

Because they're afraid someone will think they're dancing.

[JemimaPuddle-Duck]

I've always thought dancing was mostly only an issue for IFB and ATI types. I know I don't have any friends who don't/won't dance.

[Columbia]

English Country dancing seems to be a very popular pastime with a lot of SAHDs (the costume making potential probably helps with this.) I've seen some heated discussions on SAHD blogs about whether it's sinful, or would be leading boys astray.

[GenerationCedarchip]

In reformed circles I've lived in, dancing is fine as long as it's not "immodest." As you can imagine, that is something of a moving target. In general, as long as there is space between dance partners and hands aren't anywhere that could possibly be seen as provocative, it's fine. In terms of music, there's a pretty wide range. Anything with risque lyrics would be off limits, but beyond that I see lots of variation. The real sticklers tend to stick with classical or folk music, and traditional dances, but more relaxed groups seem fine with some modern music and less structured dancing(which tends to look like bopping around in time to the music, perhaps with the occasional awkward side-hug.)

And costumed dances? Oh yeah! I don't remember these being as big a thing when I was little, but about 10-15 years ago, costume balls started to take hold and I know lots of fundies and fundie lites who love them. I went to a Civil War reenactment ball a few years ago and it seemed like most of the folks there were from my old church or my cousins' church.

[NotALoserLikeYou]

I went to a Nazarene school through sixth grade and they didn't believe in or allow any dancing. Just googled and this still applies. No social dancing or any dancing that "detracts from spiritual growth and breaks down moral inhibitions" so I dont know what that leaves.

[Cleopatra7]

My question is when did the idea of dancing being a sin become a thing? A quick google indicates that the Puritans disapproved of music, dancing, theater (they famously banned Shakespeare when they were in charge in England), Christmas, and sports, but it seems like most of this was motivated by a desire to be as unlike Catholics as possible. How did other types of Christians decide that dancing was wrong?

[libriatrix]

English Country dancing seems to be a very popular pastime with a lot of SAHDs (the costume making potential probably helps with this.) I've seen some heated discussions on SAHD blogs about whether it's sinful, or would be leading boys astray.

Ooh! Ooh! When the leadership at the Southern Baptist church where I grew up were approached by some church ladies wanting to use the church building to teach the youth English Country Dancing, they decided it was ok as long as there was no mixed-gender dancing on church grounds. ....

So the dancing lessons were restricted firmly to females-only, and all these godly young ladies who believed that being gay or disobeying any gender rules was evil showed up every week to dance with each other. :roll: :lol:

[hoipolloi]

A lot of the fundies we've snarked on go in big for English country dancing, especially when they can do it as part of Jane Austen cosplay.

[lexiloumarie]

I've always seen former VF devotees into the old school "Pride and Prejudice" style dancing and ATI as the no dancing club.

I mean DPIAT had to have some excuse to don a manly costume and cosplay to his hearts content.

[Dovenoir]

CoC background here too. And even stage dancing at the university had a no hip sway more than 1.5 inches rule. Anyone caught in a club would be expelled.

[defraudingjezebel]

My question is when did the idea of dancing being a sin become a thing? A quick google indicates that the Puritans disapproved of music, dancing, theater (they famously banned Shakespeare when they were in charge in England), Christmas, and sports, but it seems like most of this was motivated by a desire to be as unlike Catholics as possible. How did other types of Christians decide that dancing was wrong?

I don't think they were the first to think of dancing as sinful, but most early Calvinists thought dancing was of the devil and associated with devilry and witchcraft. Considering how heavily many fundie groups draw from extreme Calvinist doctrine, I'm not surprised that that the Calvinists too abhorred dancing.

[roddma]

My question is when did the idea of dancing being a sin become a thing? A quick google indicates that the Puritans disapproved of music, dancing, theater (they famously banned Shakespeare when they were in charge in England), Christmas, and sports, but it seems like most of this was motivated by a desire to be as unlike Catholics as possible. How did other types of Christians decide that dancing was wrong?

Im not certain, but in addition to what defrauding jezebel said above,my guess would be its African origins linked to rituals and worshiping other gods. I always gathered that about the 'evils' jazz and rock and roll purely lying within the origins. Another reason would be personal insecurity,.

Anyhow, I heard a Sunday school teacher say once if it's a bunch of girls at a slumber party dancing , that is fine. The Duggars and various other preachers mention dancing in the privacy of your own home when you are married wouldn't be ok too since you could 'fulfill lusts righteously'. I still dont get the black and white views. There is good and bad of everything. The 'sex standing up' joke is hilarious.

dancefacts.net/dance-history/history-of-dance/

[RosyDaisy]

When I was in the CoC "kiddie" dancing was ok. It was modern dancing that was a no-no. Many ignored that, including me.

[PennySycamore]

I grew up Southern Baptist and I was confused by the whole "Baptists don't dance" thing. We sure did in our church, my mom was in Country Dancers when she was at Berea and she was always trying to get us kids to learn steps to dances. It was never an issue at our church. We were moderate or progressive though.

Some years ago I went to a production of Lucia de Lammermoor that the Bob Jones Opera workshop put on. There is one scene where the village people dance. The BJU students looked so uncomfortable dancing!

[Jasmar]

My kids and I attend a fundie-homeschool-organized English country dance regularly. It's a blast! No dressing up, though.mexcept, oddly enough, for Halloween last year. :shrug:

[sockinshoe]

I actually was super into English country dance and Jane Austen reenactment as a teen. Most people there were all old hippies, history buffs, and are school kids who liked to dress up and pretend for a few hours every month. Never got even the slightest inclination of fundamentalism, but it was also in a fairly big city in Canada so that might be why.

[Eighth-of-eleven]

When David's wife michal criticised him for dancing before the Lord in 2nd Samuel ch 6, she couldn't bear any more children... So, I guess some dancing was ok in the ot, :-)

2 Sam 6:16 "...David (was) leaping and dancing before the Lord..."

[Black Aliss]

AoG here and any kind of dancing, even square dancing in PE class, was strictly forbidden. The explanation given was that it could lead to other things or, as our pastor (the daughter-raping one) put it, "dancing is a vertical expression of a horizontal desire".

I was surprised when it turned out the Smortons were into country dancing at their costume balls, but they did lay down the rule that unmarried females could dance only with their fathers or (I think) brothers.

[Sunshine1491]

I tried to weasel out of square dancing in third grade by telling my gym teacher it was against my religion and I'd go to hell.

She was unmoved.

[CyborgKin]

My private christian primary school sometimes had dancing for P.E. and I think once we learned some dances to perform at a retirement home. I never liked it though. And I've been dragged to a couple of homeschool bush dances over the years but generally avoided actually participating.

[bionicmlle]

Definitely no dancing when I was growing up - but we could march. And we did.

[CyborgKin]

Oh yeah, my school had a bit of marching too. Though I don't think we did it more than half a dozen times ever. I don't remember very well now. I think I liked it more than the dancing.