In the town where I live, there's over a dozen Christian churches: Catholic, Anglican, Brethren, Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Elim, and also a few independent evangelical churches.

None of these churches advertise that they have a dress code, but if you take a look at the crowd of people as they walk in, you'll see a trend.

A friend of mine is a preacher in the Brethren. The Brethren are known for having very simple churches (which they simply call a 'hall') without any pictures on the wall, without any statues, no musical instruments or sound system. All the males wear suits, and all the females wear a long dress and a hat (and their fashion sense is reminiscent of the 1950's).

I do like the Brethren, and I do have a suit that I wear from time to time when I accompany my friend to a sermon. But even after a few years, I still haven't been able to settle into the whole "wear a suit to a sermon" idea. I've asked my preacher friend why he wears a suit to sermons, and he says that he wants to be respectful, and that to meet in the name of God is the pinacle of what he respects.

People typically wear a suit for a formal occasion. I haven't asked my preacher friend the following question outright, but I wonder if he considers a sermon to be a formal occasion?

See the thing about being formal is that it disables you from being something else -- it disables you from being yourself. You cannot simultaneously be formal and be yourself.

And so is church a place where you should be formal, or is it a place where you can be yourself? Does wearing a suit to a sermon aid in showing and maintaining respect among a community of people, or does it have the effect of making people put on an act? Does it make people act formal and not be themselves? Does it mean that nobody really gets to know each other because everyone's always acting formally?

Just another thing I want to say:
Lots of people think that to be 'respectful' means to be quiet, submissive and stand-offish. In some schools, young children are taught to be submissive to their teachers -- and they call this submission 'respect'. I don't agree with this idea of respect and I think it messes kids' heads up and turns them into maladapted adults who prioritise formality over core values and morals.

I've listened to the Christian testimony of Peter Orasuk several times, you can catch it here:

https://www.sermonaudio.com/sermonin...SID=3305142348

Peter Orasuk was a drug addict, and then he became a Christian and got clean. If you listen to his testimony, he doesn't blame his parents for how he turned out. In fact, he claims to have come from a good home. He says that he always had to call his father "Sir". If you were to ask me what my personal opinion is on that, I'd say that it's child abuse. There should be no formality in a family home. The family home is the one place above all else where a child should be able to chill out, goof around and just be themselves. If you want your child to grow up to be an addict then I think a good place to start would be to insist that they call you Sir.