DO THIS IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME

MEMORY, ATTACHMENT, AND LITURGY

Drew Dixon | December 7, 2015

First century theologian, Tertullian, is known for his question What has Athens to do with

Jerusalem? This question, which lingers in the realm of philosophy even to today, asks whether Greek

philosophy (which had its beginnings in Athens from the teachings of Socrates and Plato) and the

Church (which had its beginnings in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost as the Spirit descended upon

Jesus disciples) have any way of relating to one another. Once upon a time this would have been

highly debated in the streets, but today philosophy has found its home in the halls of academia where

it rarely reaches average people.

An analogous question for today might be, What has Freud to do with frocks? This question

looks for the relationship between psychology (made popular in the late nineteenth century by

Sigmund Freud) and the Church (represented by the frocks of its clergy). This question is relevant to

churches because, like philosophy in the ancient world, psychology is becoming a widespread

movement in popular culture, from television shows with Dr. Phil to TED Talks with Brene Brown.

Additionally, according to a recent survey, nearly 90% of the public affirms a belief in God (Pew

Research Center, 2015). Thus, the relationship between psychology and religion is particularly relevant

for therapists because spiritual issues are bound to arise in therapy.

In this paper I will look to recent studies in neuroscience and attachment theory to find the

ways in which spiritual practices, particularly the liturgy of the church, contribute to psychological

wellbeing.

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 PSYCHOLOGY AND RELIGION

An immediate challenge that is faced when considering psychology and religious experience is

that most psychological research has approached religion from a materialist-reductionist point of view

which ultimately sees religion as a tangential feature of psychological functioning(Cresswell, 2014,

p. 135). The result is that this approach avoids the meanings and experiences that would be relevant

to religious practitioners (p. 135) and therefore becomes irrelevant for clients within therapy.

Cresswell proposes a pragmatic approach which must address the deeply experiential feature of

religion and, in some way, an experiential sympathy on the part of researchers (p. 139). Cresswells

pragmatic approach to the psychology of religion justifies the need to address spirituality in both

therapeutic practice and psychological research.

While some approaches to human development address spirituality primarily as a coping

mechanism later in life (Kail & Cavanaugh, 2016), others have noted the ways in which attachment

theory, rooted in early life, may inform the relationship of individuals with God. Specifically,

Kirkpatrick proposes that a fundamental dynamic in many religions is God as an attachment figure

(Kirkpatrick, 1992). This theory has been supported by recent studies indicating that there is a

correlation between secure attachment to God and psychological wellbeing (Kelley & Chan, 2012;

Jankowski & Sandage, 2011). Kelley and Chan reported, A secure style of attachment to God seemed

to buffer people from depression and grief. It led to greater meaning, greater stress-related growth,

and more positive religious coping (2012, p. 222). Similarly, Jankowski & Sandage found that secure

attachment to God corresponds to increased hope, increased adult attachment security, and

increased interpersonal forgiveness, (2011, p. 125). Therefore, psychological resilience and wellbeing

are strengthened by a secure attachment to God, which is primarily established through the liturgy of

the church as it engages the neurological functions of memory.

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 MEMORY

Memory is an essential function of the mind; it is how all of our life experiences are stored. In

common understanding, memory is a conscious recollection of the past. However, progress in

neuroscience has shown that memory functions on both a conscious (explicit) level and a non-

conscious (implicit) level. Thomas Lewis and others refer to these functions as the brains twin

storage machine (Lewis, Amini, & Lannon, 2000, p. 104).

Explicit memory requires less explanation because it is encapsulated in our common

understanding of memory. Siegel explains, Explicit memory is what most people mean when they

refer to the generic idea of memory. When explicit recollections are retrieved, they have the internal

sensation of I am remembering (2015, p. 56). Siegel describes two types of explicit memory:

semantic and episodic. The former has to do with remembering facts, while the latter has to do with

remembering experiences, such as your recollection of reading this paper. Explicit memory is how the

mind constructs a sense of self. Siegel calls this explicit autobiographical memory (p. 58). Memory

is how the mind constructs identity, which is why Lewis et al. insist, It lies at the heart of who we are

and who we can become (2000, p. 100). They show how memory stores and shapes love and that

love changes who we are and who we can become.

Memory also functions implicitly; in fact this is primarily how it functions throughout life.

Implicit memory stores behavioral, emotional, and bodily experiences. Lewis, et al. observe, Explicit

memory doesnt work well at either end of a lifetime (p. 114). Explicit memory is not developed until

about the age of two and tends to fade later in life. Implicit memory, on the other hand, functions

throughout the entire lifetime from the first forming of neural tissue in the womb until the brain ceases

to function at death (Siegel, p. 52, 57). This is because implicit memory involves parts of the brain

that do not require conscious processing during encoding or retrieval (p. 52).

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 The process through which we are able to store information in our memory is quite complex.

Every experience, or stimulus, fires various neurons in the brain. As neurons fire a pattern is formed

which causes that set of neurons to become associated with one another. Over time, as the same

pattern of firing neurons is repeatedly formed, these neurons become linked together to form a mental

model. This process is summarized in the catchy aphorism, Neurons that fire together wire together.

This phrase serves as an example for how information is encoded so that we are able to remember it.

The rhyming words are easily associated with one another. By repeating the phrase a few times the

ideas will become linked. Association and linkage are the essential methods by which the brain

transforms a number of individual firing neurons into a single mental model, which is the basic

component of memory.

Though memory is formed when experiences cause neurons to fire, it is retained through

repetition and emotional engagement. Siegel explains, Repeated experiences and emotionally

arousing experiences have the greatest impact on the connections within the brain (p. 72). In other

words, repetition and emotional engagement strengthen neural connects thereby reinforcing mental

models. This means that a dull event which occurs repeatedly (such as knowing how to tie your shoe)

will be remembered, as will an emotional event which happens only once (such as a wedding). This is

true for both explicit and implicit memory: Repeating a fact over and over again may create the explicit

memory of knowledge while being repeatedly held as a child may create the implicit memory of

security.

Experience shapes the structure of the brain as mental models carve patterns out of our

neurons (Siegel, 2015). This is the essence of memory. Because of the way that it actually forms the

brain, memory can be understood as the mechanism through which past experience constructs present

reality thereby determining future possibility. Siegel writes, Memory is the way past events affect

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future function, (p. 46). Thus, we can see that memory has far broader implications than are

commonly understood.

ATTACHMENT

Attachment is the way psychologists refer to emotional connection in relationships. Susan

Johnson suggests, One of the most primary human needs is to have a secure emotional connection

an attachmentwith those who are closest to us, (2003, p. 4). Johnson postulates that secure

attachment offers a safe haven and a secure base through emotional accessibility and

responsiveness, (p. 5-6). According to Johnson, this safe haven provides a buffer against the effects

of stress and uncertainty and an optimal context for the continuing development of the personality, and

this secure base provides a place from which individuals can explore their universe and reflect on

oneself, ones behavior, and ones mental states, (p. 5-6, emphasis added). With these descriptions, Johnson

suggests that attachment relationships play a great role in personal development. Siegel similarly

suggests, Attachment relationships may serve to create the central foundation from which the mind

develops, (p. 92). Therefore, it can be concluded that attachment along with memory is a primary

factor in a developing sense of self.

Nearly all people form attachments in the first few months of life, but not all attachments are

secure. The kind of attachment style developed is determined by the emotional availability and

responsiveness of the attachment figure. When both of these are present, a secure attachment is more

likely to form, but when these are not present unsecure attachments develop. Johnson explains,

Attachment responses seem to be organized along two dimensions, anxiety and avoidance, (p. 7).

Like memories, attachment responses become mental models that inform our primary way of relating

to others (Siegel, 2015).

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 The dimensions of anxiety and avoidance join to form four essential ways of relating, or

attachment styles. A person who demonstrates low anxiety and low avoidance in relationships is said

to have a secure attachment. A person who demonstrates high anxiety, but low avoidance in

relationships is said to have a preoccupied attachment. A person who demonstrates low anxiety, but high

avoidance in relationships is said to have an avoidant attachment. And finally, a person who

demonstrates high anxiety and high avoidance is said to have a disorganized attachment.

A persons attachment style begins to develop early in life as experiences with his or her

primary caregiver are encoded into implicit memory. Early childhood experiences play a crucial role

in attachment experiences. However, Siegel explains, Because development is a process, older

children, adolescents, and adults may be able to continue to grow and change despite suboptimal early

life experiences, (2015, p. 111). In other words, healing from destructive experiences is possible!

Because secure attachments are formed by emotional availability and responsiveness, secure

relationships are characterized by these traits. A secure relationship will involve regular emotional

communication. Siegel insists that for full emotional communication to occur one person needs to

allow his state of mind to be influenced by that of the other, (2015, p. 94). This kind of

communication is more than just an exchange of words; it is also an exchange of affect. In this

exchange two individuals attune to one another so that there is resonance in their mental states. In the

same way that mental models organize individual firing neurons, attachment figures organize an

individuals mental state by regulating his or her affect. This sense of attunement and deep connection

will become important as we now consider the liturgy of the church.

LITURGY

In its most basic sense, liturgy is what happens when the Church gathers together. This is

commonly understood as which songs are sung, which scriptures are read, which actions are taken,

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and the order in which these activities occur. But, as we shall see, liturgylike memory and

attachmentis more complex than its common understanding.

Liturgical theologian David Fagerberg looks to the etymology of the word in order to expand

its meaning. Liturgy has its roots in two Greek words: loas (people) and ergon (work). Originally, the

word liturgy was primarily secular and referred to any kind of public work done for a community.

Fagerberg summarizes, A work, then, done by an individual or group of people was a liturgy on

behalf of the larger community to which he, she, or they belonged, (2004, p. 11). As the word has

come to be used in reference to church gatherings there are some ways it could be misapplied.

Fagerberg warns, There is something wrong with thinking liturgy is the work of the clergy on behalf

of the laity (clericalism), or with thinking that liturgy is not valid unless everyone has a share in the

world of the ministerial priesthood (laicism), (2004, p. 11). Each of these misapplies the primary act

of work to either a human priest or to human parishioners. Fagerberg insists that liturgy is first the

work of Christ on behalf of the vital interests of the clan to which he belongs: the family of Adam and

Eve, (2004, p. 11) and secondly a work of the Church. In other words, the first work of and for the

people was the work of God becoming a person to enact redemption for the world. Liturgy, then, can

mean two different things according to Fagerberg. In its thin sense liturgy is an expression of how

we see God, via songs, scriptures, and rituals. In its thick sense liturgy is an expression of how

God sees us, as loved and redeemed (2004 p. 9).

Philosopher James K. A. Smith demonstrates the connection between these by showing how

ritual practices (liturgy in its thin sense) actually form people (liturgy in its thick sense). Smith

differentiates between rituals, practices, and liturgies. According to Smith, rituals are any kind of

material, embodied routines that we do over and over again, (2009, p. 85). This can be something

as simple as brushing our teeth at night before going to bed. Practices, on the other hand, are meant

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for a purpose, like practicing a piano piece in order to perform it. Liturgies, however, are distinguished

from both rituals and practices. According to Smith, liturgies are rituals of ultimate concern: rituals that

are formative for identity, (2009, p. 86). Smith explains, We are liturgical animals shaped by practices

that work on our cognitive unconscious, (2013, p. 168-169). These practices subtly shape us

precisely because they grab hold of our love (2009, p. 83). Liturgy, like memory, forms our identity

by shaping our love.

Returning briefly to our initial definitionliturgy is what happens when the Church gathers

togetherwe can see the multiple layers of complexity. In its thin sense liturgy is what the Church

does as it gathers: we sing, we pray, we listen, we worship. In its thick sense liturgy is what is done to

the Church as it gathers: we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being

transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another, (1 Corinthians 3:18, ESV).

LITURGY AND MEMORY

Memory is the way that past experience constructs present reality thereby determining future

possibility. In many ways, this is exactly what liturgy aims to do. Each week, the people gather in the

present to remember Gods deeds in the past and are sent out into the future. It is in this vein that

Peter Atkins proclaims, At the heart of all worship is the act of remembrance, (2004, p. 25). Liturgy

shapes us by engaging the neurological processes of our memory. We will now review some aspects

of memory by drawing specific lines to the elements of liturgy.

First, memory is made up of mental models, which are ingrained patterns of firing neurons

due to association and linkage. Liturgy has a similar patterned quality to it. Anyone with experience in

liturgical traditions can likely fill in the following phrases:

Peace be with you. ________________________________

The word of the Lord. _____________________________

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 Lift up your hearts. ________________________________

Through associations and linkages, the mind automatically responds to each of these statements: And

also with you; Thanks be to God; and We lift them up to the Lord. As the firing of one neuron

in a mental model activates other neurons, the first half of each of these statements calls forth the

second half.

Second, memory functions explicitly as it stores semantic facts and episodic experiences.

Liturgy engages semantic explicit memory through the reading of scripture and the proclamation of

the gospel in the sermon. Over time parishioners are able to recall the stories and commandments

within scripture because of these teachings. Episodic explicit memory is engaged as one participates

in the sacraments of baptism and communion. Having been baptized and taking communion each

week become ways that believers narrate their life and develop their identity.

Third, memory functions implicitly as it non-consciously stores behavioral, emotional, and

bodily experiences. Liturgy engages these aspects of implicit memory through practices such as silence

as one enters the sanctuary, the feeling of awe as one approaches God in worship, or the act of kneeling

in prayer. Smith explains, Christian worship and spiritual formation have long known and affirmed

in practice that gestures are not just something we do but that they also do something to us (2013, p.

167). The more that liturgy engages the body and the senses through practices such as movements,

postures, the sound of song, the scent of incense, and the taste of communion, the more our implicit

memory will be engaged.

Finally, memory is retained through repetition and emotional engagement. This aspect of

memory has the potential to instruct the diverse worship traditions throughout the Church. High-

church traditions (Orthodox, Catholic, Anglican) tend to engage memory primarily through consistent

repetition while low-church traditions (Evangelical, Pentecostal, Nondenominational) tend to engage

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memory primarily through intense emotional encounters. It is important to note that both high-church

and low-church traditions are essentially liturgical; though they differ in their liturgys thin sense, they

both form people in liturgys thick sense. Each tradition can learn from the neuroscience of memory,

which displays that both ordered repetition and emotional engagement are important factors in

formation!

By revisiting some aspects of liturgy we can see how it forms people by engaging the

neurological functions of memory. This is why Atkins can proclaim, Without memory there can be

no liturgy Without a liturgy there can be no memory of God for the people, (p. 24). Liturgy, via

memory, makes way for our attachment to God.

LITURGY AND ATTACHMENT

Attachment is formed through relational experiences with ones primary caregiver. In the same

way, attachment to God is formed through liturgical experiences with ones spiritual community.

Secure attachment to God sees God as a safe haven and a secure base through emotional

availability and responsiveness. The psalms display many profound examples of secure attachment

with God. The oft-cited Psalm 23 moves through each of these characterizations of secure attachment.

The first three verses show the safe haven of a God who is a shepherd leading the psalmist by still

waters. Verse four shows the secure base of a God who walks with the psalmist through the valley of

death. Verse five shows the availability and responsiveness of a God who prepares a table and anoints

the psalmist. It is because of this secure relationship that the psalmist can conclude in verse six by

proclaiming, Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in

the house of the Lord forever (Psalm 23:6, ESV).

However, not all attachments are secure. When liturgy does not show God as emotionally

available and responsive, worshippers may form insecure attachments to God. A preoccupied attachment

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to God is characterized by high anxiety and low avoidance. This style is embodied by the religiosity of

the Pharisees who follow the law out of fear of condemnation. Today this attachment style may be

exemplified by religious fundamentalists. An avoidant attachment to God is characterized by low

anxiety and high avoidance. This style is embodied in the story of Jonah who fled from the presence

of the Lord and tried to hide away on a ship. Today this may be atheists or former Christians who

have walked away from faith. A disorganized attachment to God is characterized by high anxiety and

high avoidance. This style may be embodied in the many outbursts of Peter throughout the gospels

followed by his denial of knowing Jesus toward the end. Today this could be the many nominal

Christians who regularly attend Church while neglecting faith in their daily life.

In the same way that insecure attachments are formed through harm or neglect from the

caregiver, insecure attachments to God may be formed through spiritual harm or neglect. When

churches are not safe and secure environments and when liturgies depict God as domineering or aloof,

attachment to God suffers. But, like human attachments, healing from destructive experiences is

possible! Lewis et al. explains, When [an emotional] connection has established a [harmful] neural

pattern, it takes [another emotional] connection to revise it (2000, p. 177). In other words, healing

can be found in Siegels notion of affect attunement (2015).

What does it look like for God to be emotionally available and responsive? How might we

approach attunement with God? The psychology of attachment has the potential to instruct the

Church as it creates liturgies. If people are to form secure attachments to God, it is necessary for

liturgy to capture the whole of human experience. This is why the psalms have historically been a

primary source of liturgy for the Church. The psalms contain ecstatic shouts of joy, desperate cries of

lament, and all the emotional experiences in between. If a caregiver does not attune to his or her childs

joy and pain, then that child will not be as likely to form a secure attachment. The same can be said

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for Gods people. In the present cultural landscape, the Church has tended to neglect lament in its

praying, singing, and teaching. This lack of liturgical attunement may contribute to why many have

had harmful Church experiences and also why the Church has seen a decrease in recent years (Pew

Research Center, 2015). Liturgy must depict the God of scripture who is attuned to the pain of the

world, and is actively involved in working redemption.

CONCLUSION

Liturgy forms people by engaging the neurological functions of memory and fostering a secure

attachment to God, which has shown to lead to psychological wellbeing. Liturgy, at its very heart, is

an act of remembrance. Each week the Church gathers in response to Jesus words, Do this in

remembrance of me, (1 Corinthians 11:24-25, ESV). Just as memory recalls the past to construct the

present and thereby determine the future, so do the people of God each time they gather, For as

often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes! (1 Cor.

11:26, ESV).

Come, Lord Jesus, Come! Amen!

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