Most of my church background is pretty conservative. I'm still trying to wrap my head around electric guitars and drums backing up the choir.

Let's see, 50 to 75 dollar pair of slacks, 35 to 50 dollar button up shirt, and a 25 dollar tie.

Most people can afford to "dress" up for church if they put their mind to it.

Call me old-fashioned but I believe it's a sign of respect.

But then again I dress that way for funerals, weddings, graduations, my kid's awards banquets and the list goes on. It might be the same couple of pairs of pants and shirts but I believe it's better than jeans or God forbid(pun intended) shorts or sweatpants . Again I guess I'm old fashioned.

From a Pastor's perspective, I would rather see the people there. Dress is purely a tradition / cultural thing. Think about the people of the Bible. how they lived and dressed. The early church was started by meeting at peoples houses and yards. The day they worshipped by Jewish custom was a work day. They in turn would have probably had on the same clothes they wore to work, not to mention the same ones they might would have had on for several days.. The church as the western world knows it have formulated our own Jesus that conforms to what we want instead of the Jesus of the Bible. I am of the opinion wear what you want, I don't care what clothes you have on, wardrobe will change with the culture, the need for Jesus will never change!

I remember going to church in the early 80's as a little kid, all the farmers that I saw everyday were in their suit and tie, and it was hard for me to recognize them because they were not wearing overalls which is what I was used to seeing them in. Most of them were poor working folk, but both the men and women put on their best attire to attend. These were the individuals of the greatest generation. Mind you, that this church had no AC or bathroom; there was an outhouse outback though. After Sunday dinner, we would walk home and the men usually went back to farming/ranching or tended to some food they had started that morning and would share with the community.

That kind of community is gone now. I don't think it really matters how dressed up one is to receive the Word of God, BUT I do think, that when we as believers show up to worship the God of the universe and the Creator of the world, then we ought to show some respect. Taking the time to dress nicely once a week to glorify God, and not looking like a ragamuffin when one is praying to the Lord God Almighty, shouldn't be that big of a deal in my opinion; although I really don't think God cares. Clean yourself up and show respect for who put you here. We don't go to a job interviews looking like crap even though we may be the best person for the job. Just my opinion of course. Chancey

I'm not a church goer... but people have given up looking nice in publilc for years now. Every time I came to the states and saw how people dressed to go to the airport, I was blown away. I wear a sport coat or at least a nice sweater, but in Seattle they walk around in gym clothes and I've even seen people in pajamas.

It's not just church.

Pete

James. Ch 2 vs 1-4 explains this subject well.

I'm not a church goer... but people have given up looking nice in publilc for years now. Every time I came to the states and saw how people dressed to go to the airport, I was blown away. I wear a sport coat or at least a nice sweater, but in Seattle they walk around in gym clothes and I've even seen people in pajamas.

It's not just church.

Pete