Lay and Professional Views on Tabernacle Location in Catholic Parishes

The tabernacle in the Catholic Church is a contested sacred object with respect to its location. Professional church ministers called liturgists are a new knowledge class within the Catholic Church since Vatican II (1962-65), and they promote the removal of the tabernacle from the main body of the church to a separate smaller space called a eucharistic chapel. Ordinary lay parishioners, on the other hand, want to be able to see and pray before the tabernacle and therefore want the tabernacle to remain in the main body of the church. These differing views on the location of the tabernacle indicate that an attitudinal and behavioral gap exists between professional ministers and ordinary pew dwellers. This article then draws on the work of Durkheim, Demerath and Williams, and Kniss to explain why.