Liturgy is the formal words, actions, and rituals used in religious worship services. Think of it as the carefully planned structure of a religious ceremony: what gets said, when people stand or kneel, which prayers get spoken, and how different parts of the service flow together.

In Christian churches, the liturgy might include specific prayers that have been said the same way for hundreds of years, readings from the Bible in a particular order, and traditional responses where the congregation answers the priest or minister. A Catholic Mass follows a detailed liturgy, with the same basic structure whether you attend in Rome, Rio de Janeiro, or your hometown. Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran churches also use formal liturgies.

Other religions have liturgies too. Jewish synagogues follow liturgical traditions for services, especially during holidays like Yom Kippur.

Some churches use very structured liturgies where almost everything is planned and traditional. Others prefer spontaneous, informal worship with less fixed structure. Liturgy provides a shared framework that connects worshippers across time and place, letting them participate in prayers and rituals their ancestors might have known by heart.