There has been some discussion about it in a barefoot newsgroup im a member of, why do we dress up to go to church?
one person on there made a very good statement:
which could also applie to dressing up
so why do we get all dressed up?
Because our parents tell us to.
The reason we dress up for church is realy simple the oldist generation still has a stronghold on all the churches, because of this there is a hidden force making people dress up because we dont want to anger the oldist group. so as soon as the older generation goes somewhere better the churches will spin around and you will see alot more casual clothes. Liek at my church no one wears suits, why? Because the older group is a minority to the younger groups. Unlike my friends church which is 75% elderly people so he has a feeel like he has to wear suit or he gets fround upon.
my 2 cents
I think that for the most part we do it because it’s tradition. I personally don’t think I would have a problem with it, I’m not there to look at peoples clothes.
ahh, good point brock, i never thought about that, but i definitly see it as true in my town
and like my that quote in my sig says, you shouldnt be
It’s just etiquette and stuff like that. You don’t HAVE to dress up for ‘church’ (and if you do, find another ‘church’) but you do it anyway. Unless your parents make you. 
that’s different.
At our church (it’s not really a ‘church’ per say, we just have a group who meets at my house) we don’t dress up. I can be barefoot if I want.unless my mom won’t let me. But she does.
I think it’s to show respect to God. But then again, what do I know? I’m an atheist.
God doesn’t care how you look. It’s about what you do, not what you wear.
What if you didn’t even bother to take a shower? Looking nice for God is a doing, not just a looking. You took the trouble to look your best (given one narrow and possibly antiquated definition of ‘best’).
I’m not being an atheist troll. I question everything I can. This question has wider applicability. Why do we dress up in general? That’s the question that has relevance to me. And that’s why I’m posting in this thread.
Well yes, but you can still choose to show respect to God…
Good question uni57…
I believe I can answer the one about church. God appreciates whatever you do to worship him, but wearing a suit instead of jeans and a t-shirt to church is not really the point. It might show some respect and stuff, but it’s not the be all and end all. Clothes are not what God’s all about.
What’s more important are your actions toward people.
People get too hung up on the little things and forget why they go to church sometimes.
When I’m naked in the shower am I disrespecting God? I hope not.
yea i think so…its like being in gods house, so you dress up and make ur self as nice and presentable as possible.
No, but if you are naked in church… 
I would have thought it had more to do with looking nice for your neighbours.
Cathy
I just read this quote from Habbywall’s sig:
I you don’t get dressed up you may get dressed down. Too risky in this society.
I think it also has to do with respect because you wouldn’t go to a funeral wearing torn jeans and an old shirt so the same idea applies to church.
I believe it comes from a custom of “giving God our best” in worship. But like many things in the church, it has been taken too far. As many others have said, worship has nothing to do with what we are wearing.
My church is very informal. Some of the older people where suits, but most would be described as “business casual.” People could and do wear jeans and shorts when it is warm.