On the premiss that a concern for the ethical significance of worship demands a rigorous examination of the personal and societal dynamics by which it shapes our individual and corporate lives, the author probes the psychological and social implications of the somewhat different theologies of the Word proposed by Saliers and Ramsey. Concluding that neither of them accommodates the pluralistic and secular nature of our culture, be proposes an alternative basis for liturgy in the notions of publicity and profession.