Abstract
The hymns of churches could be the expression of the religious identities of churches, but they could also be symbols of cultural and national identities. In this article the singing of the psalms within certain Reformed churches in South Africa and in Scotland is addressed and related to each other with regard to issues of identity. An effort is made to bring to the fore underlying and often unrecognised cultural and nationalist influences, unacknowledged biases, and structures of power maintaining these symbols.
