Music and Religion

In my current church, which leans toward the Pentecostal side, music is used foremost for worship. People are expected the listen to the words sung by the band and sing along, if desired, but not required. People are free to raise their hands or dance, also. The words are shown on a big screen while the songs are sang. The band is free to play a song just about any way they wish, often repeating the song many times, with variations. The lead singer also improvises words as he feels led by the Spirit. The music is thought to create a closer connection with God and open up the heavens, or Spirit world. The music is played diatonically, with little dissonance.

I grew up in a Methodist church. The music consisted of an organ prelude, hymns sung by the whole congregation, hymns sung by the choir only, and organ processional at the end of the service. The music in this church was done because of tradition. The same hymns were sung year after year. They were sung to praise God and remind us of what we believe about God. To me it felt quite ritualistic to sing them. It was part of the service, and it was not to be changed. The organ music was either of the classical genre, or a variation on a hymn.

In what ways has religion influenced what is aesthetically pleasing in music? I find that to be a tough question. What comes to mind is how new ideas in popular music are sometimes thought to be offensive in the eyes of some religious people. Rock ‘n‘ roll was taboo to many people in its early days. Even dance some dance moves were considered a sin, such as Elvis Presley’s “grinding.” Many songs have been banned from the radio because of their lyrics, such as “One Toke Over the Line” by Head East, and “Only the Good Die Young” by Billy Joel. There seems to be much less censorship now, compared to 40-50 years ago. It seems to me that popular music has more influence over religious music than the other way around. New ideas seem to come first in popular music, then 10-20 years later churches start incorporating those ideas. Though religion may have had more influence as far as what was acceptable many years ago, it does not seem to have much influence any more. Those I know who find much popular music to be offensive just do not listen to it, instead of trying to keep others from listening to it.