Music and Religion
January 19th, 2021
In my experience, music in church serves as an invitation of sorts. It can be an invitation to come to church. Many people who are not religious at all or who are opposed to church-going based off of beliefs or prior experiences, may feel more at ease knowing that there may be music during the service that is not too different from secular music, besides the lyrics. Music is often what brings people into the church and what helps them want to keep visiting. For believers, it is also an invitation to worship. Some people like myself are impacted and spiritually fed by the music more so than the rest of the service. It provides a true connection with God and is a way for me to communicate with Him in addition to prayer. But when it comes down to it, Christianity is a culture within itself, and a diverse one at that (contrary to popular belief). Some people see the music as an invitation, others as an ornamental element, and others as an obligatory annoyance (yikes!) And just like with many other things that involve millions of people, there are corrupt branches and people that sadly give the faith a bad rep. My point is, there really isn't a way for me to name music's sole role in Christianity. I can only speak for myself. And to me, its purpose is to uplift, to communicate, to invite, to release, and to impart blessings as a result of worship.
As I mentioned in my first blog post, church and faith were the center of my childhood and have greatly affected my musical culture ever since. Seeing as I was raised in one church, my "worship style" persay evolved as the church began to include different types of music within the service. It also began to change as I visited other churches and linked up with people with different beliefs and worship styles from my own. Examples of this initial music are linked above. Because there are several denominations (think: branches) in Christianity, the music is not the same across the board. Some people and denominations rebuke secular music as a part of worship and others invite it as a way to reach masses and to have their identity be expressed in their faith, among other reasons. So it is hard to say whether or not there are rules to the music...well besides the obvious ones like cussing, blasphemy, sexual content- you get the point. Overall, the "rules" depend on a person's denomination and convictions. My church celebrates Christian music in many forms: gospel, reggae, hip-hop, rock, ambient, hymnal, you name it! Get in where you fit in, okay?!
Christian music has its genres and subgenres just like other umbrella terms for music styles. I was exposed to spirituals, gospel and hymns in church and then to contemporary Christian music (CCM-think: rock concert for Jesus type deal), Christian hip-hop, and other Christian genres on the radio and in concert. It wasn't until maybe 5 years ago that we began incorporating CCM into the worship part of our services, and that's when everything changed for me. Music quickly became the way that I connected with God. Below are some of my current CCM faves. Jesus party WAHOO!!!
Hi, everyone! Today I will be discussing my musical culture in regards to religion. Before I get into my experience, let's touch on the basics. I am a Christian hailing from a small, non-denominational, Baptist-Pentecostal flavor, contemporary (although we still practice certain traditions), speaking-in-tongues, gospel singing in FORTISSIMO (with the occasional hymn), pastor doesn't even need a mic, church. I could go on but I can already feel some of you gasping for air with me so we'll stop there. It is important to note my religious background and the religious perspective that I come from in order for the rest of this blog to make sense. Below are two examples of the early 2000's church music that I grew up on!
In my experience, music in church serves as an invitation of sorts. It can be an invitation to come to church. Many people who are not religious at all or who are opposed to church-going based off of beliefs or prior experiences, may feel more at ease knowing that there may be music during the service that is not too different from secular music, besides the lyrics. Music is often what brings people into the church and what helps them want to keep visiting. For believers, it is also an invitation to worship. Some people like myself are impacted and spiritually fed by the music more so than the rest of the service. It provides a true connection with God and is a way for me to communicate with Him in addition to prayer. But when it comes down to it, Christianity is a culture within itself, and a diverse one at that (contrary to popular belief). Some people see the music as an invitation, others as an ornamental element, and others as an obligatory annoyance (yikes!) And just like with many other things that involve millions of people, there are corrupt branches and people that sadly give the faith a bad rep. My point is, there really isn't a way for me to name music's sole role in Christianity. I can only speak for myself. And to me, its purpose is to uplift, to communicate, to invite, to release, and to impart blessings as a result of worship.
As I mentioned in my first blog post, church and faith were the center of my childhood and have greatly affected my musical culture ever since. Seeing as I was raised in one church, my "worship style" persay evolved as the church began to include different types of music within the service. It also began to change as I visited other churches and linked up with people with different beliefs and worship styles from my own. Examples of this initial music are linked above. Because there are several denominations (think: branches) in Christianity, the music is not the same across the board. Some people and denominations rebuke secular music as a part of worship and others invite it as a way to reach masses and to have their identity be expressed in their faith, among other reasons. So it is hard to say whether or not there are rules to the music...well besides the obvious ones like cussing, blasphemy, sexual content- you get the point. Overall, the "rules" depend on a person's denomination and convictions. My church celebrates Christian music in many forms: gospel, reggae, hip-hop, rock, ambient, hymnal, you name it! Get in where you fit in, okay?!
Christian music has its genres and subgenres just like other umbrella terms for music styles. I was exposed to spirituals, gospel and hymns in church and then to contemporary Christian music (CCM-think: rock concert for Jesus type deal), Christian hip-hop, and other Christian genres on the radio and in concert. It wasn't until maybe 5 years ago that we began incorporating CCM into the worship part of our services, and that's when everything changed for me. Music quickly became the way that I connected with God. Below are some of my current CCM faves. Jesus party WAHOO!!!
I love your approach towards religion and music in this post. The way you describe it as an invitation to worship is really quite cool to me, and I love how respectfully you bring about your faith and culture within that faith.
ReplyDeleteI am not religious myself because I was raised without one, but I can still appreciate modern church music that may mean more to you than me, but I can still enjoy. The power and message behind these songs are very communal and spiritual, and I may not feel it personally but I can still respect it and enjoy it. The idea of sharing culture through music is a beautiful thing, isn't it?
Thank you for making this post! I love seeing your perspective on different religious branches and ideas of rules throughout different types. Music isn't universal around anything, so it makes sense that there would be musical diversity within Christianity. I really enjoyed listening to these songs, too!
Cassandra, I'm so glad you enjoyed this post! I think it's great that you can listen to music of different religions in a respectful way and appreciate differences in others. We need more of that mindset in the world!
DeleteI feel like we have similar experiences with listening to different styles of Christian music. I also think you did a good job describing how there are different denominations within Christianity. It is interesting to me how your church began incorporating CCM into the worship. What was the music style before and how did other church members respond? Do you know what brought about the change? Side note-- I loved listening to Kirk Franklin in the 2000’s!
ReplyDeleteKirk is lit, ha! Before we made the change it was more traditional gospel, spirituals, and hymns. The youth are the ones who encouraged an "update", if you will!
DeleteI love your post Chelsea! I think you're right that music plays a big role in religion and can bring people together in such an amazing way. I'm not very religious myself, but you bring up a good point about how when religious music is more secular sounding instrumentally, it can feel less intimidating and give more people a way to connect to the music even if they're not that religious.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your perspective! CCM is definitely one of the less intimidating parts of Christianity and I love it for that. Although, none of it is meant to discourage anyone. Some Christians try to make Christianity into a members only club. It's ridiculous!
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