The World's Largest Coalition of Nontheists and Nontheist Communities!

Religious Music?

People often ask me how I can like religious music if I don't believe in god, anyone else get this?

Also, I'd be interested to know if anyone who writes songs here writes about their religious beliefs (or the lack thereof) much?

I've only written one song about my atheism.

0 members like this

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by SaintColtrane on November 2, 2008 at 6:32am

It's nice to see that A Love Supreme has already been mentioned on this topic. If anyone reading this hasn't heard it yet, please check it out.

Jazz has it's roots in religion just as much as European classical music, which I also love. I've been fascinated by music since I can first remember hearing it and have ended up gravitating towards jazz music, not really for any reason I can explain but just because I think it's awesome. I do end up feeling conflicted sometimes, being a performer of a music traditionally linked to religion but am usually happy to just not to think about it at all. One of the major elements that attracts me to jazz and classical music is how they're able to create interest, emotion, tension and release without the use of words (much more so than most vocal music, in my opinion). This leaves the music open to any interpretation you'd like to project upon it, including none at all.

Listening to a music/lyrics combination ends up being a little harder for me to handle. I've heard some otherwise great music I can't really listen to because of the overtly religious lyrics. Maybe it's closed minded of me to feel this way, but listening to someone talk about god really grates on my brain.

So whether the music was religious to the composer/performer or not doesn't really make a difference to me. I'm going to judge it on its content and not its intended subject matter anyway. If the most beautiful piece of music I've ever heard turns out to be about taking a big shit, what does it matter what the inspiration was if there are no lyrics to tell you one thing or another?

Permalink Reply by cognitive dissident on November 2, 2008 at 8:37am

I found out via Ashley Kahn's book about A Love Supreme that Trane's solo in "Psalm" follows the phrasing of his religious text in the liner notes...interesting, no?

Permalink Reply by SaintColtrane on November 2, 2008 at 7:06am

On a side note, I thought I should mention that I've always felt many people seem confused about how words relate to music. Lyrics are not a song. They can be part of a song but don't have to exist at all for a song to still be a song. Lyrics alone are poetry, paired with music they can be incorporated into a song but do not define a song on their own.

To me, straight-up music can't fully be religious or not because it ends up meaning whatever you'd like it to mean. Instrumental music is able to be more of a personal thing. It's only when lyrics are strapped to it that music is forced to have strict meaning, becoming a religious song or an atheist song.

Permalink Reply by Jonny Marko on June 4, 2010 at 11:17am

I do think however that some of the best vocalists out there write lyrics that ARE supposed to be part of the music... they are words and sentences, but they are chosen for their phonetic sounds over their literal meanings and often are completely ambiguous - with no intent to be insightful or poetic (other than phonetic devices like alliteration, stressed syllables, etc). Best example I can think of is Mike Patton's style in Faith No More, or John Garcia in any of his many projects/collaborations.

Greg Graffin of Bad Religion, mentioned in an above post, seems to tackle both of these aspects of lyrics VERY well in my opinion. His lyrics are incredible, with some of the most clever, well-informed, secular, satirical and poetic lines that still flow with the music beautifully. Probably the greatest all-around lyricist out there that I can think of.

Permalink Reply by Brandon on May 6, 2009 at 9:15pm

Well i do appreciate those guys. They are great composers and everything. I have played a few of there pieces in high school. But ive strayed from that latley due to not being in high school. I am about to take a private class at my community college so ill probably get to play good stuff again.

Now im just playing really heavy metal on guitar. the style of music i play and listen to would never get mistaken for religous music. People say they sound demonic haha.

Permalink Reply by Andrea on May 10, 2009 at 11:20am

As many people have already said, it's more about the musicality for me than anything. I love and play classical music and there are some Christmas carols that I really like as well, but belief doesn't enter into it for me. I just think it's pretty :).

Permalink Reply by Jared Lardo on June 28, 2009 at 5:25am

I'm an atheist and I love Gregorian chants.

I hate "christian music" 'cause it is NEVER genuine. It's always made of fake. Every time the lyrics turn to religious things, I've always seen it overdone--never in a way where it just flows naturally, like the content of secular songs often does. It's like a formality. "We're a 'christian group' so we have to put religious bullshit into every one of our songs according to the interrupted-verse-interrupted-chorus form." On the other hand, should I happen upon some religious music that's actually done in a way that seems like they really, honestly, do believe what they're saying (and it sounds good) I may like it.

Permalink Reply by Jesse Hopkins on August 13, 2009 at 1:33am

Well, I like Ave Satani from The Omen, and I don't believe in the devil. I am not a big fan of Halleliuah choirs because they are more boring generally.

Permalink Reply by William Stinnett on August 20, 2009 at 1:17pm

I used to write all sorts of extreme metal songs that were anti-religion....haha.

Permalink Reply by Fox Lee on September 20, 2009 at 9:23am

I still enjoy far more religious music than an atheist "should", and yeah, I do feel a bit hypocritical when I sing along with something I'd never even vaguely agree with. But if we let the message get in the way of appreciating the art, aren't we losing something? I can appreciate a song about an imagine story or character, and I can appreciate beautiful composition or great lyrics in the same way.

But... yeah, sometimes it doesn't sit right. So I guess part of my personal jury is still out on it.

As for the rest, I'm trying to write about my atheism right now. More than anything, I want there to be songs which talk about how happy we can be without superstition, and how awesome the world is - the natural world, not some imaginary spiritual cosmos. I've been struggling to write - I have so many bits and pieces - but I know at this point I have to try. It's so worth singing about.

Permalink Reply by Arkan Enci on October 6, 2009 at 9:42am

African-American gospel is a fundamental inspiration for most of the music I enjoy listening to and create (I dig some gospel myself!). However, I almost always ignore the lyrics (in any song, whether secular or religious) and yet still considerable credit for even just the composition of the music must be given to the crazy, albeit deluded, passion that religion (and only religion) inspired its believers to create.

Although.... as ironic as the following lyric coming from a devout Christian seems, you can sometimes flip theistic tunes to your own world-view...

"Superstition ain't the way...."

Permalink Reply by Jonny Marko on June 4, 2010 at 11:31am

I think I may be the first in the thread to admit to it, but I do occasionally listen to some very very terrible religious music. I get enjoyment out of how completely ridiculous it sounds, and trying to figure out why people actually believe the poorly-written lyrics to be literally true.

I'm talking worst of the worst - Christian Rap/Rock like DC talk, Kids music with Christian lyrics, Christian song parody writers like Apologetix, and cheesy southern gospel country... all of these I find to be incredibly hilarious but sickening at the same time. When I listen to things like that I just get dumbfounded thinking about how much wasted time and energy went into writing and recording it... the Kids music especially, I just cringe thinking about how many young young children are being subjected to upbeat, catchy music sung by other kids about how great God is.

Let me state again, I don't particularly like this music at all - I'm merely fascinated by it and interested in trying to work out how it might influence the targeted listeners.