Religious Music?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by BuildingCastles on July 25, 2008 at 11:51am

Awesome; that's part of what I want to accomplish with my music. I think there needs to be more overtly Atheist musicians and other artists to help encourage people to explore the alternatives to their religion. I think there are a lot of people who question their religion but aren't encouraged to persue things to the point that they really go anywhere with that doubt.

Permalink Reply by BuildingCastles on July 25, 2008 at 11:49am

I guess you could ask them how anyone could listen to a love song about homosexuals when they are not gay; or how someone could like music about doing drugs and gang banging when they themselves don't partake in those activities. Pretty much everyone listens to music they can't totally relate to, and an Atheist listening to religious music is no different (not that Atheists can't be religious). I don't listen to Christian music that much anymore, but there were a few bands I really liked even after I became an Atheist. Anymore, I've grown to hate Christianity so much I can't listen to a group I know is overtly Christian. I find myself trying to understand how the lyrics relate to Christianity and then it sorta ruins it for me. But that's just me.

Yeah, I'm working on a number of songs related to religion. The song I have up on my myspace page is basically me talking to my younger self as I was struggling with leaving the religion.

Permalink Reply by Marc Sacks on July 25, 2008 at 12:06pm

When I said religious music, I meant like, Classical religious music, think Mozart etc.

Richard Dawkins' says (in The God Delusion) that you don't need to believe in God to enjoy religious music anymore than you have to believe in magic to enjoy Harry Potter.

Permalink Reply by LeaT on July 26, 2008 at 12:23pm

I think BuildingCastle's point still stand, that you don't really have to relate to what you are listening too, although some points can really ruin the listening.

I couldn't for example listen to NSBM and I can't stand artists like 50 Cent either.

Classical music sure, I could listen to that. Been playing it myself to one or another extent so.

Permalink Reply by Jafafa Hots on July 18, 2009 at 9:38am

Ave Maria is a beautiful piece of music.

The nice thing about most classical religious music is that it's not in English, the only language I understand - so I don't have to deal with the lyrics as anything but another instrument - the human voice.

Permalink Reply by Desanctified on July 29, 2008 at 1:40pm

This can be a tricky question. I frequently play in churches. As a pianist in my (geographical) area, the only real jobs available are in theaters, schools, and churches or synagogues. The theaters don't generally pay enough to really live off of, and the jobs are generally temporary, to boot. The schools are better paying, but also temporary, unless you decide to teach. When teaching music, one must acknowledge that one is acting as a teacher first, and not as a musician.
This leaves the churches. Some of them pay rather well, even if the music is as interesting as a late night, UHF television test pattern.
On top of the fact that some of the songs (particularly the older ones, in my personal opinion) are quite nice, whether I believe in God or not. In this regard, I would cite "In the Garden," "Abide with Me," and "Amazing Grace." I also particularly love much of the the choral works of the 17th through the 20th centuries. There is no way I could listen to, say, Pergolesi's STABAT MATER and not be moved in a most visceral way. Doctrinal issues aside, the image of any mother standing in tears next to the hanging body of her executed son is a strong one.
So, yes, I have serious problems with churches and religion in general, but music (to me) is a completely different thing.
Add to this the thought that eliminating "religious" music from my listening world would necessarily eliminate almost 75% of what I consider to be good, or beautiful, in music, or at least, in vocal music. This would include almost ALL of the extant vocal music from just about every century up to the 17th.
Sometimes I think that if churches today had such music still in use, I may not have left the church in the first place, whether I believed in god, or doctrine, or not.

Permalink Reply by TJMorgan on July 29, 2008 at 2:19pm

I don't see their problem with your position though. Religion, and belief in god has inspired a lot of great art. You can still appreciate the art without having to believe in the fiction that motivated someone to create it.

Permalink Reply by Daniel Valentine on July 31, 2008 at 11:22pm

It strikes many people that I, as an atheist, adore a lot of sacred classical music. Of course, the reason I do is because of the sheer musicality. I've also composed a bit of sacred music myself; not the sappy Manilow-esque songs which absolutely bore me to death, but music similar to a matter harking back to the Baroque era, using religious literature. I have considered composing on the subject of atheism, but I would leave that to a vocal-less piece.

I think the best way to explain your opinion is that you treat sacred music with the same as you treat music for a film score — absolutely wonderful music that surrounds fiction.

Interestingly, Richard Dawkins did select J.S. Bach's Matthaüspassion (St Matthew Passion) as his Desert Island Disc.

Permalink Reply by Joe on August 7, 2008 at 8:39pm

ditto. I am friends with a celtic/punk band that is popular in the secular punk scene (worldwide) AND is on a christian record label and plays at the big god music festivals. That is a rarity. Most 'christian music' is a horribly bad mockery of good music with the addition of poor lyrics. This band, on the other hand, veils their preaching and faith with prose like any real band (flatfoot 56 is the band).

I used to play in some bands (brassknuckle boys, various other groups) which touched on religious (skeptical) topics.

If you've never heard "Bad Religion", you may check them out or at least look up their lyrics. The singer/lyricist is a ph.d. in evolutionary biology and writes intelligent (occasionally bordering pedantic) lyrics.

Permalink Reply by Joe on August 7, 2008 at 8:45pm

OOOOHHHH, Classical music. In that case, yes, I like a ton of classical music that has its roots in the church. Like fine art, where else would the musical geniuses of times past turn to when they wanted to be paid for making art? I am quite certain that much of this music wasn't inspired by God as much as it was by the church's deep pockets.

Permalink Reply by cognitive dissident on August 14, 2008 at 1:43pm

I love religious music, and listen to a lot of it: everything from JS Bach to Arvo Part...but no "Christian rock," which doesn't qualify as listenable music. (It helps that most of it is sung in other languages, as I'm not distracted by the meaning of the words...)

I haven't gotten anything more than a curiously raised eyebrow about it, even when iTunes queues up "Mass in B Minor" at work...

Permalink Reply by MP Lockwood on September 30, 2008 at 11:11am

There was a band called Atheist. And seriously, it could get no better or more appropriate: They played technical death metal! They were actually seriously amazing, even the classical music lovers here could probably appreciate their musicianship, which integrated jazz/fusion elements to make strangely swinging death-style metal. Their drummer was pretty phenomenal.

It was probably just a name though.

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