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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.

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Replies to This Discussion

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 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...."