Religious music and country music is the worst

[baystateoftheart]

[rkm]

Well, this album must be THE worst.

A country music album from a gay christian.

I personally think it’s a fantastic album.


By The Way, I Forgive You by Brandi Carlile

[YoungPunk]

[rkm]

I’m well acquainted with Christian music, and while I’ve been outside of the culture for a long time now, I still try and find an album each year to like. Some of them I would never want to part with.

I’d agree that there’s been a history of Christian culture using music as an evangelical tool, creation watered down versions of whatever the popular sound was, and shoving a Christian message in there. That’s one category.

A second category is Music that is only understood by the culture, when you’re in it. It’s functional, used for corporate worship and such.

There is also a third category, where artists have taken their spiritual music and taken it to the culture at large. An example would be The Staple Singers, who started out as a gospel group, and then aligned themselves with Martin Luther King and became very active in the civil rights movement. Their music was spiritual but didn’t stay within the four walls of the church.


Faith And Grace: A Family Journey 1953-...le Singers

[JOSweetHeart]

[SquishypuffDave]

[RoundTheBend]

Oh geez. I have so many words.

These might be better:

[Fischman]

For the most part, I agree.

But like any "rules" there are exceptions.

[Fischman]

I have to add that I never thought of "religious" as a genre. There's religious rock, religious metal, religious country, religious adult contemporary, etc. Any form of music can bring forth religious themes.

That said, most religious music (gospel aside) seems to me, ironically rather uninspired. It's as if religious musical artists think that so long as they're praising god, that's good enough and there need to be true dedication to art. Listening to a modern religious radio station is much akin to listening to modern country in my ear and I can take very little of it.

Again there is no shortage of magnificent exceptions throughout the ages. None other than J.S. Bach said
“The final aim and reason of all music is nothing other than the glorification of God and the refreshment of the spirit.”

Coltrane's masterpiece "A Love Supreme" was entirely spiritual.

There are plenty of more contemporary, albeit less iconic examples as well.

[YoungPunk]