Introduction:

Society appears to be fascinated about the spirituality of

musicians. There are books such as Spiritual journeys: how faith has
influenced twelve music icons (Beard, Bonham, Boyett, Marshall &
Washington, 2003) which delves into the spiritual lives of musicians
like Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan and Bono from U2. It could be said that
spirituality influences the musicians, but can it be the other way
too? Can music influence one’s spirituality? Music is often an
important part of religious settings, especially during the services.
There have been many changes to the style and forms of music that
have been used through out the ages. It is possible that the style of
music that a person is drawn to may influence their understanding
of spirituality. Whilst there is great debates within the Christian
church over whether music should be traditional or contemporary,
perhaps there needs to be an understanding of the different ways
people connect their spiritual experience and the music they use to
worship with and the way they see God. Instead of openly
condemning each other, an understanding could be reached.

What is music:

Whilst disregarding the statement as too broad, Kania (2007)

offers the suggestion that music could be defined as the “art of
organised sound” (¶6). Another definition is that music is “art
concerned with combining vocal or instrumental sounds for beauty
of form or emotional expression, usually according to cultural
standards of rhythm, melody, and in most Western music, harmony”
(Music, 2009, ¶1). However it is defined, music is part of the arts
and is an inherent part of modern culture. It is used everyday in the
media, religions and for relaxation.
Music and society:

Music is an integral part in society. It is used to define different

cultures and subcultures. Different subcultures use music as a way
of defining what they stand for and separate themselves from
others. A recent survey has found that an iPod playlist can reveal a
great deal about a person’s personality (Sing, 2009). Since a
person’s personality can reveal a great deal about the way they see
the world, it could be either that music influences a person’s
philosophy of life or that their philosophy of life influences the style
of music which they are drawn to. “Throughout history, music has
been an important adjunct to ritual and drama and has been
credited with the capacity to reflect and influence human emotion.
Popular culture has consistently exploited these possibilities, most
conspicusiously today by means of radio, film, television, and the
musical theatre. The implications of the uses of music in
psychotherapy, geriatrics, and advertising testify to a faith in its
power to affect human behaviour” (Benton & Benton, 1981, p.662).

Music and religion:

Music is used for various purposes in most of the different

religions in the world today. It can be used as a call to worship, for
prayer, to memorise important messages or passages of holy books.
It is a way to connect the worshiper with their deity, for them to feel
close. Music is used as part of the spiritual connection within
religions. Within the confines of each faith movement, there is a vast
array of ways in which music is used to strengthen spiritual
understanding.

Within the Islamic faith, hymns or inshād, are used to “express

devotion to the prophet and other religious figures. They also
express aspects of personal faith… the impact of the inshād draws
upon both the affective influence of music and the spiritual power of
Islam. Because of their non-liturgical character, hymns tend to draw
more eclectically from local and secular music and share features of
the musical vernacular of particular regions”. However they are not
considered music but rather “religious recitation” (Quresh, 2006,
p92).

Music is also important in the Hindu faith. It is used within

yoga to relax and achieve a spiritual state of relaxation. Beck (2006)
notes that “there is a clever saying among musicians in India”,
which translated, states that through musical notes, God is realised
(p.126). He goes on to note that all the elements of music play an
important role in Hinduism.

A somewhat cynical view of music and religions is offered by

Korpe, Peitov & Cloonan (2006). They suggest that religions use
music as a tool to conform people to a certain way of thinking.

Religion is actually one of the great propagandizing

forces that exists, designed to create homogeneity of
belief, attitude, and behaviour. It is to be expected, then,
that religious authorities should want not only to take
advantage of the power of music to bring about
obedience and conformity but also to regulate its ability
to divert people away from the straight path outlined for
them by religious doctrine (p.242).

Thus they allow one form of music whilst banning others.

Sadly this cynical view of religion and music appears correct when
regarding the history of the Christian church. Korpe, Peitov &
Cloonan also note that Islam, as well, condemns various types of
music as influencing a persons behaviour, especially that of
“undesirable behaviour and a detraction from religious practices and
a virtuous lifestyle” (p. 242).
Church attitude to music:

The Christian church and the popular music of the day have a
relationship which could be called tenuous at best. It seems that at
the beginning of each new musical movement the peers of the
church have protested and openly condemned the new musical
movements until eventually the music is accepted and the process
begins anew. The rock and roll era is one example. ‘Good little
Christians’ did not listen to rock and roll music. The debate went as
far as to have a song composed about it, Larry Norman’s Why
should the devil have all the good music (1972). However,
eventually, even the most vehemently protested music styles have
been accepted by members of the Christian church and
“Christianised” so as to make them an acceptable for the ‘good little
Christians’ to listen to. By spiritualising the lyrics, musical genres
become acceptable.

Regardless of the postmodern era, music will still spark

debates. Especially within the Christian churches and most
particularly in regards to worship. Worship is seen as a spiritual
communication with God through music. Whilst the term worship is
not particular to music, for this paper it will be used to refer to as
such.

Music and the Christian church services:

There are many differing views of what is important in church

services, and what should happen during them. C. S. Lewis (1967)
makes a valid point when he writes that it should be “assumed from
the outset that nothing should be done or sung or said in church
which does not aim directly or indirectly either at glorifying God or
edifying the people or both. A good service may of course have a
cultural value as well, but that is not what it exists for; just as, in an
unfamiliar landscape, a church may help me to find the points of the
compass, but was not built for that purpose” (p94).

On the topic of music in the worship service, Morgenthaler

(1999) writes that it is the second most powerful element in the
service. She continues “it has an incredible, matchless capacity to
open the human heart to God, accessing the soul more quickly,
deeply, and permanently than any other art form” (p211). Nearly
every form of Christian expression has some form of liturgy which
includes music, the Quakers being the main exception (Barclay,
1999; Gome, 2001).

Mathis (2007) writes that the use of music is what binds a

service together. “Music is the glue of a service. From prelude to
postlude, usually eight to ten different pieces are woven through the
service liturgy. Music serves multiple purposes in worship; it says
what words alone cannot” (p18). Rainbow (1993) writes that “it is no
small part of music’s role in church to prepare the minds for the act
of worship” (¶23). Gilley (2006) writes that “too often the music, the
prayers, and even the sermons are attempts to arouse emotions and
provide an experience rather than convey truth” (p43). Wilson
(1998) also makes this point.

There are huge debates raging as to whether hymns and

traditional styles of music should be played or whether it is better to
play contemporary music (Chou & Russel, 2006; Gilley, 2005;
Lucarini, 2002; McIntyre, 2007; Morgenthaler, 1999; Wren, 2000); or
if the music played is important regardless of the genre (Bell, 2007;
Mathis, 2007; Orr, 1991; In Unison, 2003; Steel, 1995).

Music styles have changed greatly within the Christian church

since it began. In the beginning, music was often used as a tool to
memorise scripture and messages – the psalms are an example.
Music can be used to manipulate a person’s emotion and as such,
may be used during religious services to achieve a specific aim.

Philosophy and spirituality in music:

The different types of music styles in the church help to cater

to the different ways in which a person communicates with God. For
one person, the traditional hymns are more spiritual than the
contemporary forms of worship, but for others the contemporary
music has more purpose. An example of this is the change in the
way God is addressed in contemporary worship songs.

There has been a shift in the approach to worship. Where once

it was about the works of God and what he was doing in the world,
now it seems that it is what a person is doing for God or wanting.
Depending on who is asked, there is a debate as to whether the shift
is good or bad. Regardless, it does have an influence on a person’s
spirituality and philosophy. A person singing about what God is
doing in the world will have a different way of viewing God and their
purpose in the world as to one who is more comfortable singing
about personal experiences with God.

Charles Wesley’s hymns offer one example of spirituality. His

spirituality is a mixture of the “ethic of grace” and the “ethic of
holiness” (Wakefield, 1996, p.629). His songs give a call to worship
and praise God. One example is the hymn Rejoice, the Lord is King
(1744).

Rejoice, the Lord is King,

Your Lord and King adore!
Mortals, give thanks, and sing,
And triumph evermore:
Lift up your hearts;
 Lift up your voice!
Rejoice, again I say, rejoice! (p.39)

Wakefield goes on to write that Wesley “wrote hymns on the

great Christian doctrines and on the experience and growth in grace
of the individual believer” (p.629). His spiritual belief and philosophy
were ingrained both in biblical understanding and personal
experience.

Rick Founds’ Lord, I lift your name on high (1989) offers a

more contemporary understanding of worship music.

Lord I lift your name on high

Lord I love to sing your praises.
I’m so glad your in my life,
I’m so glad you came to save us.
You came from heaven to earth to show the way,
From the earth to the cross,
My debt to pay;
From the cross to the grave,
From the grave t o the sky;
Lord, I lift your name on high.

This song offers a spiritual understanding in first person. It

offers spiritual communication for those who are more comfortable
worshiping with a personal language.

Gilley (2005) suggests that the problem with contemporary

Christian worship is that it “bypasses the mind and aims directly at
the emotions. When the purpose of misc is to elicit an emotional
response devoid of biblical truth and with disregard to aiding the
process of ‘the word of Christ dwelling in us richly’, the net result is
a romanticised Christian faith. Hearts can be moved by the skilful
use of melodies and rhythm no matter what message a good song is
conveying” (p.96). Regardless of how Gilley views it, it should not
mean that there is no spiritual experience to be gained from
contemporary worship. Contemporary worship is particularly useful
in reaching younger generations, by allowing them the freedom to
use musical styles in which they are familiar with. As has been
stated before, everyone has different musical tastes and this will
have an effect on their spiritual experiences within worship.

Kraft (2005) believes that people should be free to explore

different styles of music and “develop new musical idioms that will
benefit the Kingdom… [because] the benefits of deeper
understanding leads to spiritual growth and closer relationship with
Jesus Christ” (p.320).

Lyrics:

The debate between traditional and contemporary music deals

a lot with the rhythm, tempo and style, but the lyrics also need to be
addressed. However this is not confined to traditional and
contemporary. This has more to do with whether worship should
have a biblical base or a personal basis. Wilson suggests that
modern worship is “defined exclusively in terms of the individual
experience” (p.43). He condemns this idea, suggesting that it
changes worship from “Adoring God” to “nourishing feelings” and
coming to church to “feel God”. This appears to be a harsh way of
looking at a form of worship, but since personal experiences differ,
how can one style be wrong if it offers a spiritual understanding that
caters for that person?

Personal spirituality and philosophy:

Everyone sees the world differently, and even within the

Christian worldview, everyone has a different understanding of it. It
is the same with both spirituality and philosophy. Spirituality is a
uniquely personal experience, especially within a worship service.
Since everyone has differing spiritual experiences, worship services
should not be confined to one specific style but rather different
genres of music should be allowed. Instead of debating over which
style is “better” or “more spiritual”, it needs to be understood that
there is no wrong worship music but rather different spiritual
understandings and philosophies in religious faiths.

Conclusion:

Music is an influential part of life and it is encountered daily.

Music styles favoured are a personal choice and offer insight into a
person’s personality and philosophy. Worship music is no different.
All of the major religions in the world use music, whether they define
it as music or not. It is not unique to the Christian church. Although
there has been a major shift in recent years, musical styles within
the worship services have been changing since the church began.
No style is wrong and no style should be disregarded. Each person
has a different way of worshiping God and each music style offers a
different spiritual experience, it is just that one style may offer an
more meaningful experience than another. The way a person views
God and views life also influences their style of music. One person
may be comfortable praising the works of God whereas another has
a more meaningful experience singing from a personal experience.
Neither are wrong and neither should be ridiculed. Each person is
different and should be allowed the freedom to practice their
spirituality in their own way.
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