Music whether inside or outside of a religious or spiritual
context, has the power and ability to move people through emotional connections
and in some case enables people to feel
some form of transcendence. Regardless of whether it is a song on the radio, a
song at a service, or a piece performed by an orchestra; music connects with
people in a way that text cannot. For music allows people the opportunity to
express their passion and desire to connect with whatever it is that they are
trying to convey. Furthermore, it is no surprise that churches that seek to approach
and incorporate relevant and inspired songs such as the Hillsong Church are
experiencing large amounts of success and people are simply connecting with the
ideologies and the form in which they praise their love for God. The use of
music in a religious setting is often used in “deliberate ways to assist people
in leaving behind the profane and encountering the sacred” (Jennings, 2008, 161),
further enabling participating parishioners to add an extra element to their fulfilling
service, and deepening their engagement with the process; rather than just
passively sitting and absorbing/ or not, information from a minister.
The Hillsong Church with their very exciting and adrenaline
pumped songs and performances by their music team encourage the congregation to
passionately worship God. At Hillsong, the songs provide an atmosphere that
encourages movement and action whilst singing and being a part of the community
worshipping the same ideals. Jennings says that “physical acts like clapping or
singing open up your soul. Only when your soul is opened up to the spiritual
can you experience encounter with God” (Jennings, 2008, 164) and attain a sense
of complete spiritual satisfaction. The message and passion that experienced
with songs and performances like that of Hillsong are powerful and have the
ability to strengthen a person’s faith, as it enables the participant to feel
positive and encouraged about practicing their faith.
Comparatively to the Hillsong approach to the integration of
popular music with a band and modern songs, there are still very traditional
views of what role music should play within a religious service. For instance,
most traditional religious services and their ministers continue to play old-
themed song with a choir, an organ and most often, a piano accompaniment.
Rupert Till states that “traditional religious cultures have become
increasingly culturally irrelevant, refusing to discard out-dated traditions
that have little to do with the literature or the teachings of the faith
itself, but rather are often accumulations of cultural habits that have become
associated and intertwined with the belief system itself” (Till, 2010, 169) .
Till highlights the great confusion of young parishioners as to why the
services cannot be more relatable and engaging.
It has become increasingly apparent that parishioners need
to feel that the service is both relevant and relatable to their needs.
Furthermore, as religions become “increasingly out of touch with youth culture…
those groups will go looking elsewhere for such experiences of physical and
spiritual ecstasy, looking increasingly within cults of popular music” (Till,
2010, 171). Therefore the increasing popularity of Churches like Hillsong that
provide the congregation with opportunities to connect on multiple levels with
God, and to communicate through music; establishing increased popularity is no
surprise, as it provides for the needs of todays’ market.
Image courtesy of pixabay: http://pixabay.com/en/guitar-guitar-player-concert-music-67419/
Video courtesy of YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmgWpjE_kdE
Jennings, M. (2008). 'Won't you break free?' An
ethnography of music an the divine-human encounter at an Australian Pentecostal
Church. Culture and Religion, 161-174.
Till, R. (2010). Pop Cult : Religion and Popular
Music. London: Continuum International Publishing.
No comments:
Post a Comment