RELIGION
AND
MUSIC
Religion
has
a
long
-
held
role
in
the
of
music
.
Many
major
musical
works
have
been
composed
for
religious
occasions
or
with
religious
themes
.
Music
is
often
used
to
convey
the
glory
of
God
.
It
is
part
of
many
types
of
religious
celebrations
and
observances
,
and
music
and
songs
are
used
to
pass
on
stories
,
teaching
and
values
.
At
the
same
time
,
music
of
all
sorts
?
from
classical
to
contemporary
pop
?
can
be
used
to
explore
feelings
about
religion
.
Musicians
may
intend
to
pose
questions
or
thought
about
religious
beliefs
and
practices
through
music
.
This
may
incite
more
conservative
believers
of
religious
traditions
to
protest
,
particularly
when
religious
values
are
or
confronted
in
an
unorthodox
way
.
Religion
continues
to
impact
the
music
industry
in
many
ways
.
MUSIC
AND
MORALS
Music
is
often
judged
by
religious
.
As
such
,
it
can
both
define
and
defy
status
quo
beliefs
of
its
time
.
Baroque
composer
Johann
Sebastian
Bach
(
1685
-
1750
)
is
known
for
his
hundreds
of
compositions
,
many
of
them
deeply
religious
in
origin
.
A
devout
Lutheran
,
Bach
felt
compelled
to
reverence
and
celebration
of
God
?
s
glory
in
his
works
?
influencing
the
beliefs
and
styles
of
many
later
composers
and
musicians
.
By
contrast
,
some
notes
in
music
have
been
considered
by
religious
standards
.
In
the
Middle
Ages
,
the
Roman
Catholic
Church
banned
a
musical
interval
of
the
augmented
fourth
spanning
three
tones
,
called
a
tritone
,
considering
it
the
"
Devil
?
s
Chord
"
or
"
Devil
?
s
Interval
.
"
Experts
say
before
it
was
outlawed
,
the
dissonant
tritone
was
used
to
portray
the
devil
or
evil
.
But
the
ban
impacted
both
and
religious
music
of
the
time
.
By
the
Romantic
era
,
composers
stopped
avoiding
the
tritone
,
which
appeared
in
music
from
then
to
the
modern
day
,
including
classical
,
blues
,
jazz
,
musical
theater
and
rock
.
"
Blue
notes
,
"
a
slight
drop
of
pitch
on
the
third
,
fifth
or
seventh
tone
of
the
scale
,
common
in
blues
and
jazz
music
,
were
also
considered
by
some
to
be
"
devil
?
s
notes
.
"
The
term
"
devil
music
"
has
been
applied
to
music
ranging
from
1950s
rock
?
n
?
roll
to
contemporary
heavy
metal
.
Music
as
a
cultural
force
continues
to
be
debated
in
recent
decades
.
In
the
political
arena
,
it
has
been
argued
that
music
that
promotes
"
bad
"
values
should
be
or
banned
.
Some
in
the
religious
community
continue
to
believe
that
particular
beats
and
rhythms
are
inherently
evil
,
and
some
believe
evil
and
sin
can
be
avoided
by
conscious
of
particular
music
.
These
issues
are
important
for
the
artist
/
musician
because
they
deal
with
of
expression
,
a
key
tenet
in
artistic
,
and
because
social
and
political
climates
historically
have
impacted
how
musicians
operate
.
RELIGION
AND
MUSIC
TODAY
Religions
continue
to
use
music
to
values
taught
in
religious
communities
,
both
to
minister
to
believers
and
to
share
values
and
beliefs
with
the
larger
world
.
A
recent
development
is
the
popularity
of
music
that
combines
contemporary
formats
with
messages
that
make
it
acceptable
to
those
within
religious
communities
.
Christian
rock
and
pop
music
,
for
example
,
attempts
to
imitate
popular
forms
while
focusing
on
lyrics
that
reflect
shared
Christian
values
.
A
booming
industry
,
Christian
music
has
also
produced
"
crossover
"
artists
popular
in
the
secular
genre
,
which
has
both
been
seen
as
"
selling
out
"
faith
and
sharing
a
message
of
faith
with
others
.
Today
?
s
music
blends
sounds
and
traditions
from
many
representing
many
religious
beliefs
.
Examples
range
from
samples
of
traditional
Arabic
and
Asian
music
spliced
into
American
pop
songs
;
to
Muslim
hip
-
hop
group
Native
Deen
,
whose
music
calls
to
remembrance
of
Allah
;
and
Hasidic
Jewish
rap
/
reggae
performer
Matisyahu
,
who
sings
about
Jewish
prophecy
,
the
Torah
and
devotion
to
God
.
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