Can you give me some examples of popular religious songs?
I would love to see if Fluther can come up with examples for all of these religions:
Christian
Jewish
Muslim
Buddhism
Hindu
and any others of note.
Bonus: Any good Atheist music out there?
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56 Answers
Spirit in the Sky was written by an Atheist edit: a Jewish man (accordingly to wikiepedia),. And it’s darn catchy.
I’d say Creed, but they aren’t popular.
Disregard the first post, I forgot to read the popular part
King of carrot flowers part 2 by NMH:
I love you Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ I love you
Yes I do
I love you Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ I love you
Yes I do
And on the lazy days
The dogs dissolve and drain away
The world it goes
And all awaits
The day we are awaiting
@The_Compassionate_Heretic: Me too (I am not Christian, I love that song)! It’s on Rock Band and a total favorite of mine.
Does Number of the Beast count as a religious song?
@PretentiousArtist sounds like good music to relax to.
Hallelujah is a popular song with a Christian theme, right?
When The Saints Go Marching In
Amazing Grace
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
Let My People Go
What a Friend We Have in Jesus
Ha-Tik-Vah
Battle Hymn of the Republic
@holden It is, good sir. Neutral Milk Hotel are rather calm.
Walking with Jesus by Spiritualized
I like your taste fundevogel!
I Can Only Imagine by Mercyme
Along the lines of what @Allie said…Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. It’s not really religious, but those songs definitely have religious connotations.
Also, lots of Christmas songs. (“Do You Hear What I Hear”, “Hark the Herald Angels Sing”, “Little Drummer Boy”, “O Holy Night”, “Go Tell it on the Mountain”, etc.)
Hannukkah (sp?) song: Dreidel song! and “Oh Chanukah”.
And…“Go Down Moses (Let My People Go)”, especially the Louis Armstrong version.
Lord of the Dance was a Christian song until Pagans co-opted it. (Usually stuff goes the other way.)
Loreena McKennitt’s The Mummer’s Dance is fairly Pagan.
Emerald Rose sings a lot of stuff popular in Pagan circles. Heh! Circles! Get it?
Lots of popular Christmas songs are totally Pagan. “Joy to the World,” “Deck the Halls” etc.
What do you mean by Popular?
@laureth . . . easily downloadable in mp3 format.
I’m a Soldier in the Army of the Lord
Lyle Lovett
Pass Me Not
Lyle Lovett
Angel from Montgomery
Bonnie Raitt
My Sweet Lord, by George Harrison, starts out sounding Christian (“Hallelujah…Hallelujah”). Later in the song, it lends it self to Krishna Conssciousness (“Hare Krishna”, etc), and then it goes to Hindu (“Guru Brahma, Guru Vishnu,” etc). Check out the lyrics!
do i foresee a show on religion in RAR’s future?
ohhh totally forgot about scroob. GA allie :)
¿ “Thoughts Of A Dying Atheist” -Muse ?
And @Allie I love “God’s Gonna Cut You Down”. “The Man Comes Around” is awesome too.
After a quick review of this thread, it seems I am the first to mention Spirit in the Sky by Norman Greenbaum.
@uberbatman doh!
How about Morning Has Broken? I always thought of that one as at least a bit religious. Bonus: It has a Christian seeming theme, and Cat Steven is now Muslim! Two religions with one song!
@Blondesjon Fireside might know of some, but I’m afraid I don’t! There is an Iranian rapper named Foad who is Baha’i.
As for my previous religion, Catholicism, when my sister and I saw Doubt we conceived the idea of a musical based on the story. We came up with some brilliant songs including Did He Do It? , Join me in the Vestibule Son, and Don’t Stand so Close (Father). None of those fits your criteria of being popular.
Free Will by Rush is an atheist song.
The official song for Evelynism is Visionary Mountains by Manfred Mann’s Earth Band.
God Bless America, and I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas were written by a Jewish man Irving Berlin.
Or do you mean current, when you say popular?
Would Kyrie by Mr. Mister be considered religious? The words translate into Lord have mercy.
Lifehouse began their career as the worship band at the Malibu Vineyard church, Hanging by a Moment does have a religious feeling.
Flood by Jars of Clay.
Jars of Clay – I believe Flood was their big crossover hit.
Hero by Skillet
even people who arent Christian like i am listen to this song. I lurve it <3.
Check out the amazing vidoe on YouTube.com
Stryper was popular back in their day, from what I hear (I wasn’t quite born yet). P.O.D. was also popular some time back (that was my time).
A popular (term used loosely) Orthodox Jew musician is Matisyahu. Not sure about other religions though. There are a few Islamic rap/hip hop groups floating around at the moment, but none of them have gone stellar to my knowledge – its not my thing anyway.
Hallelujah – Jeff Buckley and more recently Alexandra Burke.
Sorry if someone else has already mentioned this one. I scanned through the above answers and couldn’t see it so hopefully I am not just repeating what someone else has said.
Forgot this one! My Sweet Lord by George Harrison. Is it Christian? Is it Hindu? Two great tastes that taste great together.
During my freshman year of college, I had an evangelical Christian roommate who liked to listen to a genre called CCM (Contemporary Christian Music). Mostly, it was sort of like rock, rap, and pop – but with Christian-themed lyrics. Lots of country music has Christian-themes, too. I think that it is a pretty big market in the US. As for me – I’m Jewish, but I don’t tend to listen to a lot of “Jewish” music. There are a few artists/bands that I think could fall under the category of CJM (if such a category were to exist). Here are some examples: Matisyahu (reggae), Blue Fringe (Modern Orthodox rock and pop), Chana Rothman (funky folk rock), Golem (not sure what they do), SoulFarm (?)...Moving away from Jewish stuff, singer-songwriter Carrie Newcomer writes on a variety of themes (religious and secular). She is a Quaker (I think) and her songs usually have sort of a universal spiritual appeal. For one example, check out, “Where Have You Been?” on The Geography of Light.
Actually, I am not sure if I answered your question correctly. oops.
O Holy Night.. Away in a Manger (sp?)
David Bazan has some pretty overt religious themes in his music.
Red and Yellow, Black and White
Are all precious in His sight
But who’se he root for in a fight?
Also, Brand New, all of their albums. (besides the first one)
@Leanne1986 Hallelujah is actually a Leonard Cohen song (though a lot of people have covered it). And while it evokes religious passion it is definitely not Christian. It refers to sexual love that evokes and supplants religious ecstasy. It blends the narrator and King Davids abandoning of religious worship for sexual worship of a woman.
“Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you
She tied you to a kitchen chair
She broke your throne, and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah”
Hell, in this case hallelujah could refer to an orgasm.
@answerjill . . .it’s ok. my questions have no correct answers.
@SuperMouse I’m not familiar with the song by Mr. Mister, but Kyrie, which is oddly enough a Greek word, is a part of the Latin Mass. The phrase is Kyrie eleison, and does indeed mean “Lord, have mercy”. There is a classical music format called “Mass” or “Missa” based upon the Catholic liturgy, and it contains a movement called “Kyrie”, after the section of the Mass.
@fundevogel Losing My Religion has nothing to do with atheism. The phrase losing my religion is Southern US slang for “being at the end of one’s rope” or to lose one’s temper. This was a big topic of discussion at the time of it’s release, and if you look at Stipe’s comments in interviews when Out of Time came out, he talked about it as a song of unrequited loved or longing.
God by John Lennon is another Atheist song.
@eponymoushipster huh, you’d think the number of times I’ve seen VH1 count down the top 90 of the 90’s I would have heard of that. Music television has failed me.
@fundevogel because VH1 is the BBC World Service of the music world…~
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