Music

About the discipline

Our increasingly diverse and global society means exposure to a variety of musical traditions, which can be a gateway to learning more about other cultures. Study of music and religion can help us better understand our traditions and those of others. It can also explore the impact of religious traditions on development of music, as well as music as a force in impacting perspectives about religion. Read More »

Articles

  • “Sacred Swing: The Sacralization of Jazz in the American Bahá’í Community” by E. Taylor Atkins. American Music. 24, no. 4 (2006): 383-420.
  • “The Role of Popular Music in the Construction of Alternative Spiritual Identities and Ideologies” by Gordon Lynch. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. 45, no. 4 (2006): 481-8.
  • “‘Just a Little Talk With Jesus’: Elvis Presley” by Charles Reagan Wilson. Southern Cultures. 12, no. 4 (2006): 74-91.
  • “Interpreting Religion Through Music” by Saira Moini. Diverse Issues in Higher Education. 23, no. 24 (2007): 32.
  • “Sacred Song in America: Religion, Music, and Public Culture” by Stephen A. Marini. Public Expressions of Religion in America. University of Illinois, 2003.
  • “Heavenly tones: Music and religion, A sociologist argues that music has kept the sound of organized religion from fading” by Henry L. Carrigan Jr. The Christian Science Monitor, May 15, 2003
  • “Introduction to a Forum on Religion, Popular Music, and Globalization” by Lynn Schofield Clark. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, Volume 45 Issue 4, Pages 475 – 479, November 2006.
  • “Faith and Practice: Bringing Religion, Music and Beethoven to Life in Soka Gakkai” by Levi McLaughlin. Social Science Japan Journal, Volume 6, Number 2, 1 October 2003 , pp. 161-179(19).
  • “Singing imam reaches out to the young.” The Straits Times (Singapore), Oct. 13, 2007.
  • “Let us play: Jesus rocks for a holy new generation of true believers” by Linda Morris. Sydney Morning Herald (Australia), Feb. 1, 2008.

Books

  • All in Sync: How Music and Art are Revitalizing American Religion. Robert Wuthnow. University of California Press, 2003.
  • Rave culture and religion. Graham St. John. Routledge, 2004.
  • The music and dance of the world’s religions: a comprehensive, annotated bibliography of materials in the English language. Ezra Gardner Rust. Greenwood Publishing Group, 1996.
  • Memory, Music, and Religion: Morocco’s Mystical Chanters. Earle H. Waugh University of South Carolina Press, 2005.
  • Sacred Sound: Experiencing Music in World Religions. Guy L. Beck and Wilfrid Laurier. University Press, 2006.
  • Sufi Music of India and Pakistan: Sound, Context, and Meaning. Regula Burckhardt Qureshi. Oxford University Press, USA, 2006.
  • Sacred Sound: Music in Religious Thought and Practice. Joyce L. Irwin. American Academy of Religion Book, 1984.
  • Enchanting Powers: Music in the Worlds Religions. Lawrence E. Sullivan. Harvard Center for the Study of World Religions, 1997.
  • The Contemporary Christian Music Debate: Worldly Compromise or Agent of Renewal? Steve Miller. BookSurge Publishing, 2007.
  • Singing And Making Music: Issues in Church Music Today. Paul S. Jones. P & R Publishing, 2006.
  • The Story of Christian Music: From Gregorian Chant to Black Gospel, an Authoritative Illustrated Guide to All the Major Traditions of Music for Worship. Andrew Wilson-Dickson. Augsburg Fortress Publishers, 2003.
  • No Sympathy for the Devil: Christian Pop Music and the Transformation of American Evangelism. David W. Stowe. University of North Carolina Press, 2011.
  • The Music Libel against the Jews. Ruth HaCohen. Yale University Press, 2011.
  • Religion and Popular Music in Europe: New Expressions of Sacred and Secular Identity. Thomas Bossius, Andreas Häger and Keith Kahn-Harris (eds.). I.B. Tauris, 2011.

Case studies

  • Matsunobu, Koji. “Spirituality as a universal experience of music: A case study of North Americans’ approaches to Japanese music.” Journal of Research in Music. (August 2011).
  • “Sacred Song in America: Religion, Music, and Public Culture” by Stephen A. Marini. Public Expressions of Religion in America. University of Illinois, 2003.

Codes of ethics

Journals

More links

Professional associations and faith groups

Recent research

  • Capwell, Charles. “From ‘Dust’ to Platinum: Global Currents through the Malay World of Musical Islam.” Divine Inspirations: Music and Islam in Indonesia. David Harnish, Anne Rasmussen (eds.). Oxford University Press, 2011.
  • Hoffman, Adria R. “Rethinking Religion in Music Education.” Music Educators Journal. Vol. 97, No. 4 (June 2011): 55-9.
  • Schofield, Katherine Butler. “Reviving the Golden Age Again: ‘Classicization,’ Hindustani Music, and the Mughals.” Ethnomusicology. Vol. 54, No. 3 (Fall 2010): 484-517.

Syllabi

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