This post is about my research on fundamentalist Christian music. Read more about it here! You know what good music is?The kind I like. That’s one way we use “good” to talk about music. “Good” can also mean the best in its genre, in its style. So, Beethoven’s sonatas are good music, but that sonata …
The Right Kind of Music: Good Music Is (Probably) Not What You Prefer Read More »
You’ve probably noticed that more women attend church services than men. The Pew Research Forum recently released a report confirming these observations and showing that women tend to be more religious than men in most places across the globe. In particular, American Christianity amplifies this tendency: Christian women report daily prayer at much higher rates than Christian men …
This post is about my research on fundamentalist Christian music. Read more about it here! Fundamentalists speaking and writing about music generally assume a shared belief with their audience that morality exists as a black and white dualism of distinct and absolute categories: good or bad, with a hard and fast line dividing them. Imagine …
The Right Kind of Music: “Drawing the Line” Between Good and Bad Music Read More »
This post is about my research on fundamentalist Christian music. Read more about it here! Can music teach us something about God? Fundamentalist Christians say it can. Specifically, that music can reveal or reflect God’s nature and in so doing, spiritually strengthen those who listen to it. Here’s the line of reasoning: First, music can …
The Right Kind of Music: Can Music Teach Us About God? Read More »
This post is about my research on fundamentalist Christian music. Read more about it here. The third premise of fundamentalist music philosophy is that Christians can strengthen their spiritual lives and witness to unbelievers by choosing good music. The first two premises—that music is moral and that you can learn to tell the difference between …
The Right Kind of Music: The Power of Choosing Good Music Read More »
This post is about my research on fundamentalist Christian music. Read more about it here! The second major premise of fundamentalist music philosophy is that listeners can learn to tell the difference between good and bad music. (The first is that music is moral.) So, not only is music moral in a good/bad kind of …
The Right Kind of Music: The Difference Between Good and Bad Music Read More »
This post is about my research on fundamentalist Christian music. Read more about it here! Is music moral? Fundamentalist Christians think so. “Music is moral” is the first premise of their philosophy of music—the argument upon which the rest of their views depend. But this argument itself relies on a syllogism: music influences listeners, and …
This post is part of a series on the National Congregations Study, a sociological study of religious congregations in America. Check out my summary of the study’s main findings and specifics on worship services, the growing informality of worship services, and the surprises and highlights of the study. In reading through the National Congregations Study’s full report and …
National Congregations Study: Choirs and the Power of Small Groups Read More »
This post is part of a series on the National Congregations Study, a sociological study of religious congregations in America. Check out my summary of the study’s main findings and specifics on worship services, the growing informality of worship services, and what the study tells us about the power of small groups and choirs. Who knew …
Drums Are Not That Common And 6 Other Surprises from the National Congregations Study Read More »
This post is part of a series on the National Congregations Study, a sociological study of religious congregations in America. Check out my summary of the study’s main findings and specifics on worship services, the surprises and highlights of the study, and what it tells us about the power of small groups and choirs. The recent report …
National Congregations Study: Worship Is Increasingly Informal Read More »