One of the most controversial topics of our time is the demonization of rock music. Some argue that rock is the spawn of the devil. Others argue that the church that demonizes it is too corrupt and sinful an institution, which in turn manipulates facts and hides its internal problems.
Music and religion
Music, as a cultural phenomenon, has been walking alongside humans since the Stone Age. Moreover, it has undoubtedly gone hand in hand with religion. Shamans with tambourines and circles of people performing ritual dances around a fire immediately come to mind. The research of anthropologist Gilbert Rouget, who spent time with the Babinga tribe in Africa in 1946, showed that music accompanies all religious and domestic rituals of the tribesmen. At the same time, all refusals to participate in collective “music-making” were perceived as an insult or a criminal offense.
This phenomenon was explained by the psychological “cohesion” of the tribe, which led to their physical closeness. Here is what Rouget wrote: “By joining in the process, one’s own personality is erased to some extent, so each participant begins to feel one with the group that is singing.”
With the advent of monotheism in people’s lives, attitudes toward music also changed radically. The beautiful spiritual life that comes after death was emphasized. The key meaning of human existence was considered to be a sinless life, and everything else was from the evil one. However, we know of musicians-travelers and minstrels who performed folk songs and compositions of their own. The church despised such music and called it sinful; only religious chorales dedicated to God and performed during church services were acceptable. “Divine music” was recorded with notes, but it was not allowed to leave the walls of the temple where it was performed.
Over time, with the gradual decline of the church’s influence on secular life, music became more open to ordinary people. The church became not only a strict guardian of the gates of heaven, but also the first educator. This happened solely because the dominance of secret communities that sought to learn about the world around them (but were banned by the church) began to gain a large number of supporters among young people.
And a well-known way to destroy something secret and inaccessible is to make it open and accessible to the general public. Religious people began to teach science to the peasants, and in particular, the musical literacy of the first composers, who usually dedicated their works to God.
The basic philosophy was simple: “Music should contain pleasant melodies, which are the manifestation of God’s spirit in the composer.”
This narrative accompanied the life of music creators, critics, and musicologists for a long time. New genres emerged that were derived from spirituals and gospels. They did not cause enthusiasm in the church, but they also did not provoke too strong a reaction from religious communities, which called songs that might contain hidden hints of sex or glorification of a carefree life sinful.