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Uses of art in religion
The role of music in the worship experience
The role music plays in religion
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Have you ever wondered, why do Judaism, Christianity, and Islam use and incorporate art in their faith? Judaism, Christianity, and Islam use and incorporate the art of music. Music is an essential type of art, that was used as a religious role. Also, music was a sin, it was a forbidden pleasure. Judaism use music as a religious role and art. Jewish music played an important role for decades. Players rely heavily on music. "At the time, the national literacy level was low, and most Jews had to memorize the essential prayers; in almost every “oral” tradition such as this, music is used to aid memorization1." Music was used to shared religious and communal experience and beliefs. It has such a strong impact on Judaism, it was part of the Jewish
Religion has been an important part of man’s life. Man has allowed religion to control and influence his life in many different ways, affecting both his behavior and his actions. So its not surprising that music, one of man’s earliest expressive forms, has also been influenced by religion. Religion has had an effect on man’s music all throughout history, from the early Egyptians to even now. So it is only natural that Western music should also have been affected by religion. Western music, and its development by composers, has been strongly influenced by the Christian religion, especially in the Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque periods. The music in these periods laid the foundation for all the different types of music we enjoy today.
Since the Middle Ages the early Christian church and the state were the centres of power, and most music that survived from that time were religious or sacred due to the patronage of the church.
Music plays a very large role in religion and worship, inside and outside of the church. Within church, hymns and various spiritual songs are used as an emotional way to connect with God and each other. Spiritual music can also be used as a way for people to memorize scripture, particularly for younger children. Church music comes in many different forms, some have musical instruments, some use more modern music, some have choirs, some use tapes, and others just use the voices of the congregation. No matter what the form or style of music, it plays an integral role within churches. Outside of the church, people use spiritual music to express their love and devotion. Every genre of music has a Christian sector, even metal or alternative. The varying modern genres of Christian music tend to appeal to a younger crowd and allows them to find their own way and express individualism within Christianity.
“Music is the universal language of mankind”.- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Since the beginning of time, music has played an important role in everyday life. Music is used to create stories, make history, spread religion, and pass time. In the times of slavery, African Americans used music to pass time and forget about their problems for a while. During the 70’s hippies used song lyrics as a method of protest. Without music, America would not be as culturally developed and artistically modernized.
Music is used in a variety of different ways. Some are very simple and logical, many others are creative and complex. Music is used to give emphasis to movies and advertisements, commercials and TV shows. Music is also used to express feelings and to communicate ideas and thoughts, without the barrier of language. People who cannot understand a language, can respond to music by singing, dancing, beating on a drum, in whatever way; people respond to music, and they like it (Weiss). A song may mean totally different things to different people with their own preferences and cultures. Show a popular piece of music to two different people and without a doubt, their interpretations and views of the song will almost never be exactly the same (if you need more sources this would be an EASY one to find a quote/reference to). The same song in the U.S. may be interpreted the same way in Germany, or Japan, or it may be interpreted in a different way. This is the great thing about music it is all relative to one’s personal views and preferences. Meaning that music is the universal language to speak with and through, allowing for the ultimate tool to both express feelings and to interpret other’s feelings. One more use of music, and possibly one of the most underutilized ways is to heal. Musical healing has been used for millennia with positive results. (Again…it would be super easy to pop a date in here and reference a source). Utilized by the very first shamans who practiced the change in consciousness to make contact with the spiritual realm. Music therapy has healed wounds both physical and mental and has been proven effective against many forms of diseases (Reiser). In Ancient Egypt, physicians sang scripture in curative tones. Witch Doct...
Due to the development of Islamic visual arts, Secular and Religious Art has enhanced and been presented as creation by God while Mysticism endeavors to determine the mystery and meaning of hidden messages in art. The influences of Islamic art stretched from Asia to Persia, geographically. These influences were adopted and developed into unique designs around the time of conflict and rivalry in the region by different communities. The religious art of Islam focused on the glory of God by including Arabic script, calligraphy, and sermons. Secular art was based more on everyday living and included objects such as cushions, bowls, and carpets that had geometrical patterns, glazed ceramics, and incorporated human and animal figures. Mysticism exists in Islam as much of the art is creates wonder such as the Quran by using symbols and the literary aspect as well.
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth… So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him: male and female He created them.” (Genesis 1:1,27) These two passages from the Bible showing the beginning of the earth describe the power of God and what He gave mankind. This creation began the reason for worshiping God. Because of Him, people needed to sing and give praise for the greatness that God has done. The purpose of this worship began as personal expression of passion for God, and has continued in this purpose. But the music has also transitioned to aide man in a desperate pursuit of God. In this essay, the purpose of worship music to man will be discussed through stating the topics and purpose of the worship throughout time. These times will continue from the beginning, through the Medieval period, all the way to modern day music. Before delving into the objective within the time periods, it primarily needed to examine the reason behind the purpose of this music.
It was very simple vocal music that was entirely monophonic with freely moving rhythms that changed with each performance. The term monophonic means that there is only one melody being heard at a time. Every voice was singing the same notes at the same time in unison. The most important thing to note is that this music was purely sacred and was only performed in “organized religious settings” (Abel, 3) particularly the Roman Catholic Church. Currently music and religion are so closely intertwined that It’s difficult for us to look back in history and even imagine a time when religion had no music. Almost all major religions in the world today worship with music, from catholicism, to islam, to buddhism. Though, it has not always been that way. Music became the language that humans chose to use to worship their creator because of its universality. Rhetoric is usually defined as the art of persuasive speaking or writing. Music took a role that in sense was used to persuade people that god was the almighty creator. Whether this was purposeful or not, it still had an effect. It’s a fact that music makes us feel things that nothing else can and when religions claim that music is a glorious gift directly from god they can use the way music makes us
brown bread and a glass of red wine. The Bible tells us how Jesus gave
One similarity that has high significance in the world of all three religions is the importance of Abraham. Abraham is referred to in the Old Testament that is used in both the Jewish faith and Christianity. Also Islam’s refer to Abraham as well as the man that had to make the sacrifice of giving up his son. His obedience was highly regarded and recognized throughout these religions. Through the many passages throughout each sacred book God refers to Abraham as a friend. Knowing this relationship these religions have held Abraham in their religions as obedience to God through the many acts he carried out.
The major point of connection—art and religion stem from the misery and sadness of life— is a clear concept to grasp. As stated before, people are curious creatures, intelligent animals that require an answer to the question. When life becomes heavy with hardship and strife, they cannot simply be satisfied with an answer of ‘Just cause,’ when the question they ask is ‘Why.’ They need to find an answer to their sorrow and, in the case of these primitive cultures, the answer was found in art and religion. As Armstrong puts it, “Like art, religion is an attempt to construct meaning in the face of the relentless pain and injustice of life,” (Armstrong 5). People require a way to find meaning in life; this desire to find meaning often manifest itself into some form of medium. An ideology that justifies the pain in life—the thought that for one life to continue another life must end—is often the result of such a
When the religious art leaks out of the religious community and into the broader world of culture, it is one of the ways the meaning of the art can evolve. This is also an opportunity for the art to draw the world to religion. Moreover, artistic reinterpretation of sacred imagery can help keep religion honest. The church has always been enriched by the tension that comes with diversity in art. Art is communication and effective art communicates effectively to any group at any level.
There are many religions today that people worship and adapt into their daily lives are their creed. Some may have a lot of gods, while some only have one god. But three of these religions are considered as the major religion practiced by most people in the world today. Although different in some senses in terms of history and other teachings, they all have things in common that most of their followers do not seem to realize. The similarities are very important to understand each religion better and be able to determine which parts they vary. In this paper, I like to discuss the similarities found in the three major monotheistic religions of Judaism, Islam and Christianity.
It is not possible to undermine the significance of music in the life and traditions of Jews. This becomes increasingly apparent after looking at the bible to see the indications of the importance of the Levites as makers of music and large orchestras. After the 2nd Temple was destroyed during 70 CE, Rabbis banned making of music in the synagogue. The only music that survived was instrumental, and it survived only because of the fact that song and merry- making was required in weddings (Shepherd 1). Jewish music originated from ancient chants of prayer of the Levant about 3000 years ago. The musical ideology that resulted and that can be found in the bible today is among the most ancient forms of music, notated, although it is still in current use all over the globe today. Jewish music has been adapting often to new conditions, but it retains its identity in numerous broadly differing social, ethnic and religious environments (Shiloah 3).
Music is an essential part of life because of the expression it allows people to have, its entertainment, and its therapeutic ways for the world.