# Religious songs that even an atheist can enjoy. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 19, 2008, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-songs-that-even-an-atheist-can-enjoy/446045 "2008-04-19T21:22:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-songs-that-even-an-atheist-can-enjoy/446045/1 "2008-04-19T21:22:56Z")
I nominate Sufjan Stevens or Paul Robeson’s versions of _Amazing Grace_ and Tom Waits’ _Down There By The Train_. So what do you recommend? ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-songs-that-even-an-atheist-can-enjoy/446045/2 "2008-04-19T21:24:26Z")
Doobie Brothers’ Jesus is Just Alright. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-songs-that-even-an-atheist-can-enjoy/446045/3 "2008-04-19T21:26:19Z")
“People Get Ready” is a good one. The version I like best is by [Rod Stewart and Jeff Beck](http://youtube.com/watch?v=TNlJXz8qL2o). ---
**Author:** ![HongKongFooey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c4cdca/32.png) [@HongKongFooey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HongKongFooey)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-songs-that-even-an-atheist-can-enjoy/446045/4 "2008-04-19T21:34:30Z")
Another one from Tom Waits - Jesus Gonna Be Here [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gC0GWKh26jU) ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-songs-that-even-an-atheist-can-enjoy/446045/5 "2008-04-19T21:34:44Z")
Arlo Guthrie, [Last Train](http://youtube.com/watch?v=gMK-efC2AfM). ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-songs-that-even-an-atheist-can-enjoy/446045/6 "2008-04-19T21:43:05Z")
[_O Holy Night_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBSgAqEmiMM) as sung by Michael Crawford. I just think it’s a beautiful song. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-songs-that-even-an-atheist-can-enjoy/446045/7 "2008-04-19T21:47:38Z")
I’m an atheist (as most define the term) and I LOVE a lot of religious music. My favorite Christmas Carol is _O Holy Night_. [Sacred Harp](http://youtube.com/watch?v=oL-HiGRo7To&feature=related) (that link is for the audio and not the irrelevant video) puts me into a near trance (in a good way), as does [Hildegard von Bingen](http://youtube.com/watch?v=vwMfphqbYbk) . I love mournful spirituals (“Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child”, [Conversation with Death](http://youtube.com/watch?v=SWTEwlygpkM)) to rollicking gospel ([Great Gettin’ Up Morning](http://youtube.com/watch?v=zQgAQF0js1E)) to reflective (I want [Softly and Tenderly [begins about 30 seconds into]](http://youtube.com/watch?v=qWbl1CXSxaQ&feature=related) played at my funeral even though I’m not Christian) to Celtic ([Be Thou My Vision](http://youtube.com/watch?v=5XZ3ja-quhA&feature=related). My favorite Amazing Grace is the Blind Boys of Alabama [House of the Rising Sun](http://youtube.com/watch?v=pR1tOVd4PCk&feature=related) arrangement (does anybody know if that arrangement is theirs or somebody else’s [David Cook’s perhaps]?). Anyway, religious music (so long as it’s not Pat Boonified or operatic or too “blasting pipe organ” packs a wallop. I like music that is transcendent whether it’s religious, rap, show tunes, or made by crickets. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-songs-that-even-an-atheist-can-enjoy/446045/8 "2008-04-19T21:49:10Z")
[QUOTE=Brown Eyed Girl] Doobie Brothers’ Jesus is Just Alright. [/QUOTE] Scooped on the second post. I love that song. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-songs-that-even-an-atheist-can-enjoy/446045/9 "2008-04-19T21:55:39Z")
I plan to arrange for _Amazing Grace_ to be bagpiped at my funeral. No singers, though. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-songs-that-even-an-atheist-can-enjoy/446045/10 "2008-04-19T22:12:32Z")
One of my favourite scenes in \*My Darling Clementine \* is the one where the townsfolk are walking toward the unfinished church and singing **Shall We Gather at the River**. A wonderful moment in a wonderful film. ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-songs-that-even-an-atheist-can-enjoy/446045/11 "2008-04-19T22:22:57Z")
If it’s written in Latin, you might be less likely to be distracted by the words. Mozart’s “Lachrymosa” (from his Requiem) and “Ave Verum Corpus” are beautiful, even if you don’t know what the Latin translates to. I’d add Durufle’s “Ubi Caritas” to the list, too. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-songs-that-even-an-atheist-can-enjoy/446045/12 "2008-04-19T23:05:35Z")
_Spirit in the Sky_ - Norman Greenbaum _Personal Jesus_ - Depeche Mode ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-songs-that-even-an-atheist-can-enjoy/446045/13 "2008-04-19T23:06:47Z")
Check out the film [“Say Amen, Somebody”](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086245/) a documentary about the “Father of Gospel Music” Thomas A. Dorsey and and singer Willie Mae Ford Smith. Amazing film and wonderfully enjoyable even though I have no interest in the message the singers sincerely wish to convey. ---
**Author:** ![Walpurgis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7ea924/32.png) [@Walpurgis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walpurgis)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-songs-that-even-an-atheist-can-enjoy/446045/14 "2008-04-19T23:19:08Z")
Johnny Cash did a lot of religious songs, and even when he’s all fire and brimstone I’ve a hard time not liking it. Maybe that’s when I do like it, actually. It’s like the the delighted shudder the hyenas in Lion King get when someone says **Mufasa**. _When the Man comes around_ is a favourite. 16 Horsepower are sort of in the same vein - they’re sad, their horses are dying and all hell’s a-comin’. Both 16 Horsepower and Johnny Cash have recorded fabulous versions of _Wayfaring Stranger_. Nick Cave’s _Into my arms_ is another gem. ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-songs-that-even-an-atheist-can-enjoy/446045/15 "2008-04-19T23:23:52Z")
“Come to the Sabbath”, “Black Funeral”, and just about everything else by Mercyful Fate. Hey, you didn’t specify _which_ religion! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-songs-that-even-an-atheist-can-enjoy/446045/16 "2008-04-19T23:26:13Z")
Bach’s church cantatas. You know how they say that the Devil has all the best music? Bollocks. God has Bach! ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-songs-that-even-an-atheist-can-enjoy/446045/17 "2008-04-19T23:26:38Z")
Judy Henske singing [Wade in the Water](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKjkUPzui7A) 16 Horsepower playing anything – their music is something you’d hear in a Rocky Mountain ghost mining town, sung on a street corner by a bunch of hellfire-and-brimstone preachers. It’s wonderful and frightening. I saw them play live three times and each time my soul was shaken to its core. Awesome stuff. [Haw](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVm74OkoQmM) is from their first EP, [Hutterite Mile](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6FW-Et-jFw) is from their last album, and [Poor Mouth](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0dpHMRWAz0) is live. Like **Grammanaut** said, Johnny Cash is great when he busts out the hellfire – [God’s Gonna Cut You Down](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1e0EQlQXoEo) gives me the shivers. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-songs-that-even-an-atheist-can-enjoy/446045/18 "2008-04-19T23:36:26Z")
[QUOTE=gallows fodder] Like **Grammanaut** said, Johnny Cash is great when he busts out the hellfire – [God’s Gonna Cut You Down](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1e0EQlQXoEo) gives me the shivers. [/QUOTE] Add me to the list of people without faith who also likes Johnny Cash’s religious songs. In addition, I don’t think my status as a non-believer should prevent me from liking the Rev. Al Green or the Staple Singers. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-songs-that-even-an-atheist-can-enjoy/446045/19 "2008-04-19T23:42:20Z")
_Down To The River To Pray_, Alison Krause’s version. Of course, she could sing _anything_ and make it seem sacred. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_and\_a\_Half\_Inches\_of\_Fun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ea666f/32.png) [@Two\_and\_a\_Half\_Inches\_of\_Fun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_and_a_Half_Inches_of_Fun)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-songs-that-even-an-atheist-can-enjoy/446045/20 "2008-04-19T23:54:37Z")
Do Kiss’s backwards messages to the Devil count? I like almost everything that Hank Williams recorded. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-songs-that-even-an-atheist-can-enjoy/446045.md?page=2)