# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Kilvert\_s\_Pagan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@Kilvert\_s\_Pagan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilvert_s_Pagan)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-songs-that-even-an-atheist-can-enjoy/446045/21 "2008-04-19T23:56:25Z")
Cat Stevens’ **Morning Has Broken** , if only for Rick Wakeman’s great piano work… ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-songs-that-even-an-atheist-can-enjoy/446045/22 "2008-04-20T00:02:07Z")
Ave Maria gives me chills when Pavarotti sings (sang) it… the Schubert version that is. Although, I like the other version too…when Denyce Graves Sings it. ---
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-songs-that-even-an-atheist-can-enjoy/446045/23 "2008-04-20T00:12:33Z")
Are You Ready?- Pacific Gas & Electric ---
**Author:** ![Surbey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@Surbey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surbey)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-songs-that-even-an-atheist-can-enjoy/446045/24 "2008-04-20T00:19:11Z")
_D.C. Talk- Jesus Freak_ Pretty much aweasome Christian rock. I’m not Christian at all and not usually a fan of the genre but I think it’s GREAT. Good lyrics and sounds great. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-songs-that-even-an-atheist-can-enjoy/446045/25 "2008-04-20T00:35:01Z")
[QUOTE=Kilvert’s Pagan] Cat Stevens’ **Morning Has Broken** , if only for Rick Wakeman’s great piano work… [/QUOTE] Hmm- didn’t know until just now that was Wakeman. Was he playing or was it his arrangement? No idea if it counts for this list since it’s not _really_ a religious song (it’s a showtune) and it’s not Christian (I don’t think that was a req), but I always loved [The Sabbath Prayer](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnaZqHy2ZHE) from _Fiddler on the Roof_. It’s one of the best songs in the play for putting you in time/place/mindset. Combining two earlier posts, I love Johnny Cash’s _Personal Jesus_. The only religious songs I really _dis_like are the Camp Glurgasucka cloying songs marketed to the bitter laid-off and pissed-off Pennsylvania gunowner types mentioned recently (though they’re in every state). There’s bonus hatred available in liberal dosage if the songs are sung by or about beaten children. [Dear Mr. Jesus](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wO_kJwehmWA) avoids being on my bottom 10 songs of all times only because it’s so godawful it’s good again- the first time I heard the little girl’s last line of …and please don’t tell my Daddy that my mommy hits me tooI laughed so hard that friends thought I was going to need oxygen and the Heimlich maneuver. So in its place I’ll nominate John Michael Montgomery’s [This Little [del]Glurge[/del] Girl](http://youtube.com/watch?v=Wbmbr7ZCDrE), which made my mouth fall open the first time I heard it with two major questions: [spoiler]1- Jesus drops by to hold and comfort the titular little girl “the night that my parents died”- why the Hell didn’t He stop her parents from killing each other in the first place? Or just call social services- I’m pretty sure that if God or His son told HR to ‘get that kid out of there’ they’d have listened! 2- The little girl doesn’t know who Jesus is but she knows what a cross is; apparently her parents didn’t talk religion in the house but they did teach their child about capital punishment in the ancient world.[/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![rayh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@rayh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rayh)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-songs-that-even-an-atheist-can-enjoy/446045/26 "2008-04-20T00:36:02Z")
[Presence of the Lord](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkAbByzA0Ow) - Eric Clapton [My Sweet Lord](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvH6fxP5hMo) - Concert for George ---
**Author:** ![Meltdown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Meltdown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meltdown)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-songs-that-even-an-atheist-can-enjoy/446045/27 "2008-04-20T00:47:11Z")
“Walk On” by U2 The line “You’re packing a suitcase for a place / That none of us have ever seen / A place that must be believed / To be seen” gets me every time. Even though I don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-songs-that-even-an-atheist-can-enjoy/446045/28 "2008-04-20T00:52:46Z")
I think these are religious. Beethoven’s _Ode to Joy_. Bob Marley’s _One Love_. ---
**Author:** ![Monstera\_deliciosa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monstera_deliciosa/32/109_2.png) [@Monstera\_deliciosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstera_deliciosa)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-songs-that-even-an-atheist-can-enjoy/446045/29 "2008-04-20T00:54:14Z")
On this atheist’s MP3 player: “Oh Happy Day” The Edwin Hawkins Singers “Try Jah Love” Third World I’m also fond of “People Get Ready” by The Impressions. ---
**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 20, 2008, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-songs-that-even-an-atheist-can-enjoy/446045/30 "2008-04-20T01:09:07Z")
_Let it Be_ by the Beatles _My Sweet Lord_ by George Harrison ---
**Author:** ![rayh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@rayh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rayh)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-songs-that-even-an-atheist-can-enjoy/446045/31 "2008-04-20T01:28:08Z")
[QUOTE=Boyo Jim] _Let it Be_ by the Beatles [/quote] I thought of that, but it was about his [mother](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let_It_Be_(song)). > [@](#): > > _My Sweet Lord_ by George Harrison See post #26. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-songs-that-even-an-atheist-can-enjoy/446045/32 "2008-04-20T02:01:05Z")
_Still Haven’t Found What I Am Looking_ I am an atheist, but the song has its own meaning to me. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-songs-that-even-an-atheist-can-enjoy/446045/33 "2008-04-20T02:13:02Z")
**Christ for President** –Wilco **Airline to Heaven** –Wilco **Down to the River to Pray** –Allison Krauss **I Saw the Light** –Hank Williams **I’ll Fly Away** –various artists (this atheist’s favorite song) ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-songs-that-even-an-atheist-can-enjoy/446045/34 "2008-04-20T02:40:29Z")
[QUOTE=Darryl Lict] Beethoven’s Ode to Joy. [/QUOTE] It helps to be in another language, but even the translation isn’t bad. It’s what I came here to post. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-songs-that-even-an-atheist-can-enjoy/446045/35 "2008-04-20T02:47:50Z")
Josh Groban’s _Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring_ is another that you needn’t believe the words to feel them. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-songs-that-even-an-atheist-can-enjoy/446045/36 "2008-04-20T02:48:33Z")
Jesus Just Left Chicago. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-songs-that-even-an-atheist-can-enjoy/446045/37 "2008-04-20T02:51:09Z")
“Personal Jesus” was not meant to be religious in any way outside of using religious imagery to evoke emotions about very worldly things. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Them](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/898d66/32.png) [@The\_Them](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Them)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-songs-that-even-an-atheist-can-enjoy/446045/38 "2008-04-20T03:20:16Z")
_Pachelbel’s Canon,_ any version, but **Trans-Siberian Orchestra** is the best, IMHO. Same outfit, _Christmas Eve in Sarajevo._ Ok, granted, that one doesn’t have any lyrics. ---
**Author:** ![I\_m\_No\_Saint](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/977dab/32.png) [@I\_m\_No\_Saint](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_m_No_Saint)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-songs-that-even-an-atheist-can-enjoy/446045/39 "2008-04-20T03:28:27Z")
Johnny Cash had a song called, I believe, _Help Me_, on one of his last American Music CDs. It’s incredibly moving and almost made me a religious man. Almost. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-songs-that-even-an-atheist-can-enjoy/446045/40 "2008-04-20T04:34:57Z")
**gaffa** scooped me on gospel documentary **Say Amen Somebody**. What an amazing movie with phenomenal music! It’d make Dawkins himself get up and dance with joyful abandon. “Amazing Grace” is an awesome song, made even better after I saw the movie of the same name and found out the heartbreaking story behind the song. I like Hollie Smith’s version (which can be heard in [this podcast](http://suspended-in-gaffa.com/SIG_03/index.html)). Speaking of heartbreaking stories behind songs, in the above-mentioned documentary you hear how “Take My Hand, Precious Lord” came to be written. Thomas Dorsey had been out on the road touring when his wife went into labor. She and the baby both died in childbirth. He wrote that song right away. Atheist that I am, the story and song still make me cry. Sister Rosetta Tharpe has some pretty rollicking songs in her catalog. [QUOTE=Nzinga, Seated] Ave Maria gives me chills when Pavarotti sings (sang) it… the Schubert version that is. Although, I like the other version too…when Denyce Graves Sings it. [/QUOTE] I (sincerely) love [Nina Hagen’s German version](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W24yBiduubE) myself. But then, I also like Diamanda Galas’s…um…religious songs on her album _You Must Be Certain of the Devil_, especially the [gospel-tinged title track](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9CedPB-N28), which I proudly played on a warped Christmas show one year (that’s a YouTube video but not a Diamanda video, it’s just some preening dork who used the music while videotaping himself dorkily preening, but no one has to watch the video, they can just listen to the song and know what a weirdo I am). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-songs-that-even-an-atheist-can-enjoy/446045.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-songs-that-even-an-atheist-can-enjoy/446045.md?page=3)