The Encyclopedia of World Religions

306 S music and religion

in the founding of M ETHODISM , composed notable hymns. In India Guru N ANAK became the founder of the Sikh community ( see S IKHISM ), and Caitanya organized devotion to K RISHNA in Bengal in large part because they composed and sang devotional songs. KINDS OF RELIGIOUS MUSIC It is possible to divide music into two broad classes: music primarily made with the human voice, and music primarily made with some other instrument. In general, religions have valued vocal music more highly than instrumental music. Indeed, as noted above, some religions have refused to allow the use of musical instruments. In antiquity, songs—one type of music—played major roles in SACRIFICES and temple observances. A good example of the first is the collection of ancient Indian texts known as the V EDA . The Veda contains hymns and songs that BRAHMINS used in performing elaborate sacrifices. The Hebrew Bible provides good examples of songs sung before a god in a temple: the book of P SALMS . The Psalms formed the basis for worship in Jewish synagogues and Christian churches. During the Reformation, Calvinists cultivated the singing of the Psalter. Lutherans used songs known as hymns that were specially written for congregations to sing. Since the Reformation many Protestant churches have developed rich traditions of hymnody. Indigenous peoples in Africa, the Americas, Australia, and Oceania have beautiful and com plex traditions of religious songs. Not only do shamans have their special songs, but songs also figure prominently in very many rituals. In H INDU ISM , singing to God is a major component of BHAKTI . Devotees meet in small groups at night and sing God’s praises. Some Bengali devotees concentrate simply on singing the names of Krishna as God. As a result, their American converts became com monly known as “Hare Krishnas.” Many religions have a special kind of singing known as chanting. In Judaism and Islam, chant ing is often called cantillation. Chanting is musical recitation, for example, musical reading from the Bible. The basic idea is that the voice one uses in

use of instruments. They saw them as pagan. Dur ing the R EFORMATION , John C ALVIN limited church music to the singing of psalms without instrumen tal accompaniment. Following Calvin’s lead, some early Calvinists destroyed many church organs. Today, some Christians, such as the more conser vative A MISH and M ENNONITES , still allow only vocal music. Many religions, however, have warmly embraced music. They give different reasons for doing so. In India sound carries the power that generates the universe. This is especially true of the sacred syllable, “ OM .” Many peoples have thought that music was created by gods or ancestors. For example, shamans receive their songs from spir its or ancestors during their journeys to the other worlds. Other peoples have heard the voice of gods or spirits in musical sounds. A good example is the bull-roarer, a piece of wood attached to some sort of string and whirled in the air. Indigenous peoples in Africa, Australia, Oceania, and North America have considered the sound of the bull-roarer to be the voice of a religious being. Religions also value music for its effects. When a B ON priest plays the drum, Tibetans believe that he ascends to heaven. In the Hebrew Bible, D AVID , the future king of Judah and Israel, played music to calm King S AUL ’s spirits. Some Buddhists say that music puts the mind in a state in which it is receptive to enlightenment. In Europe during the 19th and early 20th centuries many people said that musical experience was very similar to the experience of God’s presence. A good example is the theologian and philosopher of religion, Rudolf O TTO . Religious music is often performed by indi viduals for their own purposes or by the commu nity as a whole. Many societies also have religious musical specialists. A shaman’s songs are often an integral part of his special role. In J UDAISM , musi cians known as cantors, not rabbis, often lead syn agogue services ( see RABBI , RABBINATE ). Music has been an important tool in establishing new reli gious communities, too. Among European Chris tians Martin L UTHER , who sparked the R EFORMATION , and Charles Wesley, who played an important part