The rocking story of how religion crept into popular music – where it remains even today

By Panizza Allmark, Edith Cowan University

It’s Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether you’re a boomer, or an ‘80s or '90s kid, you might be surprised to find many of your favourite tunes are more concerned about Jesus and God than you’d realised.

Many chart-topping songs in Western music delve into themes of faith (especially Christianity), spirituality and divinity. But unlike Christmas music, most of these come from a rock tradition.

Early gospel makes the charts

Hits by some of rock’s greatest guitarists, such as George Harrison, Lenny Kravitz and Prince, feature strong guitar riffs that create a sense of aural transcendence. These riffs, which involve a repeated note sequence or chord progression, help to define their songs.

This intertwining of guitar and Christian spirituality dates back to the emergence of rock music in the 1940s. American rock pioneer Sister Rosetta Tharpe (1915–73), from the Pentecostal church, used powerful guitar riffs that surged with soulfulness.

Tharpe’s 1944 gospel song Strange Things Happening Every Day – covered by Yola for the 2022 film Elvis – is a great example.

Using electric guitar, and the theological message “Jesus is the holy light”, Tharpe’s was the first song to cross over from gospel into a mainstream “race” chart in the US. “Race music”, which eventually became R&B, was the term used to describe African American music (but generally just referred to secular music).

The rise of spirituality and counterculture

Christian rock also has roots in the 1960s US counterculture “hippie” movement. The Jesus People brought a Christian vibe to this movement, leading to works such as Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 1971 rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar, which is still being performed more than 50 years later.

Throughout the 1960s and '70s, plenty of songs exploring themes of God, faith and spirituality climbed their way into the Top 20. For example, Norman Greenbaum’s 1970 track Spirit in the Sky became popular during the Christian rock movement.

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