Rose Jones
University of Durham, Theology and Religion, Graduate Student
Contemporary worship music is an increasingly common feature in British churches. These songs function as liturgy, often replacing formal liturgical prayer entirely. Yet they are rarely submitted to theological scrutiny. In this thesis, I... more
Contemporary worship music is an increasingly common feature in British churches. These songs function as liturgy, often replacing formal liturgical prayer entirely. Yet they are rarely submitted to theological scrutiny. In this thesis, I argue that worship songs shape participants’ conceptions of God when encountered liturgically, and conduct a detailed analysis into their implicit theology, concluding that worship songs encountered in British churches today express a theology of dominance, with apocalyptical language and an overriding metaphor of God as king.
There are two stages to this argument. Drawing on the philosophical linguistics of Wittgenstein and Lindbeck, and the liturgical hermeneutics of Nichols, I first argue that the lyrical content of these songs actively shapes singers’ conceptions of the divine. Building on the metaphorical theology of McFague and Searle, I submit that metaphorical models, constructed through language, action and music, play a particularly key role in this. This is the foundation for the second stage: an analysis of the ten most sung worship songs in the UK from October 2016-March 2017 (using data from Christian Copyright Licensing International). Each song was analysed using a combination of quantitative and qualitative content analysis, examining both music and lyrics, in order to discern the songs’ primary metaphorical models. This data, I argue, portrays a God who dominates creation, destroys enemies, and belongs to the singer. This constructs a communal identity based on a theology of God subjecting all other powers (earthly, spiritual and conceptual) to the personal benefit of the singer and their community.
There are two stages to this argument. Drawing on the philosophical linguistics of Wittgenstein and Lindbeck, and the liturgical hermeneutics of Nichols, I first argue that the lyrical content of these songs actively shapes singers’ conceptions of the divine. Building on the metaphorical theology of McFague and Searle, I submit that metaphorical models, constructed through language, action and music, play a particularly key role in this. This is the foundation for the second stage: an analysis of the ten most sung worship songs in the UK from October 2016-March 2017 (using data from Christian Copyright Licensing International). Each song was analysed using a combination of quantitative and qualitative content analysis, examining both music and lyrics, in order to discern the songs’ primary metaphorical models. This data, I argue, portrays a God who dominates creation, destroys enemies, and belongs to the singer. This constructs a communal identity based on a theology of God subjecting all other powers (earthly, spiritual and conceptual) to the personal benefit of the singer and their community.
