What's so great about song? : accounting for song's power and prestige in Christian 'worship'.

• Main Author: Lee, Megan Wan Rong.
• Other Authors: School of Humanities and Social Sciences
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2010
• Subjects: DRNTU::Humanities::Religions::Christianity
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/22676
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

This paper presents the findings gleaned from initial surveys, more indepth interviews, and participant observations across possible affecting factors of Christian Traditions, sex, service type and age to understand how song has achieved such power and prestige to be considered by a staggering majority as synonymous with ‘worship’. In line with the deconstructionist approach, I first identify and examine the makeup of song, showing that song does indeed satisfy the aims of ‘worship’, and in the process, uncovering a hidden, less overtly spoken of goal, qualifying the view that song does have links with ‘worship’, but not accounting for the exclusivist nature of the equation: ‘worship’ = song. That, I discuss next, pointing to the ongoing and intensive process of “social conditioning” that warrants such a perspective. Finally, I show how this power behind song encourages spirituality amongst the worshippers.