Rap got religious last year. At least that’s what I wrote earlier this year for America. The truth is, while it may have gotten more explicit about religion in 2016, hip-hop has always had a deep religious undercurrent to its bars and beats. This week we’re chatting with Alex Nava, the author of In Search […]
Music
Posted inArts & Culture, Podcasts
You need to pay attention to hip-hop if you’re religious. Here’s why.
Hip-hop has always had a deep religious undercurrent to its bars and beats.
Posted inFaith, Podcasts
Why are so many people annoyed by U2’s social justice efforts?
This week’s guest is David Dark, author of the book Life’s Too Short to Pretend You’re Not Religious. He is the author of our recent article “Why does U2 irk so many people? A look at their struggle for pop hits and social justice.” In his piece, Mr. Dark describes how U2’s musical and lyrical […]
Posted inArts & Culture, Film
French-Canadian nuns face the modern world and a surly teen in “The Passion of Augustine”
In the wake of Vatican II, the teaching nuns of a convent find their way of life being jettisoned by a revenue-challenged church.
Posted inArts & Culture, Music
Arcade Fire looks for God in a material world.
A tension between materialism and a yearning for greater meaning runs throughout the band’s new album.
Posted inFaith, Generation Faith
Finding God in song (and breakdancing) at the Steubenville Youth Conferences
Maybe you heard about the breakdancing priests. Seeing the video sparked memories of my own experiences at Steubenville.
Posted inArts & Culture, Music
Why does U2 irk so many people? A look at their struggle for pop hits and social justice
Is it possible to seek total global pop domination and to remain somehow soulful, sane and socially righteous?
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
Should we sing patriotic songs at Mass? Probably not.
At a Fourth of July parade, I’m happy to sing to my country. At the Mass, I’d rather sing to my Savior.
Posted inArts & Culture, Music
What theologians and environmentalists can learn from Sufjan Stevens
The texture and variety of Stevens’s new album creates liminal spaces between the sacred and the profane.
Posted inArts & Culture, Music
The Prayers of Chris Cornell
So many of Cornell’s songs are filled with Christological and sacramental imagery.