Music and Religion

Religion was never a focal point while growing up. Even though my parents associated themselves as Catholic, they never made an effort to educate my brothers and me about catholicism. That soon shifted once my parents separated. My mother had no one to physically comfort her so she turned to the church and hoped to get support from there. So for me, that meant that I had to sit and listen to someone preach to me for an hour. I wasn’t a fan of the service itself but the musical aspect had me hook.

Before I get more in detail about my experience with religion and music I want to reinstate the fact that my explanation about catholicism may not be completely accurate and I am very much aware of that. If you are wanting a more accurate understanding of what the religion or beliefs stand for I would recommend finding reliable sources. Now, let us go back to talking about my musical experiences. We had a pretty small choir because we were a small church, but something that made us very different from your “traditional church choir” was the strong use of instruments. The main instruments that you heard were the ones you hear being used in a mariachi band. The music was usually upbeat and at points, it didn’t even seem like I was in church. This form of choir setup can actually be found around the United States but mostly in the Southern states like Texas. Below I’ve attached an NPR article that goes more into detail about why this even came to be.

NPR Article - https://www.npr.org/2014/01/03/259389094/our-soul-is-mariachi-music-houstons-mexican-mass

On the other hand, music was also used in a worshiping way. Similar to the Native Americans, the church would host dancing ceremonies honoring religious figures like La Virgen de Guadalupe. The dancers or matachines would come to the church, usually after the service, and begin their honor ceremony. They’d performed for as long as they felt was necessary. Even though this only happened on special religious celebrations, it still had a role in my religious upbringing.

The environment in which I lived altered drastically causing social and religious views to change. I began to go to a non-denominational church which luckily enough also had music. The music that was used here was very modern and a complete 360 from what I used to listen to. I think the biggest thing that I learned about having gone to two very different churches is that we all have a different approach to things. That’s what makes every experience unique and interesting to learn about.