What Do the Relations Between Popular Music and Religious Thought Tell Us About Sacred Forms in the Modern World?

• In Event: ICA Plenary Interactive Paper/Poster Session I
  In Interactive Paper Session: Philosophy, Theory, and Critique Interactive Poster Session

Abstract

I argue that approaching various instances wherein the performance of popular music intersects with religious thought using an analytic framework, not simply a descriptive one, is key to better understanding these sacred forms, as well as their abilities to unite and/or divide groups. I propose that a performance-based analytic paradigm (Alexander, 2006), in which a theoretical conception of “sacred” forms (Lynch, 2012) as well as an acknowledgement of the role of affect in “shaping” lived experience (Ahmed, 2004) have been embedded, should underpin such a framework. I propose applying such a theoretical framework to a series of seven instances wherein the performance of popular music scripts in which sacred forms have been embedded stands to reveal much about popular music’s role in enriching and/or problematizing collective experience.

Author

• Jennifer Carlberg, University of Leeds