Recently, Jelly Roll, a country-pop artist who, before her musical career, was imprisoned for drug use, said a double rainbow that appeared while sanging her song Hard Fought Hallelujah. The video was shared by Brandon Lake, a Christian artist who co -written the song with Jelly Roll.
“You can’t tell me that this is not God!” Jelly Roll said to the crowd While tears began to run on their face.
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The moment went viral, and many Christians, Catholics included, began to notice how religious references seem to be appearing in secular and concert songs, including Fr. Damian Ference, vicar general of evangelization in the diocese of Cleveland.
Self -demonstrated concert enthusiast, Father Ference noticed Jelly Roll’s profession.
“There is some kind of relationship between country music and Christian music. There is as a connaturality there; they are almost like cousins, but even Snoop Dogg in Easter was saying that Jesus has risen from the dead, or something like this on Instagram, and this guy is really evil,” said Father Ference to the National Catholic Register. “The name of Jesus has power, and I think that sometimes people only want to claim that power and say their name.”
Sarah Kroger, an artist of Catholic Adoration based in Nashville, has also noticed that more and more artists recognize God both in their songs and in concerts. She believes that this comes from more people looking for a deeper meaning in her life.
“I think that in a post-covid world, many of us face mortality. As a society, I think many of us are fighting some of those great existential questions about the purpose and meaning of life,” Kroger said. “I think many people are finding themselves by entering spirituality maybe for the first time or feeling attracted to that for the first time.”
“Music creates a much more cozy ecosystem, and people simply yearn for a deeper meaning in life and, therefore, expresses it in the song,” he continued.
However, this trend –Recognized even by Associated Press– It is not a new phenomenon. Robert Giracello, composer and music teacher at the John Paul The Great Catholic University in Escondido, California, says that in the last century there have been times in which the music influenced by the gospel was deeply popular.
“There are these periods of 10 to 15 years in which there is a kind of pendulum towards material more influenced by the gospel, because there is a sense of attraction towards the divine that is in all popular culture,” said Giracelo. “Think of folk music from the 60s; there was a lot of attractiveness towards Christian themes,” he added, also recognizing other bands “that move away more than Christian values.”
Music has often been a means used to evangelize and worship God, providing an accessible way to express the transcendentals: truth, beauty and goodness.
“There is something in the combination of words and music and entering what speaks to a different level of the human heart,” said Kroger, who recently wrote Belovednessa devotional inspired by his song of the same name. “Whether secular or Christian music, no matter, if there is a song that speaks of human experience or communicating beauty, truth and goodness, it will help to bring people closer to God.”
A good song requires that it be identifiable, and artists know it. Therefore, many of the great songs speak of the good, the bad and the ugly of the human condition, giving the listeners something to identify.
“Much of what we find in popular music is the clamor of the human heart, yearning for perfect love, the perfect company, the perfect forgiveness, the perfect friendship, eternity, something that lasts forever; and you believe or not in God, you still experience all that because you are made in its image and likeness, reject it or not,” said Father Ference.
Therefore, God and religious ideas often play a central role in letters.
“Bono, a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, said the best music is one in which someone runs to God or flees from God. And if you are not doing one of those two things, your music is boring,” said Fr. Ference.
Pop and rock music has its roots in jazz and Gospel music, an era rich in Christian themes.
“The historical foundation of rock and pop music is based on blues and gospel music and spirituality,” Tyracello said. “The spiritual themes are in the DNA of these musical genres.”
Traditionally, the bands seek inspiration in the Bible. Many Famous artists and bands They have used biblical images or stories in their music with great success.
“Some artists are inspired by biblical stories and mask it well. They may not have the intention of evangelizing, but they are using some of the best allegories and parables they can find,” said Giracelo, adding that musicians for a long time “have understood that biblical narratives are the best way to excite people’s minds and make them aware of broader panoramas.”
Secular music, therefore, has the potential to introduce the transcendentals to a large population to which Christian music often has a hard time arriving. Kroger believes that the more artists explicitly mention God and transmit religious messages, he will have a deep impact on culture.
“Every time you can expose people to transcendentals, every time you can expose people to God, that is something good. Seed plant of which you have no idea what fruit they will give,” Kroger said. “In everyone’s life in society, no matter what they work on, whether Christians or not, if you find beauty, truth and goodness, you can’t get out of that without changing.”
Catholics only need to learn to take advantage of the evangelizing potential of secular music.
“If something matters for culture, then it matters for the evangelizer,” said Fr. Ference. “I think we should pay attention to what is happening in culture, and that does not mean that you are supporting it, and does not mean that you approve every aspect. A good evangelizer will ask the right questions so that people think more deeply about reality.”
Using music for evangelization requires deep questions about lyrics and inviting listeners to consider the deepest meaning of the words of songs and what they reveal about human experience.
“When the Lord says that we must be salt, light and yeast, those are things that are added to something that is already there,” said Father Ference. “You are called to raise music. You may have a conversation and feel that this song was great. And then you say, you know, she says in this song, blah, blah, blah, and ask a question, which raises the intellect and the reason from one to a point where they are really considering what these lyrics are saying.”
This type of song -centered conversations can have a great evangelizing impact and open the door to a encounter with God.
“Ask questions could lead to a conversation with someone; I could open the door to a deeper relationship with someone to talk about a song asking: ‘Oh, what do you think of this artist speaking of Jesus? How does it make you feel that?'” Said Kroger. “You never know when a conversation can lead to a Church invitation or a deeper encounter with the love of God through your life and the way you live. ”
For example, this summer, Father Ference is trying to take advantage of the evangelizing potential of secular music organizing a Summer Weekly Concert Series in the cathedral of San Juan Evangelista in Cleveland. The evening begins with eve and then moves abroad, where there is live music, food and opportunities to build community.
Father Ference invites secular bands from the entire region to play, according to his only rule.
“My standard is: you don’t have to be Catholic. You have to be a good musician, but you can’t be anti -Catholic,” said Fr. Ference. “I just want to find a way to involve young people and welcome them to the Church and make the Church accessible.”
Knowing pop culture and secular music and themes within it, Father Ference believes that Catholics will be better evangelizers.
“You must know your Bible, and you have to know your catechism. You have to know the basic education of the Church, to be able to make a basic apologetics. But I think it is very difficult to evangelize the culture if you do not know the culture,” said Fr. Ference. “It is useful if you have some knowledge about popular television programs, movies and music, because you need a little traction to have conversations with people who do not want to know anything about the Catholic Church.”
“Having a little knowledge about pop culture helps a lot,” he added.
Translated and adapted by the ACI Press team. Originally published in the National Catholic Register.
Jack Figge
Jack Figge is an independent journalist who covers the Catholic Church. He is a student of Political Science and theology of the 2026 promotion of Benedictine College.