Christian music


Christian music is a genre of music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence, and lament, and its forms vary widely around the world. Church music, hymnals, gospel, and worship music are a part of Christian media and also include contemporary Christian music which itself supports numerous Christian styles of music, including hip hop, rock, contemporary worship, and urban contemporary gospel.
Like other forms of music the creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of Christian music varies according to culture and social context. Christian music can serve various functions, such as ceremonial, educational, aesthetical, or for entertainment purposes.

Worship services

Among the most prevalent uses of Christian music are in church worship or other gatherings. Most Christian music involves singing, whether by the whole congregation, or by a specialized subgroup—such as a soloist, duet, trio, quartet, madrigal, choir, or worship band—or both. It is frequently accompanied by instruments, but some denominations such as some Exclusive Brethren, the Churches of Christ, the Primitive Baptists, and the Free Church of Scotland prefer unaccompanied or a cappella singing. Other denominations such as Baptists, Methodists, and Presbyterians sing alongside some form on accompaniments. Some groups, such as the Bruderhof, sing songs both with religious and non-religious meanings and words. For them, the act of singing is important. One of the earliest forms of worship music in the church was the Gregorian chant. Pope Gregory I, while not the inventor of chant, was acknowledged as the first person to order such music in the church, hinting the name "Gregorian" chant. The chant reform took place around 590–604 CE . The Gregorian chant was known for its very monophonic sound. Believing that complexity had a tendency to create cacophony, which ruined the music, Gregory I kept things very simple with the chant.

Instrumental accompaniment

In the West, the majority of Christian denominations use instruments such as an organ, piano, electronic keyboard, guitar, or other accompaniment, and occasionally by a band or orchestra, to accompany the singing. But some churches have historically not used instruments, citing their absence from the New Testament. During the last century or so several of these groups have revised this stance.
The singing of the Eastern Orthodox is also generally unaccompanied, though in the United States organs are sometimes used as a result of Western influence.

Instrumental music

Some worship music may be unsung, simply instrumental. During the Baroque period in Europe, the chorale prelude was widely used, generally composed by using a popular hymn tune thematically, and a wide corpus of other solo organ music began to develop across Europe. Some of the most well-known exponents of such organ compositions include Johann Sebastian Bach, Dieterich Buxtehude, George Frideric Handel, François Couperin, César Franck, and Charles-Marie Widor to name a few. Up to the present time, various composers have written instrumental music as acts of worship, including well known organ repertoire by composers like Olivier Messiaen, Louis Vierne, Maurice Duruflé, and Jean Langlais.
The church sonata and other sacred instrumental musical forms also developed from the Baroque period onwards.

Types of Christian music

Christian music includes a wide range of genres that show the diversity of worship styles, culture influence, and artistic expressions made by different people. While traditional Christian music like hymns remain foundational, modern Christian music has evolved to sound more like to mainstream music, helping artists reach new audiences.
'''Some of the main genres in Christian music include:'''

Chants

A chant is the iterative speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two main pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of notes to highly complex musical structures, often including a great deal of repetition of musical subphrases, such as Great Responsories and Offertories of Gregorian chant. Chant may be considered speech, music, or a heightened or stylized form of speech. In the later Middle Ages, some religious chant evolved into song.
Mostly used in Anglican, Catholic, and Orthodox churches. Some examples of chants are:
  • Ambrosian chant
  • Anglican chant
  • Armenian chant
  • Celtic chant
  • Ethiopian chant
  • Galician chant
  • Gregorian chant
  • Kievan chant
  • Mozarabic chant
  • Old Roman chant
  • Syriac chant

    Metrical Psalters

A metrical psalter is a kind of Bible translation: a book containing a metrical translation of all or part of the Book of Psalms in vernacular poetry, meant to be sung as hymns in a church. Some metrical psalters include melodies or even harmonisations. The composition of metrical psalters was a large enterprise of the Protestant Reformation, especially in its Calvinist manifestation.
Mostly used in reformed churches, and anabaptists. Some examples of psalters are:
  • Genevan Psalter
  • German Psalter "des Königlichen Propheten David"
  • Dutch Psalter
  • Scottish Metrical Psalter

    Hymns

A Reformation approach, the normative principle of worship, produced a burst of hymn writing and congregational singing. Martin Luther is notable not only as a reformer, but as the author of many hymns including "Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott", and "Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ". Luther and his followers often used their hymns, or chorales, to teach tenets of the faith to worshipers. The first Protestant hymnal was published in Bohemia in 1532 by the Unitas Fratrum.
Mostly used by Protestant churches, principally Lutheran, Methodist, and Hussite traditions, but in some areas also by Roman Catholic and Anabaptists. Some examples of famous hymnals are:
From the latter half of the 20th century to the present day in Western Christendom—especially in the United States and in other countries with evangelical churches—various genres of music originally often related to pop rock, have been created under the label of Contemporary Christian Music for personal listening and concert use. It can be divided into several genres and subgenres, although the dividing lines and relationships between music genres are often subtle, sometimes open to individual interpretation, and occasionally controversial. These genres like other forms of music may be distinguished by the techniques, the styles, the context and the themes, or geographical origin. Specific subgenres of CCM may include : Christian country music, Christian pop, Christian rock, Christian metal, Christian hardcore, Christian punk, Christian alternative rock, Christian R&B, Christian electronic dance music, and Christian hip-hop.
In the 1980s and 1990s, contemporary Christian music played a significant role in Evangelical Christian worship. A great variety of musical styles has developed traditional praise.
Christian Country Music – Combines country instrumentation and storytelling with lyrics that focus on Christian values, faith, and redemption.
Christian Pop – A mainstream-sounding genre with catchy melodies and uplifting lyrics that reflect personal faith and spiritual growth.
Christian Rock – Rock music with themes of hope, worship, and biblical truth. Popular among youth and often performed in concerts and festivals.
Christian Metal – A heavy, strong form of music that delivers messages of faith and salvation through intense vocals and instrumentation.
Christian Hardcore – A subgenre of Christian metal or punk featuring screamed vocals and fast tempos, often used to express deep emotional or spiritual struggles.
Christian Punk – Combines the fast sound of punk rock with Christian messages, typically promoting themes of justice, humility, and personal conviction.
Christian Alternative Rock – A more experimental style of rock music with faith-centered lyrics, offering a wide range of emotional and artistic expression.
Christian R&B – Smooth, soulful music that blends R&B sound with lyrics about faith, love, healing, and encouragement.
Christian Electronic Dance Music – Uses electronic beats and synthesizers to create energetic tracks with Christian-themed lyrics, often heard at youth events or worship gatherings.
Christian Hip-Hop – A rhythmic and lyrical genre that communicates biblical truths and spiritual reflection through rap and spoken word, especially popular with younger audiences.

Other languages

Similar developments took place in other language, for example the German Neues Geistliches Lied and Korean Contemporary Christian music.

Jehovah’s Witnesses

The music of Jehovah’s Witnesses is translated in upwards of 500 languages, making their music among the most translated in the world.
The music is available free of charge, to stream or download from jw.org, with no login or sign up required.
It includes both hymns, known as "Kingdom Songs", which emphasize worship of Jehovah, current beleifs and Christian qualities, as well as "Original Songs" - contemporary styles of various genres, which emphasize Christian living, spiritual growth, endurance and goals.
The Witnesses monthly television program "JW Broadcasting" often features a new Original Song toward the end of the program with an accompanying music video.
Their current hymnal is called 'Sing Out Joyfully to Jehovah'.
Annually two special new songs are released, the first is for the Witnesses' summer convention, a tradition adopted in 2018, which ties the convention teachings together. The first song of this type "Give Me Courage" was a surprise release at the 2018 "Be Courageous!" Convention, and attendees learned the song on the spot. The song has gained widespread popularity among Witnesses.
The second is for the Annual Meeting, a tradition adopted in 2024, setting the tone for the upcoming year and the biblical theme text adopted for the new year. The first song of this type, was a surprise release at the Annual Meeting in 2024 entitled "Give Jehovah Glory", and was published simultaneously online at jw.org in 400+ languages.
Due to their popularity and more contemporary feel, in 2025 these special new songs were added to the Witness songbook.
A unique policy of the Witnesses is that not only the lyrics are translated, but the songs are performed and recorded in as many languages as possible. For this reason they have an extensive network of recording studios and skilled sound technicians around the world.
The names of singers, musicians, composers and other artists involved is not published, however all are dedicated and baptised Jehovah’s Witnesses.