Kinda old news, but new article, courtesy of the Independent on Sunday: Article: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/god-gave-rocknroll-to-you-will-heavy-metal-be-a-religion-on-the-next-census-2037670.html I'm gonna do it. Music as a whole has done far more for me than religion ever has. It's cheered me up, calmed me down, comforted me, given me friends and relationships, and provided some of the best nights of my life. It's made me a better person. I have far more faith in the power of music than anything spiritual, and unlike God I can see/hear proof of it's existence. It's something that's real beyond all doubt and touches people and communities across the globe. It doesn't matter what your race or religion is, you still share the that bond, you're still joined together by a love for music. Obviously the whole world isn't into Heavy Metal, but I personally favour it, so I'll use this census as a means to spread the message.
How so? It doesn't necessarily fill in the gap for religion. It doesn't give people anything to blindly put faith in, or give you the feeling that whatever is happening is happening for some unknown purpose. It doesn't make you feel protected or watched over. I don't see how it makes sense. It's real, but it serves a different purpose.
It can serve a lot of the purpose of other religions without most of the...strings attached, shall we say.
groan - I wonder if it'll get tax breaks like a "real" religion. Jesus Christ I hate religion nothing but a corporate excuse to squander tax free money from people. Music as a religion? Please don't tarnish music with even the thought. Music is a form of expression and that is all. If it leaves an impression it is bound to be far more personal than any religious dogma could ever hope to be.
Huh, well when you put it that way, maybe religion is the wrong word. I have far more belief in music than religion, anyhow. Also I find this somewhat sig-worthy.
Bull? I agree. I think quite a lot of people feel protected by music though... in a sort of comforting way. It's good for depression. Plus you can have faith in anything, it's not specifically a spiritual word. I have faith that music is always gonna be a positive and uplifting part of my life. By "voting" for it I'm not specifically naming it as a religion, I'm merely using religion as a metaphor for how grand and powerful music is. It's something of a life-changer for many people and lots of them do more or less live their lives by it. Then as a side-effect I'll also be "bashing" religion somewhat, by abusing the census question and making a bit of a statement about how religion is dying out (when compared to how significant it was in the past). People seem to be waking up to the notion that there's no reason at all why the universe couldn't have "just happened" as shown by the last census, with the second most popular answer being Atheism.
Music makes more sense than other religions? You obviously don't understand what religion is then... Just because you like music you can't call it a religion and make sense.
You've backed me into a corner now That's a hard question these days, 'cause no matter what I say there's bound to be one person that comes along and tells me it's actually a sub-genre. So I usually dump the "heavy" and just say I like metal. My taste changes quite a lot, music evolves and so do I, but right now I'm listening to Opeth (DVD out in September and I'm in it!), 3 Inches of Blood, Megadeth, Cattle Decapitation, Bury Your Dead, Gojira, Kalmah, Killwhitneydead and The Sword. I'm about to start reading up on a bunch of older bands I missed though so I'll have a whole load more soon.
Yeah might as well, the people who follow it are mindless idiots and it often leads to violence, it's practically a religion by description.
That's not what I'm saying I'm saying it doesn't make sense to call music your religion simply by definition of the word.
I'd say it's not technically a religion, but in practicality it's as good as. Calling it a faith makes more sense.
