A deep dive into the story of anti-religious imagery in music. words by Zoe Glasser, Megan Adams, and Luke Maddren illustration by Lance Evans
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or as long as organized religion has existed, it has inspired artists. Whether it be Indigenous deities, the classical Greco-Roman pantheon, or the capital-G God that monotheistic religions worship, religious figures and their associated iconography have been recreated time and time again. Oftentimes, these depictions are positive; Michelangelo’s painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, for example, portrays God perched atop his heavenly cloud reaching out to Adam. Others depictions, though, use negative or bastardized versions of religious images to prove their point. The inverted cross was originally a pro-Christian image if you can believe it, but it has recently become associated with anti-Christian sentiment and even Satanism. All this is to say that artists have been using and subverting religious images since, basically, the beginning of time. Within the past century, though, these images have made their way into popular music. In response to the religious fervor of the mid20th century, stars such as Madonna and Prince released music that used religious themes to tackle issues like sex, politics, and often religion itself. This trend continued in the years leading up to the new millennium, peppered with controversies like Sinead O’Connor ripping up a photo of Pope John Paul II live on SNL. Now, we have artists like Lady Gaga, Frank Ocean, and, most recently, Lil Nas X to thank for our fill of (sac)religious images in music. Take a journey with us to find out how members of the LGBTQ+ community use religious themes in their art, how emo and pop-punk play into religious themes, and why parental advisory labels exist (spoiler alert: it’s because of white moms).
