What makes a song have a Religious Naturalist theme?
Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2023 10:02 am
There are well over a hundred songs currently posted in the Religious Naturalist Songbook.
http://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1 ... 0NamGitSN0
https://religious-naturalist-associatio ... -projects/
But most of these songs are not about Religious Naturalism per se. They exemplify the types of sentiments and virtues that RN encompasses.
For example:
Peter Mayer's "Blue Boat Home" is a good example of a Religious Naturalist song.
But
Ric Masten's "Let It Be A Dance" is not Religious Naturalist in its theme. But it presents a sentiment that many RNs share.
This came up recently because I was looking at Joni Mitchell's songs to see which could be included in the Songbook. I cannot think of any of Joni's songs that are explicitly Religious Naturalist in theme. But there are over a dozen songs that illustrate RN sensibilities. Her song "Ethiopia", for example, with its characterization of human suffering, human waste and environmental degradation. On the other hand, "Little Green" is a lovely song, but not one that I would include in the songbook. Being a lovely song is nice, but the songs should emphasize an RN theme or sentiment, which this does not. Otherwise, the Songbook loses its purpose of being songs about Religious Naturalism and just becomes a list of Songs I Really Like To Listen To.
So I pose the question: What is the difference?
Stated another way: songs can be classified as being Religious Naturalist in theme or in sentiment or neither. What criteria determine where to put a given song?
Tony Van der Mude
http://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1 ... 0NamGitSN0
https://religious-naturalist-associatio ... -projects/
But most of these songs are not about Religious Naturalism per se. They exemplify the types of sentiments and virtues that RN encompasses.
For example:
Peter Mayer's "Blue Boat Home" is a good example of a Religious Naturalist song.
But
Ric Masten's "Let It Be A Dance" is not Religious Naturalist in its theme. But it presents a sentiment that many RNs share.
This came up recently because I was looking at Joni Mitchell's songs to see which could be included in the Songbook. I cannot think of any of Joni's songs that are explicitly Religious Naturalist in theme. But there are over a dozen songs that illustrate RN sensibilities. Her song "Ethiopia", for example, with its characterization of human suffering, human waste and environmental degradation. On the other hand, "Little Green" is a lovely song, but not one that I would include in the songbook. Being a lovely song is nice, but the songs should emphasize an RN theme or sentiment, which this does not. Otherwise, the Songbook loses its purpose of being songs about Religious Naturalism and just becomes a list of Songs I Really Like To Listen To.
So I pose the question: What is the difference?
Stated another way: songs can be classified as being Religious Naturalist in theme or in sentiment or neither. What criteria determine where to put a given song?
Tony Van der Mude