Is music a religion — and should the church be worried if it is?

If the fans of Star Wars and Dr. Who can have religions based on those franchises, then why can’t music be a faith tradition?

That’s what country singer Maren Morris explores in her top-10 hit “My Church,” in which she finds redemption in the songs of Johnny Cash and Hank Williams Sr.

Can I get a Hallelujah
Can I get an Amen
Feels like the Holy Ghost running through ya
When I play the highway FM
I find my soul revival
Singing every single verse
Yeah I guess that’s my church

Those lyrics inspired political scientist and Religion News Service blogger Tobin Grant to sing a different tune in a May 23 post titled “Can music be your religion?”

In it, Grant challenged not only Morris, but some scholars and others who, he wrote, define religion much too loosely.

To mean anything, a definition of faith must include belief in the supernatural, however that may look, he said.

Otherwise, Grant told Baptist News Global, anything from veganism, patriotism and devotion to celebrities may be considered religions.

“People … have a kind of religious attachment to [celebrities],” Grant said. “That may feel like a religion, but following Kanye [West] or the Kardashians is not a religion.”

Nones seek spirituality

But ministers who make a living guiding clergy and churches through changing American attitudes toward faith say Grant and others should just go ahead and get used to it.

Given the documented rise of those with no religious affiliation and those who have abandoned organized faith — known as Nones and Dones — it’s become increasingly common for seemingly secular pursuits and interests to take on spiritual auras in American culture.

It’s understandable that anything from the popular strength-training program CrossFit to yoga may substitute for faith in a society where church influence is waning, said George Bullard, president and strategic coordinator of the South Carolina-based Columbia Partnership.

The trend is nothing new and it’s continuing to grow, he added.

“For a generation or more, the structures of religion don’t speak to them anymore. But the need for something religious is very strong and deep for them.”

Bullard said he agreed with Grant’s argument in the blog that there must be an element of the transcendent or supernatural for an activity to be considered religious.

“You can do CrossFit religiously, but CrossFit can’t be your religion,” he said. “A woman riding down the road listening to music may be inspired, but that inspiration is insufficient” to be spiritual.

‘We are in trouble’

But Christians needn’t be dismayed by these trends, said Eddie Hammett, a congregational consultant and president of Transforming Solutions, based in North Carolina.

Instead, they should look for creative ways to bridge the gap between the church and those seeking spiritual fulfillment outside organized faith, he said.

“It’s the whole issue of finding the language of helping people make connections between faith and daily life.”

Hammett saw the concept played out after watching the 1999 film The Green Mile at a local theater.

“I noticed people were having spiritual conversations about that movie as they left the theater,” he said.

A short time later he purchased an ad at that theater, the kind displayed on the screen before the movie starts. It invited viewers to discuss the film afterward at a local coffee shop.

“It worked,” he said. “There were about 15 people who engaged in life-and-death issues because of what they had seen in the movie.”

That movie ministry has been a way to connect with people who are on the margins of faith and church, Hammett said. They have an appetite for spiritual issues but no interest in the church as it’s been traditionally known.

“We have no choice in this culture but to find other venues to have faith-based conversations beyond the local church,” he said. “We are going to have to figure this out and if we don’t, we are going to be in serious trouble.”