Positively Non-Religious

I haven’t had a chance to post anything on here over the past few days because I took it easy over the long 4th of July weekend, and yesterday I was busy hanging out at the Warped Tour.  One of my friends from high school is playing on the tour with a Boston band called Far From Finished (check ‘em out here), and he was able to put me and some of our other friends on the guest list.

(Here’s a shot of my friend Pat rockin’ the keyboard.)

I had a blast at the show.  It was definitely an experience, catching a glimpse of what it’s like for them to live on the road as they travel around the country with the Warped Tour.  I was exhausted after just one day of it — I can’t imagine how they do it for weeks at a time.

Anyways, my thoughts inevitably returned to the topic of religion and atheism over the course of the day.  I was reminded of this blog post from Psychology Today, where the author mentions that forms of entertainment in which the spectators become deeply involved can provide people with the same sorts of social and psychological benefits as religious participation.

What do you think?

In some ways, I think rock music (and secular music in general) already has replaced this aspect of religion in many people’s lives.  I won’t go as far as saying that people have a basic need to participate in public performances by talented and respected individuals, but it does seem like a winning recipe — a surefire way to allow people to have a great time together.

But in other ways, the psychological experience of going to a rock concert is a lot different than the religious alternatives.  For starters, rock concerts can be very impersonal.  Typically, there’s little if any meaningful interaction from one audience member to another (aside from any friends you came with), and the chances of interacting with the band are slim to none.  Even for the few times I’ve been able to meet bands after shows, the interactions have typically consisted of:

“Hey, nice show.”

“Cool, man.  Thanks.”

Or something similarly superficial.

Even at shows that involve way more audience participation and interaction than usual (like this incredible Dan Deacon show I attended in Bloomington, IN last fall), the chances of in-depth, sincere interactions between audience members who don’t already know one another are slim.

What’s more, the lyrics of some bands’ songs are just undeniably negative and unhealthy.  Religious music, on the other hand, is more likely to focus on positive emotions like hope, joy, gratitude, and so forth.  (Of course, as an atheist I’m well aware of the fact that there are dark sides to the topics of religious songs.  My point, though, is that the in-the-moment experience of listening to religious music is probably more likely to induce positive emotions in the listeners who are really into it, as opposed to secular rock ‘n’ roll.  [Although, this comparison doesn’t include the anger I feel when I stumble on a Christian rock station on the radio.])

Now, I know there’s a lot to be said for expressing negative emotions.  And it can be a bad thing if you’re part of a subculture that’s too concerned with positivity, and doesn’t teach you to properly express or communicate your frustrations, your anger, your sadness, your disagreements, and so forth.  But it’s also unhealthy if your subculture only respects it when you express negative, downer emotions, and doesn’t give you enough opportunities to cultivate and express positive emotions.  You’ve got to be able to freely express them all if you’re going to be fully human.

Anyways, I’ll stop rambling.  It’s obvious that my thoughts on the matter are a bit jumbled.  And I’m okay with that, since it’s a complex issue that involves a lot of dynamic factors that I don’t fully understand.

I still love rock music.  I wish it were more socially acceptable within mainstream music to express strong positive emotions, though.  Nonetheless, I’ll take honest, unabashed negativity over dishonest, forced positivity any old day.

Luckily, I also got to see The Bouncing Souls play yesterday.  They’re a great punk band that’s been around for a long time.  I’m not totally familiar with all of their music yet, but it seems like they’re capable of walking the line between good, energetic music, while also having a fun, positive vibe.  My last post features a song of theirs that they played yesterday.  If you interpret the lyrics from our point of view, it makes for a great atheist anthem.