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ABOUT RESOURCES MY MUSIC CLASS EVENTS NEWS STAND CAREER CENTER CONNECT

SACRED MUSIC: HOW NEUTRAL?

CHORUS SECTION
“I’ve always kept programs ‘neutral’ to avoid discomfort.” -- Member response, MENC December 2007 Question of the
CHORUS SECTION ARCHIVES Month online survey
FORUMS
Selecting sacred music for school is tricky. It requires caution and good judgment. Is your concert program or curriculum
SECTIONS religion neutral? Ask yourself these questions (courtesy of the MENC Position Statement on the Use of Sacred Music in the

BAND Schools)

BUSINESS CONNECTION 1. Was the music selected on the basis of its musical and educational value rather than its religious context?

CHORUS 2. Does the teaching of music with sacred text focus on musical and artistic considerations?
3. Are the traditions of different people shared and respected?
FUTURE TEACHERS
4. Is the role of sacred music one of neutrality, neither promoting nor inhibiting religious views?
GENERAL MUSIC 5. Are all local and school policies on religious holidays and the use of sacred music observed?
HIGHER ED / ADMIN / RESEARCH 6. Is the use religious symbols or scenery avoided? Is performance in devotional settings avoided?

JAZZ 7. Is there sensitivity to the various religious beliefs represented by the students and parents?

ORCHESTRA Abraham Schwadron summarized the problems facing the music educator when using religious music in public schools:

PARENTS, PRESS & OTHERS “Obviously, the key to an adequate solution rests ultimately with the sensitive and well-informed music educator. Of
singular importance is the development of the attitude that participation in actual performance produces a better grasp
of the aesthetic import of great music than mere listening or nonparticipation.

“If it is possible to study Communism without indoctrination or to examine the ills of contemporary society without
promoting the seeds of revolution, then it must also be possible to study sacred music (with performance-related
activities) without parochialistic attitudes and sectarian points of view.” -- “On Religion, Music, and Education,” Journal
of Research in Music Education (Summer 1970), 157-66.

The MENC position statement can’t answer all specifics. Hopefully, with a combination of sensitivity to the issues raised, a
careful understanding of legal aspects, and consideration for personal feelings, educators will use the full range of music
literature in an appropriate contextual setting. For further details, see the MENC Position Statement.

Opposing viewpoints from MENC members:

“There is enough religious or sacred music being heard in churches, temples, and synagogues. I trust that any of my
students interested in music beyond my classroom and after school programs will be exposed to it. There is so much
interesting music that is not religious that to tread, even lightly, in the selection of the music and then the discussion of
language about god, would be VERY difficult and possibly inappropriate in the public school. I just don’t go there. In the
History of Western Music elective I teach for the high school, we listen to lots of religious music—here the discussion is
germane and appropriate.” - - MENC Member Nancy Brown, Global Learning Charter Public School, Massachusetts

“I teach with the understanding that all music is valuable. We do our students an injustice by not teaching them about
where they come from; not only in a cultural context but also in a historical context. This is a multicultural world, but
in order to provide students with a well-rounded education, they need to be exposed to many things. To exclude religious
songs of any kind is to cut out a vast repertoire of music.” - - MENC Member response to MENC Question of the Month,
December 2007

See Part I of this series

Abraham Schwadron, Chair of the Department of Music, UCLA; MENC member; deceased 1987

NEXT WEEK: Sacred/Secular Repertoire

Sue Rarus, October 8, 2008, © MENC: The National Association for Music Education

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