Recently I was offered a few dollars to fill in on piano for a Sunday morning church service when their regular guy was out of town. I was glad to do it. It helped that this was a rather progressive and casual congregation. I didn’t tell anyone about my lack of belief and doing this as an occasional one-off thing doesn’t strike me as unethical. However, if I were offered a regular job to do this every week for a particular church, I don’t think I could accept that in good conscience. Does that make sense?

I'm a violist and cellist in various Baroque, Classical and Romantic period ensembles. It is hard to avoid some linkage with Christianity in that milieu as the church was the main patron/employer of musicians from the Renaissance to modern times. But, a gig's a gig. In fact, that is how many of the greatest composers and musicians looked at things. Mozart was notorious. He was a freemason in a seriously catholic country. The local archbishop hated his guts because of his irreverence, but Mozart was the rock-star of his day so the church couldn't touch him. Similarly, Bach was a Kapellmeister for much of his life, but never stopped looking for a job on civvie street. Both of these men wrote magnificent "religious" music, but music is music and if you don't listen to the goofy lyrics, most of which are in German or Italian anyway, you would never know.

I recorded two CDs worth of Gospel, Spirituals and Pop religious music for my aunts. They are all nice Church ladies. I'm not religious at all. But I like Gospel and Spirituals, it's good music. I've also subbed in a church band on occassion. Didn't like the music so much, and it got redundant--the same 4 or 5 songs every weekend. Kinda glad when the gig was over.

I've never played in a church, but as far as songs, I'll play it if it's a good song. There are plenty of songs about things I've never done, or wouldn't do, and religion isn't really any different. It's playing a part.

That’s some great sound, straight out of 1967. Beautiful voice and the rhoades!

I’ve never had the opportunity to play any gospel music. I suppose if I was paid to play it I would, but I personally don’t listen to it.

I try, I have a resonator in my collection too. Religious shit is not in my repertoire.

I’m a singer, songwriter, and play primitive percussion. I’ll get some links to my rings up soon. My most recent project was described as “haunted graveyard neo-folk” and “campfire neo-folk” we were called Black Light onnthe Brave Mysteries label.