Religious music for less than devout


We have a thread " Jazz for someone who doesn’t like jazz. " In a similar vein perhaps "Religious music for the less than devout".

"people get ready" - Rod Stewart
"Amazing Grace" - Jessye Norman
2009 "Duets" - Five Blind Boys of Alabama, The - entire CD
1988 "Sweet Fellowship" - Acappella, the entire CD

In 1989 I was working in NJ, I may have been the only guy on the job who did not know he was working for the Irish Mafia. I would lend people the CD "Sweet Fellowship" and they were willing to pay for it but never return it:

"Here is $20 kid, go buy yourself another cuz youz can’t have mine back. Now don’t ever ask me again."


timothywright
"Requiem" by Hector Berlioz.  Normally the Verdi and Mozart Requiems are most often heard and performed but the Berlioz is simply outstanding.  One might even say this was one of the first adventures in surround sound!  The work is scored for a very large orchestra. Berlioz positioned brass instruments in the corners of the cathedral to give an open, grand, and otherworldly effect.  Stunning on a nice sound system. Honorable mention should also be given to the B Minor Mass by J.S. Bach.    
@jafant : "Jazz music."

How so? I've been listening to jazz intensely for the last few weeks being new to it and trying to figure out what its all about. I'm most of the way through Ken Burns' documentary.

Outside of some gospel influence I am not seeing a religious trend through the whole genre.

Maybe listening to jazz is a "religious experience" for some. It isn't for me, yet, but I think plenty of people might feel that way. But, that could be extended to almost any experience that is intense or pleasing enough even if the nature and content of the experience aren't religious.

Or maybe the existence of jazz suggests the existence of something higher than us???
Heard some gospel jazz about 20 years ago in church from a saxophonist. I was intrigued, went home, did some research and found these guys:

Allen & Allen (keyboard and saxophone)
Ben Tankard (mostly keyboard but plays other instruments, too)
Jeff Majors (harp)
Kirk Whalum (saxophone and flute) but not limited to gospel.
I've found unless I've heard the song with words somewhere in the singing gospel world, or there is a soloist or group singing along with a specific message, the music is pretty much simply very good entertainment.

Other secular artists who've made impressions on me with their "gospel" songs are:

Martina McBride "Concrete Angel" and "God's Will" with a lovely but haunting play on words.
Joe Nichols "If Nobody Believed in You" and "Revelation" a disturbing account of judgment day with a surprise ending.
Chaka Khan "Roll Me Through the Rushes"
Whitney Houston soundtrack to the movie "The Preacher's Wife"
Lauren Hill soundtrack to the movie Sister Act 2 "Joyful, Joyful"
Cheryl Pepsii Riley soundtrack from Diary of a Mad Black Woman "One of Us"
duet by Phillip Bailey from Earth, Wind & Fire and Deniece Williams "They Say"
I also find India.Arie's music to be very uplifting and she's not afraid to mention God in some of her songs.
And the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin's "Amazing Grace" album which this past year was finally made into a movie.
And let's not forget the Staple Singers started off as a gospel group and had an influence on others like Bob Dylan.

And as for Classical, I'm surprised no one has mentioned the well known "Handel's Messiah"