The power and beauty of music has enhanced worship since the dawn of religion. In most early religions, the priest or medicine man was also the musician. In many Native American tribal cultures, the drums of the shaman would guide spirits through the worlds beyond. Established religious movements have taken on the music of royalty, to adorn their ceremonies with pomp and circumstance. The Christian church guided much of the development of music in the middle ages, and all of the glorious classical music from the Baroque and Renaissance periods owes its existence to the church.

Popular religious uprisings, such as the rise of Catholocism in 20th century South America, or the Shakers in Colonial New England, have often found their identity in the popular music and dance of the time. This popular religious music often has a vitality and urgency that is clearly missing from the music of the ruling class. Many religious sects have gone through periods of excluding popular music and dance from ceremony because its power is seen to be a “pleasure of the flesh”, and to compete with religious sentiment. Some have gone so far as to outlaw their members from singing or dancing at all.

Capitalism and electronic communication have changed both the world of music and the world of religion. A hundred years ago, Christians across the United States still sang hymns from hymnals in four-part harmony, while today the few American Christians who do attend church sing in unison along with a karaoke track and a PowerPoint presentation. Christian rock has become its own format, with personal, Christian-themed songs in current radio-friendly styles.