Absently scrolling through YouTube comments when I see: "yes, [Owl City] is religious unfortunately" I just...? Why is it unfortunate? Why is it a bad thing that a famous person chooses to be religious?
your first mistake was reading youtube comments your second was thinking about them other than that, it seems to be a general truth that people like people to be like themselves. and also like to project their ideals and opinions onto celebs or whoever. just like i like to assume that stephen amell likes everything i like and we could be super bros even though i know thats probably not ture and we couldn't. so when someone sees religious it can be alienating, just like a relgious person could be alienated by someone they like not being religious or being a different religion or being openly opposed to theirs.
I always thought that when people say that, they think the music is going to be terrible. "Oh, it's religous, so it's going to be terrible because it's made for a completely reason than regular 'art'." Now, while that seems true for movies at times (God's Not Dead, When The Game Stands Tall), music it's been pretty good. Most of the big acts actually reach a broader audience and are really good (We As Human, The Classic Crime, Skillet, TobyMac to an extent). Hell, if I recall correctly, @Misty likes Flyleaf (or just that one song "Cassie"; I remember a remark about it a long time ago).
I liked Flyleaf a lot in my middle school days! The interest has waned but I still appreciate them. ... is probably one of my favorite songs of theirs, not just because that's my name, but it's also one of their most overtly religious songs. I can understand someone not being into a band because the band is religious because their songs might focus on that and it can affect one's enjoyment of the song. If your lyrics are constantly " yes god is the best worship him" then that might not hold much interest for an atheist. I like Relient K and Paramore and Demi Lovato (yeah judge me she is the hero teenage girls need & deserve). I also like Modest Mouse. The two don:t have to be mutually exclusive. Not every religious person makes religious songs and even if they do, the song is about what it means to YOU, not just to them. Sadly some people just put on their stereotype goggles.
This is the point that I think people either don't realize, or just outright ignore. Straight up irrational in most cases; I don't care for songs with lazy writing no matter what the subject matter is (usually why I avoid any religious radio stations; it feels like they're all doing the same song,) but if a song is written and performed well and I enjoy it, I probably won't care that it's about someone's religious beliefs. Passion alongside talent is the reason I think many of us like the music we do, and those reasons should not be clouded with mindsets like "Well this artist is instantly untalented or passionless because he/she believes in a certain deity and I don't (or "and I believe in a different deity.")
From the other side of the spectrum, I can sort of see where the commenter is coming from, though I agree it can be a bit silly. The majority of what I listen to is Christian music; Skillet is my fav band ever, and I also really like older Hawk Nelson (Not now that the lead singer left the group and they turned too boy band) and I listen to Plumb a lot, and although I really like Flyleaf the only other member of my fam that does is my dad, so I rarely listen to it. I also listen to a lot of Switchfoot (and I know they're not a Christian band, they're just a band that happens to be made up of some Christians) And of course I love Owl City. And although if they weren't Christian I wouldn't let their religion keep me from listening to them, the fact that they do believe the way I do makes me enjoy their music even more. But even though I mainly listen to Christian music, I listen to other music too sometimes. Like, for example, the Beatles. The Beatles were definitely not Christian. But I listen to their stuff all the time because I like it, and although I don't agree with everything they say, I also really like their basic message. But, tying this into my understanding where the commenter is coming from, I also have been guilty of thinking things like "Man, it's too bad they weren't Christian. With their talent and their message, how great would it be if they had been?" I admit I don't know what the commenter could have been trying to say, but for me, it's more about a slight feeling in the back of my mind about how great it would be for me if (insert band here) played and sang about things I personally agree with. Which is an entirely selfish way to think about things, really, and I admit that, but regardless of the amount of selfishness, is how I feel. I think the important thing is to not let your selfish desires keep you from enjoying things you would like if you would let yourself. Though, it's also important not to let the things you like make other people uncomfortable. Like (leaving the music scene) Harry Potter. It's really too bad, but there are still a percentage of Christians who don't think other Christians should like Harry Potter. I'm not about to let them keep me from reading the books because really I think they're brilliant and I like the overall message. But if I know I'm going to be hanging out with one of these people who think it's wrong, I'm not about to don a HP t-shirt and go over with Deathly Hallows tucked under my arm all prepared to tell them exactly why they're wrong to believe what they do. Yeesh I need to talk less. Pretty much, I think that it's silly to be like "It's too bad (insert thing here) doesn't follow my beliefs." But I can't in good conscious say I haven't felt that way myself. But I don't let it control me. But I don't try to use that to control other peeps. XD If any of that makes any sense. XD
Free by Stevie Wonder is one of my favorite songs ever. Ironically, a lot of atheists describe leaving religion as the most freeing thing they ever did lol. What can I say, I' m a foreigner. Liking the song first and understanding what it says fifteen years later, sometimes in fridge horror, is the story of my life.
