"If I die before I wake, at least in Heaven I can skate" - Teaching religion through popular music

Abstract

This thesis aims to advocate the use of popular music as a beneficial teaching methodology when teaching about religion. Written with the Norwegian Educational system in mind, the thesis focus on how the use of popular music source material can benefits pupils in the Religion and ethics school subject taught in Upper Secondary school (Videregående skole). Through extensive analysis of the current subject curriculum plan, the methodology is placed within the large framework of expectations and competency aims of the subject. Proposing the use of a modified hermeneutic approach to content analysis which takes into account the composite structure of popular music, this thesis draws inspiration from the field of musicology in order to address how different interpretations are made possible whether one focuses on the lyrics in writing, the lyrics in performance or the official music video. Following the establishing of the framework, the thesis offers a total of 7 different example analyses of popular music pieces from a varied selection of artists from different genres. The thesis focuses on the doctrinal aspect of eschatology in order to establish a comparative framework. Divided into three chapters corresponding to the main subject areas of the subject curriculum, the analyses illustrate how popular music drawing inspiration from Christianity, Judaism and the field of religious criticism can be used to teach towards select competency aims from the subject curriculum. Drawing on established didactic sources on the benefits and difficulties concerning the use of religious music in the classroom, the thesis makes comparisons between the use of religious and popular music with an inherent religious content, observing how the two share similar benefits and challenges. Conclusively, the thesis argues the value of popular music in religion classrooms by way of the songs authenticity, insider perspective, relatability and language use.