Some Popular Songs That May be Evolving into Secular Hymns

Attending some recent non-denominational gatherings, the author has been invited to sing collectively the following:


'With a little help from my friends' by the Beatles


'Lean on Me' the Bill Withers song.



Both these speak of the power of friendship in uplifting terms. The melodies are well-known and approachable. There is good scope for harmonisation. The lyrics are generally sound (even the 'I get high with a little help....' is not too risky for most as there is scope to think of a metaphorical rather than pharmacological buzz)


'In My Life' which was written by the Beatles when too young to fill it. Johnny Cash did a lovely version on his American Recordings.

'Across the Universe' has a fine sentiment but you must be ready to sing the Sanskrit text 'Jai Guru Dev Om' (perhaps 'glory to the shining remover of darkness'?).

'For the Good Times' - another Cash dying looking back song.

Can traditional hymns work in secular settings?

Having eliminated traditional romantic love songs, the next problem is how to treat traditional hymns. Clearly it would be good to draw upon songs that have already worked in the past in bringing people together to sing over the long-term. However, references to deities or other contentious notions such as messiahs, angels, devils, heaven or hell are likely to divide the chorus of singers or raise unease.

The pantheon of hymns is however rather large and varied. There are many songs that have been performed in church which don't explicitly reveal religious ideas. There are even grey areas surrounding some songs that might at first sight be viewed as 'religious'. The traditional of negro spirituals is perhaps the most obvious. These songs have remained widely sung even in non-religious settings.

Examples include:

'Swing low, sweet chariot'

'Abide with me'

'Amazing grace'

'Jerusalem'

The lyrics to these songs can be cut down to exclude the most religious verses or even adapted. That may be considered 'sac-religious' by some. The alternative is turn a blind eye to references to,  for example, 'angels' on the basis that this is a figure of speech widely used.

Why Secular Hymns? (and What They Might Be)

Singing Together is Good

Whilst church-going and traditional religious belief may be declining in many places, it's plain that the loss of the experience of singing collectively is a serious piece of collateral damage in the move towards a more secular society. In the past, both the church choir and the congregation would share a vast array of classic hymns that ranged in themes and mood from joy and birth, through charity and salvation, to sorrow and death. At their best, these shared songs transcended individual lives and epochs to bring a sense of continuity and comfort to the collective life. They could be sung at celebrations of life and also on occasions of grief. They provided structure, collaboration and a way to express, in artistic form, a shared emotion. In short, these songs and these singers, regardless of the underlying religious message, had something that secular society lacks.

What Might Not Be a Secular Hymn

The modern popular song, perhaps going back to the 1920s, is synonymous with romantic love between two people (usually a man and a woman).The seeking, consummating and losing of such love has occupied the time of a large majority of song-writers.  Indeed calculating the barometric state of romantic love has eclipsed most other themes that for thousands of years were viewed as rather more central to human existence. This has led to a very poor return for a modern humanity that needs song to fulfil a broad range of purposes. Whilst popular song has produced many classic moments, we will need to pick out the diamonds that tackle a broader commonwealth of themes from the dust heaps of faded love songs.

What Might Be a Secular Hymn

Songs need to be as varied and rich as the range of human experience. To amount to a hymn, they must be anchored in a fundamental aspect of our shared lives and be capable of and lend themselves to singing in chorus. Thematically they should range across:

-nature and appreciation of plants, animals, sky, sun and stars 

-laughter, fun and joy

-birth, motherhood, fatherhood and children

-death, illness and disability

-friendship and comradeship

-forgiveness, honesty and courage

-war, poverty and peace

This is not exhaustive but might provide an indicative list from which to make a start.