Page - 101 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 06/02

“And God Is Never Far Away” | 101www.jrfm.eu 2020, 6/2, 91–102 The songs addressed, and still address, different discourses. Popular music thus forms not only its own logic of mediation and representation but also its own genre-specific approach to religion. As these songs by Madonna and Nick Cave and the case studies in this issue show, the use of religious symbols, mo- tifs and narratives in a specific song can say a lot about the respective music culture, its performances and ideas of the world, just as popular music can reveal much about common ideas on religion and dominant cultural values. Popular music thus connects the collective with the individual: a personal artistic expression of a musician or a band is placed in dialogue with the basic religious ideas of a society or community. The interrelations between music and religion are complex and fluid: a “secular” song can form “religious” emo- tions and/or transcendental experiences; it can help in difficult life situations. Vice versa, a song from a religious perspective or community may be secular- ised and transmitted in a secular context as a secular song. Some songs are both religious and secular, depending on how religion is viewed and defined. Some musicians can be worshipped like transcendent figures as saints or even gods, and a pronounced fan cult can develop around them, as in the case of Nick Cave. And for some people, popular music (as a whole) is itself more than music; it is a lifestyle or might even become a religion – regardless of religious motifs in lyrics or video clips and regardless of star-musicians. Examination of religion and popular music poses the complex theoretical question of the fluid boundaries between religion and non-religion. That ques- tion must be answered anew in each case study, not in general, but in rela- tion to a concrete perspective, a specific band or song. This insight brings us back to the point of departure for our Issue, which hopefully will encourage scholars to explore the fascinating interactions between religion and popular music, because, as we have learned, “God is never far away”. Bibliography Aswad, Jem, 2019, Concert Review: “Conversations With Nick Cave” Is Part Q&A, Part Mu- sic, Part Group Therapy, Variety, 24 September, https://variety.com/2019/music/news/ concert-review-conversations-with-nick-cave-is-part-qa-part-music-part-group-ther- apy-1203347523/ [accessed 17 August 2020]. Cave, Nick, 1997, Into My Arms, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, lyrics, https://www.nick- cave.com/lyric/into-my-arms/ [accessed 22 August 2020]. Cunningham, Russell, 2018, Nick Cave Is Showing Us a New, Gentler Way to Use the Internet, The Guardian, International Edition, 27 November, https://www.theguardian. com/commentisfree/2018/nov/27/nick-cave-red-hand-files [accessed 21 August 2020]. Hennessy, Kate, 2019, Nick Cave: “These Conversation Events Have Brought Back the