Take Me to Church

Our theme for the month of June is “sex and the church.” To read posts from our first pass at this theme, check out our June 2018 archives.

You may be aware of a certain unofficial genre in contemporary worship songs that has become known as the “Jesus is my boyfriend” genre, where you can substitute the name of your significant other for “Jesus” or “God” and the lyrics would still make sense. 

Equal but opposite is the genre of secular songs that use religious terms to speak the language of desire. Hozier’s “Take Me to Church” is a shining example, but it’s far from the only notable one. Below are several other examples of this genre, in no particular order.

“Holy Ghost” by Børns

It’s making my heart beat so fast
In my mind you’re the angel on the painted glass
Looking for high divine connection
I’m a lover in need of confession

Let me satisfy your soul
Not a saint but do I have to be?
Well, baby, you’re my holy ghost
And I need you close, come back to me

Baby, baby, baby, baby
I fantasize and I pray
I’m thirsty for your ecstasy
So open up your heavenly gates

Ooh, your tenderness is paradise
Baby, take me there
And I will worship at your feet
You can have my soul to keep

This is a classic example of the genre, although it stands out from the others by explicitly naming a person of the Trinity. The idea of confession (of sin or love), however, shows up in several of the other examples. Oh, and “Open up your heavenly gates” is a genius euphemism (wink wink). 

“TobyMac – Live from my living room” by Semler

I wanna make my girl a mixtape
Of love songs she’d know are just from me
But the only songs I know are Christian
So I have to think strategically

Like, when TobyMac said “You consume me,”
I thought of her and how her eyes see through me
And, Switchfoot has an “Only Hope”
And that’s her for me, even though I know

They wrote them for God
For Jesus, for a savior ain’t that nice?
But I’m seventeen and I want someone real to hold at night
And I’m terrified, I’m terrified
They’d hate me if they knеw
I’m using worship songs to say I love you

Here’s a very meta example. This almost seems like it could fit into the “Jesus is my boyfriend” genre, except for the fact that it’s not addressed to God first, but already to a beloved. 

“Sanctify” by Years & Years

In the night, you come to me
’Cause I’m the one who knows who you are
Give me your confession
Saying lately, life’s been tearing you apart

Now
Walk through the fire with you
’Cause I know how it can hurt
Being cut in two and afraid

So don’t break (Break)
Sanctify my body with pain (Pain)
Sanctify the love that you crave (Crave)
Oh, and I won’t, and I won’t, and I won’t be ashamed
Sanctify my sins when I pray
When I pray

You’ll find redemption when all this is through
Father, forgive me for finding the truth
Love takes its toll on me
I’m just like you
Maybe it’s heavenly

There’s so much going on here! First of note is the invocation of the covenant made between Abram and God in Genesis 15, where Abram cut a heifer, a goat, and a ram in two, and God sent a flaming torch and a smoking firepot to pass through them. Except in this song, the singer implores the beloved not to be cut in two (aka not to hide in the closet), and the singer and the beloved walk together through the fire. The chorus also contains a call-and-response reminiscent of worship songs. I also love the line “Father, forgive me for finding the truth.” 

“Jacob From the Bible” by Jake Wesley Rogers

He’s no Jacob from the Bible
But damn, he made me pray
He might be the only rival
Holding me that way
…
But I’m not Jacob from the Bible
I’m not even on the page
Just a lifelong disciple
Of loving you that way

Another brilliant reference to Genesis. I love how the act of loving someone is likened to a discipleship, as it truly is a lifelong process to learn to love someone well. Interestingly, “I’m not even on the page” echoes “I’m not a saint, but do I have to be?” from “Holy Ghost.” If you haven’t heard Jake Wesley Rogers’s music before, I would definitely recommend checking him out; his vocal performance is a religious experience in itself. 

“Worship” by Lizzo

Hands to the sky, show me that you’re mine
And baby, worship me
Worship me
On your knees
Patiently, quietly, faithfully, worship me

Another classic example, this almost sounds like a gospel song with Lizzo’s powerful vocals and a chorus that makes you want to jump up and clap your hands. Unlike some of the other examples, here the singer is on the receiving end of the worship. 

“Around U” by MUNA

And the house still stands where it was built
I know ’cause I drove by tonight
A candle in the bedroom
Where I once performed a holy rite
And I did stop to hang my head
Just for a moment at the light
’Cause now the altar is a bed
And now you’re just a friend that once was mine

Here the singer lays out the transformative power of love, which can change an ordinary bed into an altar of devotion, and an act of intimacy into a holy rite. Of course, once the love is gone the objects return to their mundane states. 

“False God” by Taylor Swift

They say the road gets hard and you get lost when you’re led by blind faith
Blind faith
But we might just get away with it
Religion’s in your lips
Even if it’s a false god
We’d still worship
We might just get away with it
The altar is my hips
Even if it’s a false god
We’d still worship this love

Here we find the lovers questioning if their love is the perfection they thought it was, but also deciding to pursue it even if it isn’t. Compared to “Around U,” here the altar resides in the bodies of the lovers themselves. 

“End of Desire” by MUNA

Deep down, I know
I am worshiping a false idol
Deep down, I know
It’s a false hope
But I won’t let go of this feeling
Like I’ve got something to believe in
Like your love can maybe make me whole
My love, are you taking me home?

Compared to “False God,” here the singer already knows their love is a false god, no question. And yet they pursue it, still holding out hope that their love will transform (and transform them) into something good. The entire album—and MUNA’s discography as a whole—explores healthy as well as abusive and dysfunctional relationship dynamics, which as a concept has plenty of connections to religion, explicit or otherwise. 

 

Many of the songs in this fledgling genre are by queer artists, and so the use of religious language is a reclamation, expressing that their love is holy and good, not depraved or condemned. But straight or otherwise, it’s interesting all the same that so many artists reach for religious imagery to explain the height of their experience with a beloved. Is the use of religious imagery just a lyrical shortcut? Can love on earth ever truly be compared to love in heaven? How close is religious ecstasy to the ecstasy of love? Is love not the highest emotion we can experience, if we have to reach for religious language to explain it?