Contemporary Christian Music — Changing culture through song

Soul Search

You might not know it, but there's a parallel Christian entertainment industry that's existed since the 1950s, and it's changed the music you listen to — and even the politicians you know about. The Contemporary Christian Music industry caters specifically to evangelical moral, cultural and political tastes, but far from being a world unto itself, it has affected the mainstream in ways that aren't always obvious to outside observers.

Dr Leah Payne is Associate Professor of American Religious History at George Fox University and Portland Seminary. She is the author of God Gave Rock and Roll to You: A History of Contemporary Christian Music and cohost of the Weird Religion and Rock That Doesn't Roll podcasts.