Perceptions of Western Religious Music Among Non-Western Latter-Day Saints

Authors

Matthew Astle, Brigham Young University
Richard Long, Brigham Young University

Keywords

western, LDS Church, religious music, non-western

College

Fine Arts and Communications

Department

Communications

Abstract

As the LDS Church continues to grow and expand in developing nations throughout the world, it is presented with the unique challenge of overcoming cultural differences to create a truly global brotherhood. One of the most culturally sensitive areas that the Church must deal with is that of music. The Church=s policy in the General Handbook of Instructions is that hymns “are the basic music for Latter-day Saint meetings and are standard for all congregational singing” (p. 289). This standard applies worldwide, from Kansas to Kenya to Cambodia. The hymns used by the LDS Church are based on the Western European classical style, as defined by the rules of four-part harmony of the common practice period.

Recommended Citation

Astle, Matthew and Long, Richard (2013) "Perceptions of Western Religious Music Among Non-Western Latter-Day Saints," Journal of Undergraduate Research: Vol. 2013: Iss. 1, Article 2220.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jur/vol2013/iss1/2220