Decolonising Congregational Music

Abstract

Perusal of the Christian Congregational License International (CCLI) charts indicates that this musical worship canon, much like academic curricula, is authored by songwriters who are overwhelmingly male and white. While the CCLI is not a total representation of all congregational singing, it is perhaps the only mechanism we have of systematically assessing this area. The system is also reflective of those reaping the economic and prestigious benefits associated with incorporation. While some scholars have established that worship music has the ability to transcend geographical boundaries and connect worshippers to global networks, others such as Evans identified its deleterious impacts in undermining local contributions. Few, however, have examined this topic from a decolonial perspective. Black Majority Churches (BMC) signified by their musical practices and expertise are deemed to be amongst the fastest growing branches of Christianity in the UK and their songwriters and worship leaders are one of the groups invisible within the CCLI. Using semi-constructed interviews with members of UK BMC churches and representatives from CCLI, this chapter will explore some of the complexities in regard to decolonising congregational music in the UK