What Does All of This Tell Us?

Luther's musical reforms radically affected Protestant believers in his day, and the ripple of those effects can still be observed today. Because of Luther, each member of the church was given the opportunity to take an active part in the service through singing. Now, all could approach God in song and speech as a "royal priesthood," promoting the idea that believers each have a personal relationship with God. Luther's emphasis on church music as participatory helped to diminish any notion that music could or should be used for entertainment. This emphasis did, however, encourage believers to take an active part in their faith by using music as a method of instruction, declaration of belief, and expression of devotion.

Because of this, Protestant Christianity became incredibly more intimate--a phenomenon that is evident as well in Christianity today. How many times do we hear modern evangelicals refer to their personal Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ?

Luther's musical reforms took music and faith to a whole new level. Musical freedom and pleasure were now seen as positive, and Christians were finally able to personally identify with many aspects of their faith. Luther was able to successfully bridge the gap between the arts and religion so effectively that we are still deeply indebted to him today.

Back to Table of Contents

This page was created in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Music of the Middle Ages and Renaissance class at Vanderbilt University's Blair School of Music.