In the late 1960s and early 1970s, metal made its first appearance in England and the United States (Weinstein 11). Here, in the Christian dominated countries of the western world, metal would take its first roots. As Deena Weinstein (hereafter Weinstein) describes in her book, Heavy Metal: The Music and its Culture, the heavy metal genre grew out of the youth and adolescent rebellions in the US and England (11-12). Because of this, metal was first opposed by those of Christian faith. Not all Christians oppose heavy metal, but those who do fiercely oppose it, denouncing it as immoral, cruel, vile, and evil. But why is Christianity so opposed to heavy metal? The answer comes from two main reasons.
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Jeffrey Arnett details one reason for this opposition in his book, Heavy Metal and Adolescent Alienation. Arnett posits that Christianity and western religions are opposed to metal’s expansion because “[m]etalheads are…the vanguards of [religions’] decline” (123). This is not to suggest that metal is the cause of religious decline in the West. Rather, metalheads “have embraced the American tradition of pluralism, of tolerance for the beliefs of others…they have now concluded…that there are no important differences between one set of beliefs and another” (Arnett 123). This is wholeheartedly opposed to Christian beliefs that Christianity is universal. The Christian faith plainly states that it is the one true path to God (using Jesus as a conduit) (Holy Bible, John 14.6).
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Another reason metal and Christianity are opposed stems from what each entity stands for. Christianity seeks to bring hope and security to people through an all knowing and all powerful God (Barnes 1-7). It banks on the fact that people feel powerless against nature. The world is chaos and people often have no real control over their lives. They cannot stop a tornado, fires, hurricanes, earthquakes or other acts of God. Religion obtains its followers from these people—those who have little control over their own lives—metal draws from a similar crowd.
As Weinstein posits in Heavy Metal: The Music and It’s Culture, heavy metal appeals to working class young adults (11-21). Such people, who often have minimal control over their lives, gravitate towards heavy metal because it allows them to exercise their freedom of choice and can possibly be a way to rebel or escape from unsatisfactory home or work situations. Metal music, even when presented in different manners than Rage Against the Machine, is filled with numerous songs calling for young adults to take control of their situations and not just passively accept the establishment’s dictates. Other metal bands have songs with very similar themes, for example Dio’s “Holy Diver” and Iron Maiden’s “The Trooper” call for people fight for what they believe in and oppose the establishment’s unjust rules. These songs and many more empower the youth in a much stronger way than religion. How do they do this? By presenting the messages in high-energy situations and through high-energy music. Christian churches do not do this, so young adults gravitate towards heavy metal because it provides them with an instantaneous feeling of empowerment and a sense of control over their lives.
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This gravitation of the youth away from the church and towards heavy metal is what creates the tension between Christianity and heavy metal (Arnett 122-23). Christian churches, just like any church, need to maintain a following in order to endure. If that following moves away from religion it moves away from the church and weakens it. Therefore, Christian churches often choose do denounce metal as the devil’s work in an attempt to keep its current followers from defecting and to get parents, who are typically more religious than their children, to encourage or even force their children to attend church instead of metal shows (Arnett 123-24). Metal, on the other hand, pays no mind to Christianity. Metalheads only confront religion when they are forced to, ignoring it at other times. Even if a group of fans defects from metal to religion it does not matter, those fans will be replaced in no time, metal is growing that fast.