Music as a trigger of religious experience: What role does culture play?

Abstract

Music and religion are linked in many ways. For example, music can trigger religious experiences, which has been a topic since the beginnings of the study of the psychology of religion. Whether this musical effect is culture-dependent, a pure neuropsychological phenomenon, or a combination of both remains empirically unanswered. This cross-cultural experiment among n = 84 Turks and n = 63 Germans shows that religious music can trigger religious experience but this is, at least partially, a culture-dependent experience. Moreover, certain kinds of religious music can fail to trigger a religious experience independent of culture, which can also underpin a neuropsychological effect of musical features on religious experience. Religious experience during music is strongly predicted by positive emotions that are felt during the musical experience. Future studies should be more interdisciplinary, focusing on the effect of certain musical features on the religious experience of individuals from different cultural backgrounds.