76 Pop, Rock and Country Songs About God, Faith, and Church

My mother didn't see it coming when my 5-year-old nephew looked at her with big doe eyes and asked, "Nana, do you know God?" What a loaded question for a child to ask an agnostic. She replied that she had heard of Him, then changed the subject.

People rarely keep religion to themselves. They talk about spirituality with others whether it's welcomed or not. They broadcast their beliefs on bumper stickers and t-shirts. And yes, they certainly sing about it.

While we all know what to expect from a gospel song, you might not expect faith to infuse pop, rock, and country songs as much as it does. But listen closely because it's there. Popular singers are no exception to prosthelizing. There is plenty of prayer, witnessing for Christ, and talking to God in secular music.

Make a playlist of inspirational secular songs about God, faith and church, if that's the way you roll. And if not, then make this an intellectual challenge to see how many of these pop, rock, and country songs you've heard of. We won't judge, either way.

Carrie Underwood is no stranger to mixing her music with her religion. She grew up singing in chuch. This 2015 crossover hit won a Grammy and topped both the country and Christian charts. It describes the change that took place in a young woman's life after she was baptized.

In this 2005 country song, a narrator recalls an influential old man from his childhood who was a faithful follower of Christ. The man has recently died, leaving the narrator to reflect on life and the everafter:

I can't quote the Book
The chapter or the verse
You can't tell me it all ends
In a slow ride in a hearse.

Look for some thought-provoking questions in this 1995 rock song by Joan Osborne, a one-hit wonder. It'll make you think about how you treat other people. The underlying message is that God is in us all, imperfect as we may each be.

The narrator in this 2008 rock song sees God on a street corner and confronts Him about not being there when tragedies struck. He feels abandoned and is searching for answers about why bad things happen to good people.

Country singer Reba McEntire puts her faith front and center with this 2017 song. It urges others who are experiencing heartbreak, disappointment, and life tragedies to give the world back to God.

Reba divorced her husband of 26 years in late 2015, and he began a serious relationship with one of her couple's friends. Ouch.

The narrator in this hard rock song from 2007 seeks forgiveness and a break with the sins of the past. He regrets past actions and wants a clean slate: "Let mercy come and wash away what I've done."

If you don't go to church, this 2016 country song may make you want to. The narrator acknowledges that she has cussed, cheated, and lied but finds redemption when she listens to country music. Call her spiritual but not religious.

In this 2005 country song, the narrator is looking forward to the day he can shed the early struggles and pain that have been weighing him down in this life. He hopes that when he meets his Maker, he will sing with the angels, see his loved ones that have passed on, and stand in the light forever.

When my daughter was born, I felt transformed because I wasn't just living for myself anymore. I had another person depending on me for survival and mentoring.

The birth of one's first child is an awe-inspiring, life changing event, and this 2000 rock song won a Grammy Award for good reason. It portrays a new father's earnest prayer to teach his child how to embrace the world with arms wide open.

The narrator in this 2004 country song recounts meeting and getting to know a physically disabled child who was selfless in that he prayed for everyone but himself. His faithful devotion to God showed her the truth.

Wyonna Judd gets choked up when she sings this touching 2005 country song. It was first recorded by Christian rock group MercyMe and crossed over to mainstream charts.

The tune describes the hopeful wondering of what it will be like when the narrator stands before God:

Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel?
Will I dance for You Jesus, or in awe of You be still?
Will I stand in Your presence, or to my knees will I fall?
Will I sing "hallelujah," will I be able to speak at all?
I can only imagine.

Driving home on a snowy night with her infant in the backseat, a young mother loses control of her car. Fortunately, they both survive the incident, and she credits Jesus for steering her to safety. Immediately following the harrowing event, she recommits herself to Christ, letting Him take the wheel in steering her life.

This 2005 country ballad was Carrie Underwood's first single on her debut album, and it won two Grammy Awards. Carrie Underwood was the 2005 winner of the fourth season of American Idol competition.

The Christian rock band Needtobreathe achieved this crossover hit in 2015 with this heartfelt tune. It describes the loving kinship that exists between fellow human beings—a comraderie that mirrors God's love for humanity:

Brother, let me be your shelter
Never leave you all alone
I can be the one you call
When you’re low.

This uplifting rock song from 1993 is a prayer in which the narrator asks God to show him a sign. He asks that the Holy Spirit's light shine down on him from heaven and teach him the way.

In a sad irony, the shooter in the Virginia Tech Massacre reportedly listened to this song obsessively and even scrawled some of its lyrics on his dorm room wall. Allowing that tragedy to be this song's legacy betrays the pure and spiritual message of this lovely song.

In this 2008 country song, a new father leaves the hospital where his daughter was just born and sees the fingerprints of God everywhere. Viewing the sunset and a flower pushing up through the cracks of a sidewalk, he sees the entire world through a brand new lens.

This inspirational 2003 song became an international hit and has been recorded by over 125 different artists thus far. Pure praise music, it has since become a contemporary hymn. The song is one of worship in which the narrator praises God, in awe of the strength that He provides to cope with life's burdens.

This hopeful pop song released in 1990 depicts God watching our troubled world from a distance. It celebrates the peace, harmony, and hope that await us in His kingdom where there are no guns, violence, bombs, hunger, or disease.

Does Jesus even drink beer? The guy in this 2013 country song imagines that He does. He further wonders what it would be like to have a couple rounds of cold ones with Him, then rattles off a list of questions that he would ask, including

• How'd you turn the other cheek?
• How'd you change a sinner's heart?
• Have you been there from the start?
• When are you coming back?
• What's on the other side?
• Are my dead loved ones alright?

According to the tale relayed in this 2002 country song, a farmer, a teacher, a hooker, and a preacher are strangers bound for Mexico on an ill-fated tour bus. Each has different purposes for taking the journey, but three of them have their lives cut short when the bus is in an accident. Only the prostitute survives.

In a hopeful twist, the preacher spends his dying moments placing a bloodstained Bible in the woman's hands. This act changes her life. The song is told from the perspective of her son many years later.

Before his death in 2016, George Michael routinely dedicated live performances of this 1996 song to his Brazilian lover who died of an AIDS-related brain hemorrhage. The song compares the purity of one person's love for another to Jesus' love for a child. The love is blissful and revisits him when he is lonely and cold in order to make him complete.