to enjoy certain hymns, even though I am not a Christian ?

[vienna1981]

Lyrically, hymns are largely meaningless because of their subject matter. However, there are some very fine tunes to be found within. I like the commonly known stuff such as All Things Bright And Beautiful, Immortal Invincible and The Lord Is My Shepherd (we had the latter at my mum's funeral).
My favourite, however, is Abide With Me. The melody is gorgeous. But am I a hypocrite to have a fondness for something I don't believe in ?

Also, do Amazing Grace and How Great Thou Art count as hymns. The latter strikes me as an African American spiritual. I don't know if it is . Thankyou.

'The golden cockerel crows in the morning
Wake up children, welcome the day
God's bright sun is high in the heavens chasing sleepyheads away.'

Or something like that - we used to sing it too. (Actually we swapped 'golden cockerel' for the name of one of the boys - something similar to 'Gavin Watson')

I've noticed lots of atheists love hymns. Maybe not as unbelieving as they think?

Father, brightly we greet you
Here come, running to meet you
Please be in us and near us
Hallowing our work and play.

We also did a real dirge of a hymn in the autumn term. It was all about giving thanks for the harvest being safely stored and acknowledging the arrival of autumn. It was gloomy and depressing for a small boy . I don't know the title.

I've noticed lots of atheists love hymns. Maybe not as unbelieving as they think?

I like the song Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer but I don't believe in flying reindeer.

We quite recently had "I the lord of sea and sky" at my Nanna's funeral. Now, i've not decided what I am (in regards to religion/spiritually) but my body has some sort of a strange chemical reaction whenever I hear that song, even if I'm only singing it in my head. Its s lovely comforting feeling, so clearly a yanbu from me!

I've noticed lots of atheists love hymns. Maybe not as unbelieving as they think?

Pfft. Nice try.

You can also enjoy beautiful poetry without agreeing with the content, so it's not just the music.

I love hymns but then I think that school assembly and choir are the only opportunities that you're told to SING! And to really belt it out and enjoy it! I really miss being in choir and sing at any opportunity. I miss being able to play with a song with the different parts and really trying to sing it right. The best that I get now is practising Disney songs with poor DS who (sometimes) does the man's part.

Hymns like Go Tell it on the Mountain other classics from "Come and Praise books 1/2" remind me so much of carefree days at primary school.

Abba Father and Led Like A Lamb were introduced to me when I moved to a Methodist School and I'm still struck at how much more morbid the songs there were.

Hymns like Glory Now To Thee Be Given remind me of my secondary school days with our fantastic music teacher leading the choir

The one idea I rather liked in "brave new world" was the Arch Community Songster of Canterbury. There's a sort of endorphin rush from full on singing - I rather suspect that some religious experiences are firmly rooted in chemistry.

I think there is something uplifting with singing alongside others.
I love singing hymns even though I am a dyed in the wool, card carrying, flag waving atheist who was raised atheist.
I loved singing hymns in school.

When a Knight Won his Spurs.
He Who Would Valiant Be.
Light up the Fire.
They are simply good tunes that are nice to sing.
We used to sing secular songs too.

Thankyou for your support MagicMojito.

Yanbu, one of the best things about church weddings and christenings is the chance to belt out a really good hymn. DH gets embarrassed by the amount of gusto I deploy! We're never in church otherwise.

My mother is not a church person, but my memories of Sunday lunch are peppered with her singing hymns as she clanged around & stirred the gravy. She does make the best gravy in the world....

Madge

We may not believe in God, but we have emotional reactions to nice things ...

Oooh when a knight won his spurs was one of my favourites at school ( also one with the words....Autumn leaves when the grass is jewelled and the silk inside the chestnut shell, but no one else seems to remember that one so I may have made it up ?!

I feel a bit sorry for my kids as they dont sing them at school. I'm not religious either but I love a good sing song.

Feel the same about old traditional hymns
Good for weddings and funerals

Am an agnostic with a leaning to the Quakers these days (who never did do hymns) but a good cathedral school education and years of choral singing and I think I'm entitled!

What about 'For all the saints, who from their labours rest ...' Maybe it's niche but you can really belt that one. We used to have it in the cathedral every Ascension Day. Then we got taken to Alton Towers

I was sent to Sunday school through my childhood, but I'm not at all religious now, but still, belting out 'Tell out my soul' or 'he who would valiant be' and all those types is really uplifting

Foo - yes, and those - Jet planes meeting in the air to be refueled and all that - ahh the memories!

Autumn Days when the grass is jewelled, and the silk inside a chestnut shell, jet planes meeting in the air to be refuelled, all these things I love so well...
Definitely exists - number 4 in Come and Praise I think!

I feel the same way.

Catholic up-bringing but atheist.

I believe that singing sets off chemicals in the brain which make you feel any combination of joyful/sad/up-lifted/comforted/triumphant/calm.

This is interesting: www.cs.rutgers.edu/~biglars/Mozart

YES!!!! chunky get it!! I'm not going ga ga phew, so we mustn't forgeeeeeet no we mustn't forgeeeeeet to say a great big thank you we mustn't forgeeet

Atheist who loves a lot of the old hymns. Belting them out in school assembly was fun. Fantastic melodies.

Can't stand all the modern happy clappy hymns, no life to them.

Favourites are
We plough the fields and scatter
When a knight won his spurs
Sing Hosanna! (although when I was a kid I thought it was about a child called Hosanna, sounds a bit like Joanna right?, being exhorted to put a bit more enthusiasm into it)
Lord of the Dance
In the Bleak Midwinter
There is a Green hill

I think I liked the ones with creepy minor chords when I was younger

I didn't grow up in the C of E, so encountered these hymns as an adult, but I also developed a bit of a thing for the creepy, minor key dirges. I've no idea how well-known it is, but I adore a particularly gloomy one that begins 'Let all mortal flesh keep silence'...

Walking around singing guide me oh thou great redeemer now. At my fathers funeral last year it was fantastic to hear a great mass of his ex choristers singing lustily in full harmony.

A singing teacher told me that a good sing sets up little vibrations in your head (from the sound waves) that distribute serotonin all nice and evenly around your synapses and thus make you feel happy, relaxed, sensitive etc (that's why you get teary too). Apples to medical people...Ive probably got all the terms wrong, but you get the idea.

Glorious Things of Thee are spoken
Christ is made the firm foundation
O worship the king

Are my faves, with the last having the wonderful line "dark is his path on the wings of the storm" which made me shiver but excited as a child.

Def. a cultural Anglican here!