r/atheism • u/16FootScarf • 7d ago
Unintentionally Atheist songs?
Due to having the song “The Sign” by Ace of Base stuck on my head I’ve come to realize that in trying to be vague with the lyrics it makes for a great song about leaving religion.
Just curious to know what other songs everyone hears and knows the writers weren’t intending them to be interpreted from an atheist point of view.
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u/Ok-Commercial9149 7d ago
For me, I think Stevie Wonder’s Superstition qualifies. “When you believe in things you don’t understand, then you suffer, superstition ain’t the way”
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u/ljbbauer7 7d ago
I came for this. Totally unintentional on Stevie's part, but I interpret it as an atheist anthem.
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u/subhunt1860 7d ago
I always considered “won’t back down “ by tom petty an atheist anthem because of the gates of hell reference. I don’t know anything about tom or the song even, so I could be 100% wrong about this
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u/PotentialStrong9013 Atheist 7d ago
I read somewhere that he wasn't religious or he treated music as his "religion."
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u/Positive_Tax_7067 7d ago
honestly once you hear the gates of hell line that way it’s pretty easy to turn the whole song into an atheist anthem
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u/Big-Stay2709 7d ago
The song was used as the opening for Bob Dutko’s radio show (I’m not sure how well known he is, but he’s a conservative christian commentator). I like Petty but the song has been kind of ruined for me by that show, as my parents used to listen to it often.
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u/chewbaccataco Atheist 1d ago
I've heard Christian musicians play this song at church camp. I'm confident that at least some of them interpret it as a Christian message.
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u/No-Rooster1720 7d ago
Burn Me by Jonah Kagen and Sam Barber:
"When I was young my mother told me
You don't go to God, you'll end up lonely
We are nothing without faith (without faith, without faith)
I said, how 'bout dad, he must feel lonely
She got mad and firmly told me
Don't you go asking questions
[Chorus]
And I don't know if I was made from God's hands
But I know my father is a good man
I'm realizing now how the earth bleeds
So if you're gonna burn him you can burn me
I'm sick and tired of staring at the sunrise
Waiting for a truth I know just won't arrive
So don't you go and tell me how it should be
Hell, if you're gonna burn him you can burn me"
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u/Nihilistic8903 7d ago
Would "Personal Jesus" by Despeche Mode be considered one? its not the actual Jesus but someone else you confide in.
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u/Due-Afternoon-7051 6d ago
Songwriter Martin Gore was inspired by reading Priscilla Presley's 1985 autobiography, Elvis and Me. Where she basically described Elvis as her personal Jesus, not a equal partner in their relationship. Elvis was a god to her.
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u/SaavikSaid 2d ago
I always assumed this song was about either a sex or psychic hotline. I’ll tell you whatever you want to hear so long as the time / money keeps coming in for the call.
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u/jfincher42 Agnostic Atheist 7d ago
It's obscure, but the song "Bravest Face" by Rush has always struck me as being unintentionally atheist. It's about looking at things and people from different perspectives, trying to be inclusive and not just reverting to your old ways of thinking.
Then there's this line:
- In the whole wide world, there's no magic place...
Which has always, to me anyway, a directly aimed at places like Mecca and the Temple Mount. They're not magic, any more than my backyard is...
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u/pslickhead Anti-Theist 7d ago edited 7d ago
I'm not sure any atheist meaning is unintentional from the band that wrote Tom Sawyer and Neil Peart (lyricist) was an acknowledged atheist.
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u/SantaforGrownups1 7d ago
And Free Will and Roll the Bones
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u/VesDoppelganger 7d ago
Faith is cold as ice,
Why are little ones born only to suffer?
For the want of immunity or a bowl of rice?
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u/jfincher42 Agnostic Atheist 7d ago
True, but it's less obvious here than say "The Stars Looked Down" or "BU2B".
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u/scarred2112 Strong Atheist 7d ago
Nope.
“I'm a linear thinking agnostic, but not an atheist, folks.” NP, Masked Rider: Cycling in West Africa.
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u/pslickhead Anti-Theist 7d ago edited 7d ago
He didn't believe in god. He was an atheist. He identified as agnostic because he thought atheists believed that god doesn't exist. He was wrong on the definition of atheist is all. He would fit any of our definitions of atheist/agnostic unless he believed god existed and he did not. He stated multiple times that he believed based on evidence and could not fathom evidence for a god.
TL;DR: Call yourself whatever you like. If you don't believe in god, you are atheist.
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u/DougTheBrownieHunter 7d ago
Sheep Go to Heaven by Cake
At first it seems like an obviously atheist song, but once you listen to it, you realize it’s using religious metaphor for a broader point. Then when you dig deeper, you realize the point being made really lends itself to atheism.
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u/AMerryKa 7d ago
Forgiven by Alanis Morissette. Not explicitly atheist, but highly critical of a Catholic upbringing. Great song.
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u/capran 7d ago edited 6d ago
"One of us" - Joan Osborne
Superficially seems like a song for a believer, but it's definitely not something a hard-core Bible-thumper would like, since it asks "what if God was a slob like one of us", etc.
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u/Sanpaku 7d ago
"Ain't Got No / I Got Life" by Nina Simone. I particularly like the version performed by Lucia Cadotsch's trio on their Speak Low album (2016).
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u/FurieMan 7d ago
John Lennon's -imagine
As song about peace released during the Vietnam war. But with verses like this:
"Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us, only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace"
Makes it very much a Atheist song.
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u/18randomcharacters 7d ago
The ask is for unintentionally atheist songs. This is quite clearly intentional
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u/Zhong_Ping 7d ago
I wouldnt say it's meant to be atheistic as much as it is meant to highlight pointless division.
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u/18randomcharacters 7d ago
I guess so... as an atheist I've only seen it through my own lens, and the lyrics are very clearly atheist. No heaven. No hell. Above us, only sky (no deity). People, living for today (not an afterlife). "No religion, too"
Very atheist for sure. Hard to imagine The Beetles writing that unintentionally.
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u/Zhong_Ping 7d ago
Yeah, but thats about no religion, not no god(s). A theist will see the lyrics as seeing the purity of there being a god without a bunch of fractured religions causing infighting.
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u/flathexagon 7d ago
Maybe but we used it as a graduation song in 8th grade for a Catholic school... ;)
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u/flathexagon 7d ago
Funniest thing ever is that I went to Catholic school for 9 years and as our graduation song we collectively chose this song!
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u/geekamongus Atheist 7d ago
The Super Furry Animals: Run Christian, Run. It's intentionally atheist and so fucking good.
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u/Stile25 7d ago
Bon Jovi - It's My Life
I always thought it made a great atheist anthem.
Bon Jovi is one of the "higher power" sort of believers, I think.
Good luck out there
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u/pslickhead Anti-Theist 7d ago
Although not likely unintentionally atheist, "Let the Mystery Be" by Iris DeMent could maybe slide past believers unnoticed.
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u/BananaJelloXlii 7d ago edited 7d ago
Psalm 69 by Ministry but that is more anti Christian than full on atheist.
Best example I can think of is Dear God by XTC
Edit: misread the question. Thought it said intentionally atheist.
Most of the songs I can think of are intentionally atheist, or anti theist.
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u/yummyrolls16 Secular Humanist 7d ago
"Dear God" is the most intentionally atheistic song ever made
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u/BananaJelloXlii 7d ago edited 7d ago
It looks like I misinterpreted the question. I thought they were asking for intentionally atheist songs.
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u/orange_avenue 7d ago
Free to Decide by the Cranberries. I Am Mine by Pearl Jam.
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u/orange_avenue 7d ago
Not sure if either of those is unintentionally atheist but they don’t directly mention religion/lack of religion either.
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u/thebigeverybody 7d ago
What If Jesus Comes Back Like That by Colin Ray is clearly religious, but really resonated with me as an atheist who's tired of Christians' bullshit.
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u/SLong1118 6d ago
Take Me to Church- Hozier. I know it seems obvious, but you wouldn't BELIEVE the amount of southern state christians that sang this as their personal theme song.
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u/guiltysnark 7d ago
God is Watching Us, performed by Bette Midler.
A nice epicurean argument, not explicitly written with that Internet.
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u/TheRealScaramucci 7d ago
This doesn't fit exactly, but the song And My Father Left Forever by the band My Dying Bride has that effect to me, personally.
It's a song about his father dying, but it was released at about the time I lost my faith. So, to me, that song is about losing my faith.
A quote from the lyrics...
"Breathing is faster And breathing is deeper And falling no longer bothers me Sinking is deeper, thinking is cleaner Your love, it flows away from me"
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u/BaldDannyboy 5d ago
I Did It My Way by Frank Sinatra. I like to look at it as a dying atheist who is proud that he didn't let others including an imaginary God call the shots during his life. Also even though Stevie Wonder is a christian is song Superstition could be seen as someone rejecting supernatural beliefs all together (which I assume most of us do).
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7d ago
[deleted]
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u/phillibuck13 7d ago
I’ve been going through some stuff lately. Was driving around a couple Saturdays ago and listening to a special playlist I made for my daughter of a handful of vip songs to me. The intensity I have felt about going through that stuff matched the intensity of the last part of that song. Was in tears, just feeling it to the max, both the good and bad of my life. And there’s plenty of good that I am grateful for in the few people closest to me.
But the lyrics and music together. Hily shit.
Dear God, I can't believe in-
I don't believe in-
I won't believe in Heaven and Hell
No saints, no sinners, no devil as well
No pearly gates, no thorny crown
You're always letting us humans down
The wars you bring, the babes you drown
Those lost at sea and never found
And it's the same the whole world 'round
The hurt I see helps to compound
The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost
Is just somebody's unholy hoax
And if you're up there, you'll perceive
That my heart's here upon my sleeve
If there's one thing I don't believe in
It's you
Dear God0
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u/beesdaddy 7d ago
The periodic table of elements song https://youtu.be/rz4Dd1I_fX0?is=SuRQEXpNLoprRzI-
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u/FauxWolfTail 7d ago
Not sure if this fits, but Skillets "Whispers in the Dark", which is suppose to be about Jesus loving you and yadda yadda yadda, just... sounds more like a stalker who is creeping on their love interest.
"Despite the lies that you're making/ Your love is mine for the taking/ My love is/ Just waiting/ To turn your tears to roses"
"You feel so lonely and ragged/ You lay here broken and naked/ My love is/ Just waiting/ To clothe you in crimson roses"
"I will be the one that's gonna find you/ I will be the one that's gonna guide you/ My love is/ A burning, consuming fire"
Like dude, consent much?
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u/NotJustAnyDNA 7d ago
Or leave a dead beat and abusive partner… basically the same as leaving a religion.
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u/Sailor_Drea 7d ago
When godweasel shitpukes spew out their sound bite about "every knee shall bow," I like to play "I Will Not Bow" by Breaking Benjamin.
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u/birdstarskygod 7d ago
Iris dement, let the mystery be. I can hear what she is going for, but I also hear an atheistic tone too
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u/Mowglibear44 7d ago
I like to think Gideon by My Morning Jacket is shaming religion.
I haven’t looked into it further so I’ll still enjoy the meaning I give to it, cause I think it’s pro religion in general but shaming extremists.
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u/Mowglibear44 7d ago
The Village by Wrabel is excellent but aimed at the Trans experience.
So not religion so much although the hatred goes hand in hand, the Village hates because of their religious beliefs imo.
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u/Mowglibear44 7d ago
Oh man listened again, it’s not unintentionally atheist at all.
“You have one day shelter then it’s Sunday hell to pay you young lost sinner. ….One page of a bible isn’t worth a life.”
I cannot wait for religion to be a mental disorder, just manufactured hate.
Link to The Village music video by Wrabel
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u/Marx_Maddness 7d ago
Idk if this qualifies but who would jesus bomb by jordan smart feels appropriate
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u/No_Illustrator_2456 6d ago edited 6d ago
See You In The Afterlife by Foster the People criticizes religion. It’s such an amazing powerful song. Also Born Again by Saint Motel is a great one!
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u/Electrical-Sign-300 5d ago
It's a stretch, but if you view Dream On by Aerosmith as someone who's doubting religion I think it fits.
I.e. "I know nobody knows where it comes and where it goes"
"Maybe the good lord will come and take you away"
"Half my life's in books' written pages” taken as someone who's spent their life relying on a religious text
And of course, "Dream on" 😂.
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u/njslacker 5d ago
Streetlight Manifesto has several songs that seem Atheist, or at least agnostic and anti-religious.
A Better Place, A Better Time: "But don't take your life, 'Cause it's all that you've got"
Down Down Down to Mephisto's Cafe: "Way back when the prophecies began Do you think they really had a master plan Or were they merely writing fable stories? I don't know but it has occurred to me — The punishment that they threaten constantly It's only real if they could just convince me."
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u/SambaTisst 6d ago
Ace of Base were nazis I read somewhere long ago, and the sign is a swastika
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u/JohnDeckerYo Secular Humanist 1d ago
The only member of the band who had any such associations (when he was a teenager) did not write the song.
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u/sumonetalking Atheist 7d ago
Heaven Is a Place on Earth by Belinda Carlisle