Religion

Religion may be defined as a cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, world views, texts, sanctified places, prophesies, ethics, or organizations, that claims to relate humanity to supernatural, transcendental, or spiritual elements. Different religions may or may not contain various elements ranging from the divine, sacred things, faith, a supernatural being or supernatural beings or "some sort of ultimacy and transcendence that will provide norms and power for the rest of life". Religious practices may include rituals, sermons, commemoration or veneration (of deities), sacrifices, festivals, feasts, trances, initiations, funerary services, matrimonial services, meditation, prayer, music, art, dance, public service, or other aspects of human culture. Religions have sacred histories and narratives, which may be preserved in sacred scriptures, and symbols and holy places, that aim mostly to give a meaning to life. Religions may contain symbolic stories, which are sometimes said by followers to be true, that have the side purpose of explaining the origin of life, the universe, and other things. Traditionally, faith, in addition to reason, has been considered a source of religious beliefs.
== Links To Peel ==
An influential figure in Peel's upbringing was his housemaster at Shrewsbury School, Richard Hubert John Brooke, an Anglican clergyman. His wife Sheila came from a working-class Roman Catholic family of Irish descent. During his years in America he lived in Texas and Oklahoma, states which are part of the so-called "Bible Belt" where Christianity is a major influence in public life. He didn't attend church while living in the USA, but religion was an influence on much of the music he liked, including that of many black blues and soul artists who were influenced by gospel music. 
Religion also played a significant role in the hippy culture of the 1960s and 1970s, which saw a proliferation of gurus, cults and self-styled prophets, some of whom attracted a following among musicians Peel admired.. After the Beatles had spent time in India in 1968 practising the Transcendental Mediation of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, many other pop and rock artists looked for spiritual salvation. George Harrison and John McLaughlin were among those who followed Hindu teachings, converts to Islam (via its mystical path, Sufism) included Richard Thompson and Peel's former flatmate Peter Sanders, and the Byrds' Jim McGuinn changed his name to Roger after joining the Indonesia-based movement Subud. King Crimson's Robert Fripp became a follower of the "Work" - the teachings of Armenian mystic G.I. Gurdjieff, via his English disciple J. G. Bennett. The Incredible String Band and (briefly) Leonard Cohen took up Scientology (Cohen later became a practitioner of Zen Buddhism) , while the Who's Pete Townshend and Ronnie Lane of the Faces became followers of the Indian mystic Meher Baba. 
Peel steered clear of such religious teachers, putting his faith in musicians rather than mystics, but was an influential figure on the late 1960s hippy scene and became somewhat uneasy when listeners and fans treated him as a guru. Reflecting the times, the studio guests he interviewed on Night Ride included an Anglican monk (27 March 1968), a poet who followed Meher Baba's teachings (02 April 1969) and an adherent of yoga and meditation (17 April 1968). Some of the music from the BBC Archives featured on the show came from various religious contexts, as the tracklistings for the John Peel's Archive Things LP indicate. 
But Peel was happy to put this role behind him in the 1970s, although he did develop his interest in American gospel music and played songs with religious themes, like "Spirit In The Sky" (Norman Greenbaum) and "Oh Happy Day" (Edwin Hawkins Singers), which sometimes reached high positions in the singles charts. The '70s also saw the beginnings of a Christian rock and pop movement; Peel has little time for its leading British exponent, Cliff Richard, or for the "happy-clappy" religious services which included pop-style music to attract a younger congregation. But the DJ did play a few tracks by American singer Larry Norman and had British artist Bryn Haworth do several Top Gear sessions. After that, he seemed to lose interest in the movement and was unimpressed when Bob Dylan turned to Christianity, writing in his end-of-year round-up of rock music developments in 1979 for the Listener that "Dylan located Jesus and became boring overnight". 
In response to the popularity of strange cults and quasi-religious groups during the '70s (sometimes known as the "Me Decade" due to this), he and John Walters invented a deity of their own, named "Snibri", described as "the god of small coincidences which work to your advantage".A similar idea underlies Peel's favourite literary work, Anthony Powell's A Dance To The Music Of Time, in which coincidences and hidden patterns shape the course of events and the fates of Powell's characters. At other times Peel drew parallels between religion and football, especially his support of Liverpool FC. 
In an article from Offbeat Magazine published in December 1988, Peel was asked to give his opinions of religion:
"Well I try to live my life without shitting on people. What seems to be what religion should be about. Shouldn't it? I like the idea of old fashioned religion in the sense that one could participate in a medieval activity. You can look at the paintings, you can look at the clothing and the furniture, and the fact that you can take part in a historical ritual seems incredibly interesting." 
His opinion on churches and cathedrals:
"I like churches and cathedrals and places like that, because even I don't believe in it myself, I like the belief of the people who built it, which you can feel radiating out from the stones." 
Thoughts of God:
"I prefer the idea of an vengeful and capricious God, lurking up in the roof of these old cathedrals, who zaps you for wanking, rather than the Cliff Richard type of God, who's a bloke who lets you beat him at table tennis." 
Views of Christianity:
"Problem with Christianity is that it all seems to be about suffering and being miserable and the best thing that could happen to you is to be pushed through a bacon slicer in the name of the Lord. I don't really want any part of that. I do find many of the sermons by Reverend CL Franklin, who is Aretha Franklin's dad, incredibly stirring though... about 50 or 60 of them are committed to vinyl too." 
 
Despite his misgivings about Christianity, Peel's funeral was held (presumably in accordance with his wishes) in the traditional setting of St Edmundsbury Cathedral, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk - although with plenty of his favourite music included.
== Compilations ==
(Known plays by Peel of various artist (v/a) compilations with religious themes, excluding those listed on the Gospel page of this site. Please add more information if known.)
	
(CD - Guitar Evangelists 1928-1951) Document
*08 August 2001: Blind Benny Paris and Wife: Hide Me In The Blood Of Jesus
*22 August 2001: Blind Willie Harris: Where He Leads Me I Will Follow
*20 September 2001: Mother McCollum: When I Take My Vacation In Heaven 
(CD - Preachers And Congregations, Vol. 1: 1927-1938) Document
*03 October 2001: Rev. James Beard: Memory Of Departed Friends
*10 October 2001: Black Billy Sunday: The Red Horse And Its Rider, The White Horse, The Black Horse And The Red Horse
*11 October 2001 (Radio Eins): Black Billy Sunday: Chickens Will Come Home To Roost
*06 November 2001: Rev. Benny Campbell: You Must Be Born Again
*22 November 2001 (Radio Eins): Rev. Benny Campbell: You Must Be Born Again
*January 2002 (FSK): Reverend Benny Campbell: You Must Be Born Again 
*10 January 2002: Black Billy Sunday: The Red Horse And It's Rider
*16 January 2002: Rev Benny Campbell: You Must Be Born Again
== See Also ==
*Big Holy One
*Christmas
*October 2001 (Peel's Record Box): Preachers and Congregations Volume 1 1927-1938 (Document)
*January 2002 (Peel's Record Box): Preachers and Congregations Volume 1 1927-1938 (Document)
== References ==
== External Links ==
* Wikipedia
Category:Subjects
Category:Compilations