View source for Contemporary Christian music

{{Short description|Genre of modern popular music}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox music genre
| name              = Contemporary Christian music
| stylistic_origins = * [[Christian music]]
* [[Church music]]
* [[Gospel music]]
* [[Jesus music]]
* [[American popular music]]
| cultural_origins  = Late 1960s, United States
| derivatives       = 
| subgenrelist      = 
| subgenres         = * [[Christian alternative rock]]
* [[Christian country music]]
* [[Christian electronic dance music]]
* [[Christian hip-hop]]
* [[Christian metal]]
* [[Christian rock]]
* [[Contemporary worship music]]
* [[Urban contemporary gospel]]
*[[Latin Christian music]]
| fusiongenres      = 
| regional_scenes   = 
| local_scenes      = 
| other_topics      = [[Christian media]]
}}
{{Christian culture}}
'''Contemporary Christian music''' ('''CCM'''), also known as '''Christian pop''', and occasionally '''inspirational music''', is a genre of modern [[popular music]], and an aspect of [[Christian media]], which is lyrically focused on matters related to the [[Christianity|Christian faith]] and stylistically rooted in [[Christian music]]. Originating in the United States, it was formed by those affected by the 1960s [[Jesus movement]] revival who began to express themselves in other styles of popular music, beyond the [[church music]] of [[hymn]]s, [[Gospel music|gospel]] and [[Southern gospel]] music that was prevalent in the church at the time. Initially referred to as [[Jesus music]], today, the term is typically used to refer to [[pop music|pop]], but also includes [[Christian rock|rock]], [[Christian alternative rock|alternative rock]], [[Christian hip-hop|hip-hop]], [[Christian metal|metal]], [[Contemporary worship music|contemporary worship]], [[Christian punk|punk]], [[Christian hardcore|hardcore punk]], [[Latin Christian music|Latin]], [[Christian electronic dance music|electronic dance music]], [[urban contemporary gospel|R&B-influenced gospel]], and [[Christian country music|country]] styles.

After originating in the US, it has since become a globally recognized style of popular music.<ref>{{cite web | last=Tomlin | first=Edward | title=10 Best Hillsong Worship Songs of All Time | website=Singersroom.com – R&B Music, R&B Videos, R&B News | date=April 10, 2024 | url=https://singersroom.com/w44/best-hillsong-worship-songs-of-all-time/ | access-date=June 3, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=「Third Day」 ３月にライブツアー、スタジオアルバム同時リリース | website=クリスチャントゥデイ | date=May 20, 2002 | url=https://www.christiantoday.co.jp/articles/1956/20080207/news.htm | language=ja | access-date=June 3, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last=Llamas | first=Cora | title=Pandemic Streaming Inspires New Filipino Christian Music Label | website=News & Reporting | date=January 1, 1970 | url=https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2022/march/philippines-sony-christian-music-label-waterwalk-pandemic.html | access-date=June 3, 2024}}</ref> It has representation on several music charts, including ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]''{{'}}s [[Christian Albums]], [[Christian Songs]], [[Hot Christian AC]] (Adult Contemporary), Christian CHR, Soft AC/Inspirational, and Christian Digital Songs as well as the UK's [[Official Christian & Gospel Albums Chart]]. Top-selling CCM artists will also appear on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]]. In the [[iTunes Store]], the genre is represented as part of the Christian and gospel genre<ref group="notes">In the US iTunes store, the section is entitled ''Christian & Gospel''. In the UK iTunes store, it's ''Gospel''. Canada's and Australia's iTunes section is entitled ''Inspirational''.</ref> while the [[Google Play Music]] system labeled it as Christian/Gospel.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Google Play Music |url=https://play.google.com/music/listen?u=0#/wbsc/JZC222 |access-date=March 26, 2019 |website=play.google.com}}</ref>

== History ==
=== Beginnings (1950s–1960s) ===
The growing popularity of [[rock and roll]] music in the 1950s was initially dismissed by the church because it was believed to encourage sinfulness. Yet as evangelical churches adapted to appeal to more people, the musical styles used in worship changed as well by adopting the sounds of this popular style.<ref>{{Cite Grove|last=McDowell|first=Amy D.|title=Contemporary Christian Music [CCM]|idA2234810|date=11 February 2013}}</ref>

The genre became known as contemporary Christian music as a result of the [[Jesus movement]] revival in the latter 1960s and early 1970s,<ref name="BanjoWilliams">{{Cite journal |last1=Banjo |first1=Omotayo O. |last2=Williams |first2=Kesha Morant |year=2011 |title=A House Divided? Christian Music in Black and White |journal=Journal of Media & Religion |volume=10 |issue=3 |pages=115–137 |doi=10.1080/15348423.2011.599640 |s2cid=144756181}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=February 17, 2016 |title=Who killed the contemporary Christian music industry? |url=http://theweek.com/articles/555603/who-killed-contemporary-christian-music-industry |access-date=August 21, 2017}}</ref> and was originally called [[Jesus music]].<ref name="ForbesMahan2017">{{Cite book |last1=Forbes |first1=Bruce David |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OaswDwAAQBAJ&pg=PR9 |title=Religion and Popular Culture in America, Third Edition |last2=Mahan |first2=Jeffrey H. |publisher=Univ of California Press |year=2017 |isbn=978-0-520-29146-1 |pages=9–}}</ref> "About that time, many young people from the sixties' counterculture professed to believe in Jesus. Convinced of the "bareness" of a lifestyle based on drugs, free sex and "radical politics", some of the Jesus '[[hippie]]s' became known as 'Jesus people'".<ref name="Frame">Frame, John M. ''Contemporary Worship Music''. Phillipsburg, New Jersey: P&R Publishing, 1997.</ref> It was during the 1970s Jesus movement that Christian music started to become an industry within itself.<ref name="by the 80s">{{Cite book |last=Powell |first=Mark Allan |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofco00mark/page/10 |title=Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music |publisher=Hendrickson Publishers |year=2002 |isbn=1-56563-679-1 |location=Peabody, Massachusetts |page=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofco00mark/page/10 10] |quote=By the '80s, the special-interest network that Jesus music had spawned had developed into a multimillion-dollar industry. Contemporary Christian music had its own magazines, radio stations and award shows. The Jesus movement revival was over.}}</ref> "Jesus music" started by playing instruments and singing songs about love and peace, which then translated into love of God. Paul Wohlegemuth, who wrote the book ''Rethinking Church Music'', said "[the] 1970s will see a marked acceptance of rock-influenced music in all levels of church music. The rock style will become more familiar to all people, its rhythmic excesses will become refined, and its earlier secular associations will be less remembered."<ref>Baker, Paul. Page 140. ''Contemporary Christian Music: Where it came from What it is Where It's Going''. Westchester, Illinois: Crossway Books, 1985. Print.</ref>

Evangelical artists made significant contributions to CCM in the 1960s, developing various Christian [[music styles]], from [[Christian rock]] to [[Christian hip-hop]], continuing on to [[Christian punk]] and [[Christian metal]].<ref>David Horn, John Shepherd, ''Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World Volume 8: Genres: North America'', Continuum International Publishing Group, USA, 2012, pp. 144, 147.</ref><ref>Don Cusic, ''Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music: Pop, Rock, and Worship: Pop, Rock, and Worship'', ABC-CLIO, USA, 2009, p. 77.</ref> Those involved were affected by the late 1960s to early 1970s [[Jesus movement]], whose adherents colloquially called themselves "Jesus Freaks", as an evangelical Christian response to the [[counterculture]] movements such as [[hippie]]s and [[flower children]] who were finding widespread traction. The [[Calvary Chapel Association|Calvary Chapel]] was one such response, which launched [[Maranatha! Music|Maranatha Music]] in 1971. They soon began to express themselves in alternative styles of [[popular music]] and worship music. The [[GMA Dove Award|''Dove Awards'']], an annual ceremony which rewards Christian music, was created in [[Memphis, Tennessee]] in October 1969 by the Gospel Music Association.<ref>W. K. McNeil, ''Encyclopedia of American Gospel Music'', Routledge, Abingdon-on-Thames, 2013, p. 108.</ref>

There was some internal critique of CCM at its advent.<ref name="Powell_Fe" /> The Christian college [[Bob Jones University]] discourages its dormitory students from listening to CCM.<ref name="BJU_Hall">{{Cite web |title=BJU ~ Residence Hall Life |url=http://www.bju.edu/become-a-student/accepted-students/expectations/residence.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120125043737/http://www.bju.edu/become-a-student/accepted-students/expectations/residence.php |archive-date=January 25, 2012 |access-date=March 21, 2009 |publisher=[[Bob Jones University]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Clarke |first=Gerald |date=March 11, 1985 |title=New Lyrics for the Devil's Music |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|url=https://time.com/archive/6707430/show-business-new-lyrics-for-the-devils-music/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111120220504/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,141289,00.html |archive-date=November 20, 2011}}</ref>

[[Larry Norman]] is often remembered as the "father of Christian rock", because of his early contributions (before the Jesus movement) to the developing new genre that mixed rock rhythms with the Christian messages.<ref name="Hevesi">Hevesi, Dennis. "Larry Norman, 60, Singer of Christian Rock Music". ''[[The New York Times]]'' March 4, 2008: 1. Print. February 3, 2016.</ref> Though his style was not initially well received by some in the Christian community of the time, he continued throughout his career to create controversial hard-rock songs such as "Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music?"<ref name="Hevesi" /> He is remembered as the artist "who first combined rock 'n' roll with Christian lyrics" in the [[Gospel Music Hall of Fame]].<ref name="Hevesi" /> Though there were Christian albums in the 1960s that contained contemporary-sounding songs, there were two albums recorded in 1969 that are considered{{By whom|date=November 2010}} to be the first complete albums of "Jesus rock": ''[[Upon This Rock (Larry Norman album)|Upon This Rock]]'' (1969) by Larry Norman initially released on [[Capitol Records]],<ref name="John J. Thompson 2000">John J. Thompson, ''Raised by Wolves: The Story of Christian Rock & Roll'' (2000):49.</ref> and ''Mylon – We Believe'' by [[Mylon LeFevre]], released by Cotillion, which was LeFevre's attempt at blending [[gospel music]] with [[southern rock]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Oord |first=Bill |title=Mylon LeFevre Biography |url=http://www.tributetomylon.com/biography.htm |access-date=June 26, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Powell|2002|p=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofco00mark/page/520 520]}}: "Musically, the 1970 album ''Mylon'' (a.k.a. ''We Believe'') is deservedly a Christian classic, a raw example of down-home southern rock. A dominant organ, spicy guitars, and generous use of female background vocals give the project a funky-and-gritty combination of R&B soul and roots rock."</ref> Unlike traditional or southern gospel music, this new Jesus music was birthed out of [[rock music|rock]] and [[folk music]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Di Sabatino |first=David |title=The Jesus People Movement: An Annotated Bibliography and General Resource |publisher=Greenwood Press |year=1999 |isbn=0-313-30268-5 |series=Bibliographies and Indexes in Religious Studies, Number 49 |location=Westport, Connecticut}}</ref>

Pioneers of this movement also included [[Andrae Crouch|Andraé Crouch and the Disciples]], [[the Imperials]], [[Michael Omartian]], [[2nd Chapter of Acts]], [[Phil Keaggy]], [[Love Song (band)|Love Song]], [[Barry McGuire]], [[Evie (singer)|Evie]], [[Paul Clark (Christian musician)|Paul Clark]], [[Randy Matthews]], [[Randy Stonehill]] and [[Keith Green]] among others. The small Jesus music culture had expanded into a multimillion-dollar [[Christian music industry|industry]] by the 1980s.<ref name="by the 80s" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=It's a long way from 'Jesus music' to CCM industry |url=http://www.canadianchristianity.com/cgi-bin/bc.cgi?bc/bccn/0303/artccm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130215165622/http://www.canadianchristianity.com/cgi-bin/bc.cgi?bc/bccn/0303/artccm |archive-date=February 15, 2013 |access-date=January 26, 2013 |publisher=Canadianchristianity.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=March 16, 2003 |title=News Digest |url=http://pe.ag.org/News2003/4636_ccm.cfm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140113071112/http://pe.ag.org/News2003/4636_ccm.cfm |archive-date=January 13, 2014 |access-date=January 26, 2013 |publisher=Pe.ag.org}}</ref> A number of CCM artists such as [[Benny Hester]],<ref name="CCM Legends">{{Cite web |title=CCM Legends – Benny Hester |url=http://www.cbn.com/cbnmusic/Artists/Hester_Benny.aspx |publisher=CBN.com}}</ref><ref name="BillboardAdultContemporaryTop50Chart">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3iQEAAAAMBAJ&q=Benny+Hester&pg=PT32 |title=Billboard Top 50 Adult Contemporary Chart – Nov 7, 1981 – 'Nobody Knows Me Like You' Debuts No. 44 Mainstream |date=November 7, 1981 |publisher=Billboard.com}}</ref> [[Amy Grant]],<ref>{{Cite magazine |title=Amy Grant – Chart history |url={{BillboardURLbyName|artist=amy grant|chart=all}} |access-date=May 8, 2013 |magazine=Billboard}}</ref> [[DC Talk]],<ref>{{Cite magazine |title=dc Talk – Chart history |url={{BillboardURLbyName|artist=dc talk|chart=all}} |access-date=May 8, 2013 |magazine=Billboard}}</ref> [[Michael W. Smith]],<ref>{{Cite magazine |title=Michael W. Smith – Chart history |url={{BillboardURLbyName|artist=michael w. smith|chart=all}} |access-date=May 8, 2013 |magazine=Billboard}}</ref> [[Stryper]],<ref>{{Cite magazine |title=Stryper – Chart history |url={{BillboardURLbyName|artist=stryper|chart=all}} |access-date=May 8, 2013 |magazine=Billboard}}</ref> and [[Jars of Clay]]<ref>{{Cite magazine |title=Jars of Clay – Chart history |url={{BillboardURLbyName|artist=jars of clay|chart=all}} |access-date=May 8, 2013 |magazine=Billboard}}</ref> found [[Crossover (music)|crossover]] success with [[Top 40]] mainstream radio play.

=== Popularity (1970s–1990s) ===
The genre emerged and became prevalent in the 1970s and 1980s.<ref name="Nantais196.18">{{Cite journal |last=Nantais |first=David |year=2007 |title=What Would Jesus Listen To? |journal=America |volume=196 |issue=18 |pages=22–24}}</ref> Beginning in July 1978, ''[[CCM Magazine]]'' began covering "contemporary Christian music" artists and a wide range of spiritual themes until it launched online publications in 2009.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CCM Magazine |url=http://www.todayschristianmusic.com/ccm-magazine/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130122003708/http://www.todayschristianmusic.com/ccm-magazine/ |archive-date=January 22, 2013 |access-date=January 26, 2013 |publisher=TodaysChristianMusic}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=CCM Magazine Subscription Options |url=http://www.ccmmagazine.com/magazines/ |access-date=January 26, 2013 |work=[[CCM Magazine]]}}</ref>

Themes and messages include praise and worship, faith, encouragement, and prayer.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Adedeji |first=Femi |year=2006 |title=Essentials of Christian Music in Contemporary Times: A Prognosis |journal=Asia Journal of Theology |volume=20 |issue=2 |pages=230–240}}</ref> Songs also focus on themes of devotion, inspiration, redemption, reconciliation, and renewal.<ref name="BanjoWilliams" /> A number of people listen to contemporary Christian music for comfort in tough times. The lyrics and messages conveyed in CCM songs have had varied, positive Christian messages over the decades. For instance, some songs have aimed at evangelism and some lyrics are meant to praise and worship Jesus.<ref name="Nantais196.18" /> One of the earliest goals of CCM was to spread the news of Jesus to non-Christians.<ref name="BanjoWilliams" /> In addition, contemporary Christian music also strengthens the faith of Christians.<ref name="BanjoWilliams" />

Various evangelical [[record labels]] have supported the movement. In [[Christian rock]], [[Sparrow Records]] was founded in 1976 in the United States by Billy Ray Hearn, a [[Christian music]] graduate from [[Baylor University]].<ref>Don Cusic, ''Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music: Pop, Rock, and Worship: Pop, Rock, and Worship'', ABC-CLIO, USA, 2009, p. 359.</ref> The songs of ''[[Hillsong Music]]'', founded in 1991 by [[Hillsong Church]], in [[Sydney]], [[Australia]], have been translated into various languages and have had an influence considerable in evangelical churches worldwide.<ref>Kelsey McKinney, [https://www.thefader.com/2018/10/11/hillsong-church-worship-songs-music-industry How Hillsong Church conquered the music industry in God's name], thefader.com, USA, October 11, 2018.</ref>

In [[Christian hip-hop]], [[TobyMac]], Todd Collins, and Joey Elwood founded the first specialized label ''[[Gotee Records]]'' in 1994.<ref>Justin Sarachik, [https://rapzilla.com/2016-02-tobymac-s-influence-on-hip-hop-and-how-he-signed-john-reuben-over-kj-52/ TobyMac's Influence on Christian Hip-Hop and How Gotee Records Signed John Reuben Over KJ-52], rapzilla.com, USA, February 9, 2016.</ref><ref>Randall Herbert Balmer, ''Encyclopedia of Evangelicalism: Revised and expanded edition'', Baylor University Press, USA, 2004, pp. 296–297.</ref> The founding of the label ''[[Reach Records]]'' in 2004 by [[Lecrae]] and Ben Washer also had a significant impact in the development of Christian hip-hop.

Contemporary Christian musicians and listeners have sought to extend their music into settings where religious music traditionally might not be heard. For instance, [[MercyMe]]'s song "[[I Can Only Imagine (MercyMe song)|I Can Only Imagine]]" was a crossover success in 1999 despite having a clear Christian message.<ref name="FOXNewsJuly062003">{{Cite web |last=Adams |first=Ramsay |date=July 6, 2003 |title=Christian Rock Crosses Over |url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/christian-rock-crosses-over |access-date=October 6, 2010 |publisher=[[Fox News Channel]]}}</ref> In 2018, [[Lauren Daigle]]'s '[[You Say]]' was a similar hit.<ref>Jeannie Ortega Law, [https://www.christianpost.com/news/lauren-daigle-continues-mainstream-success-as-christian-song-you-say-breaks-into-billboard-top-40.html Lauren Daigle continues mainstream success as Christian song 'You Say' breaks into Billboard Top 40], christianpost.com, USA, January 15, 2019</ref>

According to a 2009 study published by Faith Communities Today, 64% of churches that adopted contemporary Christian music in the past five years saw an increase in service attendance of 2% or more.<ref> Tracy Gordon, [https://religionnews.com/2009/09/16/is-music-key-to-successful-church-growth/ Is contemporary music key to church growth?], religionnews.com, USA, September 16, 2009 </ref>

=== Modernity ===
Contemporary Christian music has influences from folk, gospel, pop and rock music.<ref name="Nantais196.18" /> Genres of music such as soft rock, folk rock, alternative, hip-hop, etc. have played a large influence on CCM.<ref>Mumford, Lawrence R. "A variety of religious composition: the music we sing, in and out of church, is more varied and interesting than we've been led to believe." ''Christianity Today'', June 2011: 42+. Fine Arts and Music Collection. Retrieved February 8, 2014.</ref>

Charismatic churches have had a large influence on contemporary Christian music and are one of the largest producers of CCM. Contemporary Christian music has also expanded into multiple [[subgenre]]s.<ref name="Nantais196.18" /> [[Christian punk]], [[Christian hardcore]], [[Christian metal]], and [[Christian hip-hop]], although not normally considered CCM, can also come under the genre's umbrella.<ref name="Powell_Fe">{{harvnb|Powell|2002}}</ref> [[Contemporary worship music]] is also incorporated in modern CCM. [[Contemporary worship]] is both recorded and performed during [[church service]]s.{{fact|date=October 2024}}

In the 2000s, contemporary worship music with a distinctly [[Theology|theological]] focus has emerged, primarily in the [[Baptists|Baptist]], [[Calvinism|Reformed]] and more traditional non-denominational branches of Protestant Christianity.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 26, 2018 |title=Keith Getty Is Still Fighting the Worship Wars |url=https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2018/march-web-only/keith-getty-is-still-fighting-worship-wars.html |access-date=March 26, 2019 |website=Christianity Today}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=BRnow.org – Getty worship conference strikes a chord {{!}} Baptist News |url=https://brnow.org/News/September-2018/Getty-worship-conference-strikes-a-chord |access-date=March 26, 2019 |website=brnow.org}}</ref> Artists include well-known groups such as [[Shane & Shane]] and modern hymn-writers, [[Keith & Kristyn Getty]]<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Farmer |first1=Blake |title=Modern Hymn Writers Aim To Take Back Sunday |website=NPR.org |date=July 8, 2013 |url=https://www.npr.org/2013/07/08/200013769/modern-hymn-writers-aim-to-take-back-sunday |access-date=March 26, 2019 |publisher=NPR}}</ref> as well as others like [[Sovereign Grace Churches|Sovereign Grace Music]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=McEachen |first=Ben |date=June 25, 2018 |title=What do you mean by worship? |url=https://www.eternitynews.com.au/culture/what-do-you-mean-by-worship/,%20https://www.eternitynews.com.au/culture/what-do-you-mean-by-worship/ |access-date=March 26, 2019 |website=Eternity News}}</ref> Matt Boswell and [[Aaron Keyes]]. The format is gaining traction in a number of churches<ref>{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Rew |title=Doxology & Theology conference: Churches need to sing the Word of God |url=http://kentuckytoday.com/stories/doxology-theology-conference-churches-need-to-sing-the-word-of-god,16237 |access-date=March 26, 2019 |website=Kentucky Today|date=November 15, 2018}}</ref> and other areas in culture<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 27, 2018 |title=Hymn Writer Keith Getty Becomes First Christian Artist To Be Appointed Officer Of The Order Of The British Empire (OBE) By The Queen |url=http://www.breathecast.com/articles/hymn-writer-keith-getty-becomes-first-christian-artist-to-be-appointed-officer-of-the-order-of-the-british-empire-obe-by-the-queen-37965/ |access-date=March 26, 2019 |website=BREATHEcast}}</ref> as well as being heard in CCM collections and musical [[Music Genome Project|algorithms]] on several Internet streaming services.{{fact|date=October 2024}}

According to a 2023 study by Worship Leader Research, of the top 25 most popular song licenses used by churches between 2010 and 2020, nearly 100% came from three [[megachurch]] music groups; [[Hillsong Worship]] ([[Hillsong Church]]), [[Bethel Music]] ([[Bethel Church (Redding, California)|Bethel Church]]), and [[Elevation Worship]] ([[Elevation Church]]).<ref> WLR Team, [https://worshipleaderresearch.com/100-of-the-top-25-worship-songs-are-associated-with-just-a-handful-of-megachurches/ (Almost) 100% of the Top 25 Worship Songs are associated with just a handful of Megachurches], worshipleaderresearch.com, USA, March 30, 2023 </ref>

== Controversy ==
{{criticism section|date=July 2023}}

Brian Schwertley of the [[Reformed Presbyterian Church (denominational group)|Reformed Presbyterian]] tradition wrote in 2001 that the inclusion of CCM in a worship service violates the [[Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image|second commandment]] and the [[regulative principle of worship]] because it adds man-made inventions, lyrics, and instrumental music to the biblically appointed way of worshipping God.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schwertley |first=Brian |title=Musical Instruments in the Public Worship of God |url=http://reformedonline.com/view/reformedonline/music.htm|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130212233146/https://www.reformedonline.com/view/reformedonline/music.htm|archivedate=2013-02-12}}</ref>

"The responsibility of the church is not to provide escape from reality", according to Donald Ellsworth, the author of ''Christian Music in Contemporary Witness'', "but to give answers to contemporary problems through legitimate, biblical means".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ellsworth |first=Donald |title=Christian Music in Contemporary Witness: Historical Antecedents and Contemporary Practices |date=1979 |publisher=Baker Book House |location=Grand Rapids, Michigan}}</ref>

According to [[Vice (magazine)|''Vice'']] magazine, CCM "has often functioned as a [[Propaganda in the United States|propaganda]] wing of the [[Christian right]]", presenting views on topics such as the [[war on drugs]], [[Christian nationalism]], [[mission trips]], [[school prayer]], and the [[LGBT community]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hesse |first=Josiah |date=July 14, 2022 |title=Christian Rock Has Demonized LGBTQ People for Years. Now It Needs Them to Survive |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/christian-rock-music-lgbtq-musicians-acceptance/ |access-date=2023-03-24 |website=Vice |language=en}}</ref>

=== Label rejection ===
Several high-profile bands have rejected the label "Christian music", such as [[Needtobreathe#Categorization|Needtobreathe]] and [[Mutemath#Religion|Mutemath]], with the latter suing their record label over being marketed as such.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-05-05 |title=Interview – Unmuted: Did mother Earthsuit beget Mute Math?|website=The Hook|location=Charlottesville|url=https://www.readthehook.com/80056/interview-unmuted-did-mother-earthsuit-beget-mute-math |access-date=2023-10-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140505161050/https://www.readthehook.com/80056/interview-unmuted-did-mother-earthsuit-beget-mute-math |archive-date=May 5, 2014}}</ref> Of the categorization, Needtobreathe said to Rolling Stone: "Any label is limiting. That one in particular is especially limiting. To me, I think people pass over the band all the time because they read that....I hate the idea that they somehow feel like I didn't make the music for them, that we didn't play music for everyone. Christian record deals came and we said no to all of them. Waited a couple years until the right record deal came, which was Atlantic, which we've been on ever since. But we just said to them in passing when we first started, we want the records to be available to everyone."<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Freeman |first=Jon |date=2016-08-23 |title=Needtobreathe Talk Christian-Band Stigma, Experimental New LP |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/needtobreathe-talk-christian-band-stigma-experimental-new-lp-101938/ |access-date=2023-10-04 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Growth and decline ==
Contemporary Christian album sales increased from $31 million in 1996 to $44 million in sales in 2000. After [[EMI]]'s purchase of [[Sparrow Records]] in 1996, their sales increased 100 percent by 2002.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Black |first=Beau |date=March 11, 2002 |title=CCM's growing pains: a survey of labels finds the message—if not the creativity—is intact |url=https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2002/marchweb-only/36.75.html |journal=Christianity Today |publisher=Fine Arts and Music Collection |url-access=}}</ref> Overall, CCM sales in 2014 dropped to $17 million.<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 21, 2017 |title=Who killed the contemporary Christian music industry? |url=https://theweek.com/articles/555603/who-killed-contemporary-christian-music-industry |website=The Week}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{div col|colwidth=42em}}
* {{annotated link|Christian alternative rock}}
* {{annotated link|Christian country music}}
* {{annotated link|Christian electronic dance music}}
* {{annotated link|Christian metal}}
* {{annotated link|Christian rock}}
* {{annotated link|Contemporary commercial music}}
* {{annotated link|Contemporary worship music}}
* {{annotated link|Latin Christian music}}
* {{annotated link|Neues Geistliches Lied}}
{{div col end}}

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|group="notes"}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Further reading ==
{{div col|colwidth=45em}}
* Alfonso, Barry. ''The Billboard Guide ''. Billboard Books, 2002.
* {{Cite book |last=Beaujon |first=Andrew |url=https://archive.org/details/bodypiercingsave00beauj |title=Body Piercing Saved My Life: Inside the Phenomenon of Christian Rock |publisher=Da Capo Press |year=2006 |isbn=0-306-81457-9 |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts|ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last=Du |first=Paul |title=The Encyclopedia of Music |publisher=Billboard Books |year=2003 |isbn=0-8230-7869-8 |location=New York City|pages=422–423 |chapter=Contemporary Christian Music|ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last=Granger |first=Thom |title=CCM Presents: The 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music |publisher=CCM Books |year=2001 |location=Nashville|ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last=Hendershot |first=Heather |title=Shaking the World for Jesus: Media and Conservative Evangelical Culture |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |year=2004 |isbn=0-226-32679-9 |location=Chicago, Illinois|chapter=Why Should the Devil Have all the Good Music? Christian Music and the Secular Marketplace|ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last=Howard |first=Jay R.|url=https://archive.org/details/apostlesofrocksp0000howa |title=Apostles of Rock: The Splintered World of Contemporary Christian Music |publisher=[[University of Kentucky Press]] |year=1999 |location=Lexington, Kentucky|isbn=9780813121055 |url-access=registration|ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last=Joseph |first=Mark |title=The Rock and Roll Rebellion: Why People of Faith Abandoned Rock Music – And Why They're Coming Back |publisher=Broadman & Holman |year=1999 |location=Nashville|ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last=Joseph |first=Mark |url=https://archive.org/details/faithgodrocknrol0000jose |title=Faith, God & Rock 'n' Roll |publisher=Sanctuary |year=2003 |location=London |isbn=9781860744655 |url-access=registration|ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last=Kyle |first=Richard |title=Evangelicalism: An Americanized Christianity |publisher=Transaction Publishers |year=2006 |isbn=0-7658-0324-0 |location=New Brunswick, New Jersey|pages=281–286 |chapter=If You Can't Beat 'em Join 'em |author-link=Richard G. Kyle|ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last=Lucarini |first=Dan |title=Why I left the Contemporary Christian Music Movement |publisher=Evangelical Press|ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last=Miller |first=Steve |title=The Contemporary Christian Music Debate |publisher=Tyndale House |year=1993|ref=none}}
* [[William D. Romanowski|Romanowski, William D.]] ''Eyes Wide Open: Looking for God in Popular Culture''. Brazos Press, 2001.
* Sears, Gordon E. ''Is Today's Christian Music Sacred?'' Coldwater, Michigan: [s.n., 199-?]. 32, [1] p. without ISBN
* Stephens, Randall J. (2018). ''The Devil's Music: How Christians Inspired, Condemned, and Embraced Rock 'n' Roll''. Harvard University Press.
* Stowe, David W. (2013). ''No Sympathy for the Devil: Christian Pop Music and the Transformation of American Evangelicalism''. University of North Carolina Press.
* Young, Shawn David (2015). ''Gray Sabbath: Jesus People USA, the Evangelical Left, and the Evolution of Christian Rock''. Columbia University Press.
* Passannanti, Erminia (2023). ''Leonard Cohen: A Jewish Mind's Fascination with Jesus of Nazareth''. Mask Press. {{ISBN|979-8-8609-6254-5}}
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{{Contemporary Christian Music}}
{{Christian music articles}}
{{Pop music}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Contemporary Christian Music}}
[[Category:Contemporary Christian music| ]]
[[Category:20th-century music genres]]
[[Category:21st-century music genres]]
[[Category:Christian music genres]]
[[Category:Evangelicalism in the United States]]
[[Category:Popular music]]
[[Category:Radio formats]]