<p>The main purpose of the dissertation is an attempt to answer the question of how religion inspired and still inspires the works of jazz musicians. Some people think that jazz and religion have nothing in common or even that they are in opposition. The present article tries to show that this common way of thinking is not correct: jazz grew from religious music, and owing to its creative freedom (improvisation) it can be very a good way of expressing religious feelings. The thesis consists of two major parts. The first part contains an attempt to systematize the relationship between music and religion. Relying on the knowledge about ethnography and religion, the author discusses the subordinate role of music in relation to religion. The next chapter presents the most important philosophical and theological attempts to explain the phenomenon of music. The last chapter is devoted to the presentation of the religious roots of jazz. The second part discusses the works of selected jazz musicians in the context of different religions. Featured here are the following faiths: Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Scientology and some original religious systems. At the end of the paper there is a summary. The author proves that over the centuries religion has accompanied and inspired the works of the most famous musicians who have gone down in history as outstanding jazz musicians. Many of them openly declared their faith, thanked God on CD’s, in interviews, in the titles of songs. Many of them created forms associated with religious (sacred) music. Others sought in the spiritual world their identity, sources of their talent and mystery of making music, and some were inspired by selected aspects of religion.</p>
Introduction to Special Issue, Music in World Religions: A Response to Isabel Laack