ABOUT MUSIC STYLES

I would and ill continue to avoid "christian music".
I see it as a form of preaching, ramming it down yer throat etc. I dont have objections to thi music, but like bobby says, if you like the music then it is good. I just dont thin kI would enjoy the lyrics if it is about heaven and god etc,.
Maybe I am being naive and ignorant to chrstian music? maybe there is a lot more to it? I dont know and nor will I go out my way to find out.

Spirit in the sky song I think is very good though. I loved that when Dr and the Medics coverd that in 86? 87?

And although I think everyone that coms here or most will probably no doubt know my views on religion and that I am an athesit, but  ido love songs like Sam stone ( mentions jesus) Post war dream ( mentions jesus) and there are several other songs that mention god or heaven or jesus in one way or another that I love and love to sing.
I sometimes think to myself " am I being a hypocrite for singing about god etc when I am a loud mouthed atheist"? then I thnk Na, I am not!!. I like the song, I sing it for the tune and the rest of the lyrics and try not to cringe too much when having to sing "with God on our side" by manfred mann, which would be  seen as a very christian song, but it has a good tune, good lyrics and I like it.
So thats all that matters really.
If I heard a muslim song I liked and sang about allah I might even sing that too. I see being an athesit as youcan sing whatever ye want from any religion ( I am just making all this up as I go along, not really thought of an answer first before replying, but I do that a lot,lol)

aye so, styles of music?
I think it is certain groupls of people that determine the Genre that the music goes in unless it is very obvious.

Ken

I play in my church band and when it comes down to it, there are only a few guitar patterns and techniques that are played in mainline gospel music.
But when I play I don't even conform to any one set area of music, I throw in whatever sounds good with the song that is playing. No one knows that I'm using a rock-riff or a blues-lick when I'm playing because it's all a part of the music.
I find that the usual commonly accepted 1-4-5 chord progressions work well with christian/gospel music JUST like they do with Rock music.

=]
Dm

As far as Christian music: I think when someone sets out to write a song specifically targeted at the Christian market, then it is in the Christian music category.  I think when someone writes a song that reflects their outlook on life, and that outlook is a Christian one, then it's just a song written from a Christian outlook on life.  (The songs mentioned by Upyerkilt are good examples of this).

As far as there being more Christians, it depends a great deal on what is meant by "Christian."  There are more people IDENTIFYING themselves as Christian, but when asked some specific questions about their faith they hold views that are inconsistent with Christian teachings.   Some of this is the result of cults (even mainstream cults), some with long-held heresies (for example, I've heard gnosticism is making a comeback), but the majority of which in my opinion is just lazy thinking.  An example of the latter is the thought that Christianity is hereditary or genetic somehow.  That once is a Christian because his/her parents went to a Christian church or were married by a preacher who spoke about God at the ceremony.  I hold a much more narrow view of what it means to be Christian - that one has put their faith in Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins and reconciliation with God.  A study not long ago showed that while a high percentage of Americans claimed to be Christian, a much lower number had attended a religious service in the past year, a much lower number than that had actually studied a Bible, and a much lower number than that had a "home church" that supported charitable works with money and manpower.  It is easy to call ones-self a Christian, but when it comes to acting like one the results are dramatically different.  This is flawed thinking because it is entirely possible to be a Christian and not do the things mentioned in the study as "acting" like a Christian (and vice versa).  Nevertheless, there is a very wide gap between the claim and the behaviors one would expect to result if the claim were true. 

As far as Muslims, I don't know enough about them to have a well-informed opinion.  My study of that religion is extremely rudimentary at this time, though I have several friends who are Muslim and have been kind enough to explain things to me from their religion's perspective when I ask. 

You can consider Norman Greenbaum's song anything you like.  I don't consider it Christian music, but that is because I define the genre in marketing terms rather than subject matter terms. 

As far as R&B, I think the old school R&B folks are being called Soul now, and what used to be called Dance music or Juke music is now being called R&B.  It is again about markets and how to sell the music than it is about the music itself.  Bobby6string has the right idea.  Avoid the lables, except maybe some very traditional ones with definitions related to the music itself (Cape Breton, Zydeco, Highland Reels, Jigs & Hornpipes, etc.) rather than who they want to buy it. 

- Zurf