Religion

Photo of Frank Zappa for The Berkeley Barb, 27 March-2 April, 1980. Photo credit: Dave Patrick.

Zappa often criticized organized religion and religious frauds during interviews and in his music.

Zappa's religious background

Zappa was raised as a Catholic, but later became an atheist.

"They tried to make me go to Catholic school, too. I lasted a very short time. When the penguin came after me with a ruler, I was out of there. (...)I still went to church regularly, though, until I was eighteen years old. Then suddenly, the light bulb went on over my head. All the mindless mobidity and discipline was pretty sick – bleeding this, painful that and no meat on Friday. What is this shit? (...) Well, I think it was possible to do what I've done only because I escaped the bondage of being a devout believer. To be a good member of the congregation, ultimately you have to stop thinking. The essence of Christianity is told to us in the Garden of Eden story. The fruit that was forbidden was on the tree of knowledge. The subtext is, All the suffering you have is because you wanted to find out what was going on. You could still be in the Garden of Eden if you had just kept your fucking mouth shut and hadn't asked any questions." (Frank Zappa. Interview in Playboy, 1993)

"When Dweezil was born, Gail decided to have 'natural childbirth.' At that time, the only hospital in Los Angeles that would allow this process to occur with a Dad in the delivery room was Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital. When it was time for the Big Delivery, we experienced a slight delay -- we had to fill out a mass of papers before they'd let us in, riddled with irrelevant questions like: "What religion are you?"

Gail looked at me and said, "What do we put?" I said, "Musician."'' (FZ in The Real Frank Zappa Book, page 216.)

Zappa was very critical of organized religion and the power and influence it has on politics and people. During the 1980s he wrote several satirical songs bashing televangelists Jerry Falwell, Robert Tilton, Pat Robertson, Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart.

But, despite his objections against organized religion and the fact that he didn't believe in God or Jesus, he tolerated religious people.

"One of the misconceptions about evangelicals in the U.S. is that they're all as extreme as Swaggart, Falwell and Robertson. They're not. Most of them just want to worship at their local church. They don't give a shit about those guys on television -- they think they're clowns and that what they do cheapens everyone's religious experience. On this, we definitely agree." — Frank Zappa, The Real Frank Zappa Book.

Songs about religion or referencing religious topics

(Not included are songs with occasional exclamations or swear words like "Good God", "Oh my God" or "goddamn".)

• 200 Years Old: "Like she had true religion/Just like she had true religion."
• The Adventures Of Greggery Peccary: "What had God wrought?"
• Amen
• Be-Bop Tango (Of the Old Jazz-Men's Church)
• Blessed Relief
• The Christian hymn Bringing In The Sheaves is quoted in Friendly Little Finger and Wino Man - With Dr. John Routine.
• Catholic Girls
• Church Chat
• Civilization Phaze III: According to the liner notes, Jesus appears as a character.
• Cosmik Debris: "He said for a nominal service charge/I could reach nirvana tonight!" and "what kind of a guru are you anyway?"
• Cucamonga (The Track): "Near a Holy-Roller Church"
• Dancin' Fool and Stick It Out: "What, you're Jewish?"
• Dumb All Over
• Dummy Up: "A true Zen saying. Nothing is what I want."
• Eat That Question was originally titled "Eat That Christian".
• Father O'Blivion
• A Few Moments With Brother A. West
• God Bless America
• Have You Ever Heard Their Band?: "I just thought that before we just thought of these things . . . ya know, like just off the wall and out of our heads. No, that's religious superstition."
• Heavenly Bank Account
• Hot Plate Heaven At The Green Hotel
• The Idiot Bastard Son: "All the time he would spend/at the church he'd attend"
• Jesus Thinks You're A Jerk
• Jewish Princess
• Jonestown
• The Massive Improve'lence
• The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing
• Muffin Man: "Nothing so exalted on the face of God's grey earth as that prince of foods: the muffin!"
• Nasal Retentive Calliope Music: "God. It's God. I see God."
• A Nun Suit Painted On Some Old Boxes
• Penis Dimension "Weird twisted anxieties that could force a person to become (...) a Jesuit monk."
• The Poodle Lecture mentions God
• The Rejected Mexican Pope Leaves The Stage
• Religious Superstition:
• Sofa No. 2 mentions God
• Soft-Sell Conclusion: "Worshipping together in the church of your choice".
• St. Alphonzo's Pancake Breakfast
• Strictly Genteel is sang like a prayer asking God to have mercy on various kinds of people
• Tears Began To Fall: "Tears began to fall and fall and fall down the church, down the church".
• A Token Of My Extreme
• What Kind Of Girl Do You Think We Are?: "My church plugged into the gravy train" and "we wouldn't blow you just because you know God".
• When The Lie's So Big
• Your Mouth: "Your mouth is your religion"

See also

• "Congress Shall Make No Law . . ." features tracks with titles referring to the Ten Commandments.
• Aaron
• Anti-Defamation League Of The B'nai B'rith
• Appliantology
• Ave Maria
• Brown Moses
• Church of American Secular Humanism
• Edmund Cohen
• Quentin Robert DeNameland
• The Devil (CC)
• Dio Fa
• Faith
• God
• Billy Graham
• Hare Rama
• Holy Terror
• L. Ron Hoover
• Israel
• Jerusalem
• Jesus
• Khomeini
• Mohammed
• Keith Moon plays a nun in 200 Motels (The Film)
• Mormons
• Mother, Mary 'n Jozef
• Once A Catholic
• Pope
• Pope Paul III
• Pope Paul VI
• Salvation For Sale
• Ivan Stang
• Warning/Guarantee-Sticker
• The World Church
• A nun can be seen in the music video of You Are What You Is (The Track)

Quotes

In The Real Frank Zappa Book, in the chapter "Church & State", Zappa printed several quotes by famous people who claim they don't believe in God or believe that Church and government should remain separate.

• Thomas Jefferson - "It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.I do not find in orthodox Christianity one redeeming feature."

• Abraham Lincoln - "The Bible is not my book, and Christianity is not my religion. I could never give assent to the long, complicated statements of Christian dogma."

• Thomas Paine - "I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish church, by the Roman church, by the Greek church, by the Turkish church, by the Protestant church, nor by any church that I know of. My own mind is my own church."

• George Washington: "The United States is in no sense founded upon the Christian doctrine."

See also

• Nuns

Targets and topics

• Category:Religious leaders and characters