2008 Woodie Awards
RSSFolk singer questions religion
By Diana Terracciano
Issue date: 11/6/07 Section: Lifestyle
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Artist and musician Susan Werner presented these questions in a performance of her latest album, The Gospel Truth, held on Oct. 30 in Zoellner Arts Center.
In her performances, Werner tries to reveal ideas and feelings that are either new to the audience, or help her listeners to recognize their own feelings.
[Werner's songs and lyrics] "raise questions about contemporary Christianity in America, about questioning the beliefs of one's youth, and about searching for someone or something to believe in," said Ben Wright, professor of religion.
Werner, born and raised in Manchester, Iowa, grew up in a large Catholic family with two parents and five siblings. However, Werner said she chose her own outlook on the church and its beliefs over the teachings she was raised to believe.
Although she initially aspired to have a career in opera, Werner, 42, began composing songs on an acoustic guitar, compiling her first album in 1993.
With six albums preceding The Gospel Truth, Werner's music genre and style has evolved and expanded over the years. Her first five albums were folk, while the sixth was a combination of cabaret and early jazz. It wasn't until this most recent album that Werner expressed her deepest feelings, experiences and uncertainties.
The Gospel Truth, released in March 2007, addresses the themes of religion, faith and social responsibility.
Werner's newest material is often critiqued as "agnostic gospel" because it regards religion from an agnostic perspective. Werner's songs and lyrics convey agnostic claims that it is not possible to have absolute knowledge of the existence or nonexistence of gods. Even when believed individual certainty may be possible, individuals still have no definite knowledge.
