Lecture: "The Lord is Heavy: Can Jazz and Religion Jam Together?"

Independent Presbyterian Church’s 48^th annual Religious Arts Festival continues with a lecture on jazz and religion given by Dr. Jason Bivins in the Great Hall.  As a professor at North Carolina State University, Jason Bivins is a historian of religion in America and a lifelong jazz fan. In this talk, he will introduce you to a broader, more improvisatory way of thinking about what both “religion” and “jazz” are. Grounded in a comparative study of music’s role in religion, the talk will look at jazz as a form of ritual, jazz as a new religious community, and jazz as mysticism.