Bruce Springsteen may not be a religious leader of sorts, but his lyrics are spiritual enough for a Rutgers Jewish studies professor to start a course on the biblical references in the New Jersey rock star's songwriting.
The Huffington Post reported Azzan Yadin-Israel will open a course called "Bruce Springsteen's Theology" as a Byrnes Seminar at Rutgers University. The course will explore the lyrics in many of Springsteen's songs and how they can help us read the Bible, and vice versa.
Yadin-Israel is an ancient rabbinic literature scholar and, like most New Jersey natives, a huge fan of "The Boss," as Springsteen is affectionately known. Springsteen's ties to theology and religion apparently start and end with his Roman Catholic upbringing, but Yadin-Israel said some of his songs are about more than cars, girls, sports and the working class.
"In some songs, Springsteen engages biblical motifs explicitly, as the titles indicate," he told Rutgers Today. "For example, 'Adam Raised a Cain,' 'Jesus was an Only Son,' 'In the Belly of the Whale' (referring to Jonah). But concepts with biblical resonance appear throughout his works (the Promised Land, redemption, faith), and it's just a matter of taking the theological overtones seriously."
Springsteen became an iconic and endearing rock n' roll figure in New Jersey and nationally for his political advocacy for the working class and deeply personal and poetic songwriting. Many of his songs detail the every day struggle of the average American. Still, Yadin-Israel noted the singer's Roman Catholic upbringing has always been an influence on his lyrics.
"There is no question that it plays a significant role," he told Rutgers Today. "Springsteen has said as much in many interviews."
The Jewish Studies professor said Springsteen's style of songwriting, described by many as being "cinematic" and "passionate," to be an inviting way to get his students to read the Bible. Only 20 students will be able to take the course, as is customary for Byrnes Seminars, and it will be open to first-year students primarily.
"The Byrne Seminars offer a relatively relaxed classroom setting, so there's no expectation that anyone will become a Springsteen scholar," he said. "I do hope the students gain an appreciation for a particular way of thinking about texts, an attentive engagement of an author's work, and an understanding of the broader contexts --political, literary, theological, etc.- that inform a work."
