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With few exceptions*, hymns have been used in all religious traditions. The act of singing a song which venerates a great person or a deity is well documented through history (i.e., Old Testament, Greek poetry, etc.). See Hymn Singing in Ancient Greece. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, hymn singing is at the heart of worship practice. Early on, Christians were specifically identified as "those people who sang hymns" (see The Letter of Pliny the Younger). To understand why Christians sing hymns, a good place to start is to look at the historical (biblical) record for documentation of hymn singing. See Hymn Singing in the Bible. Instances of singing in general and hymn singing in particular can be summarized:
Often in the Bible, singing occurred spontaneously as a natural response to stressful or overwhelmingly joyful events. What better way for people to express their pent emotions than by SINGING? Hymn singing in the early Christian Church (before 100 C.E.) was an activity that was inherited from Jewish liturgical practice (Temple, Synagogue). See Hymn singing is powerful stuff. People sometimes do wonderful and even crazy things while singing hymns. Here are some extreme examples:
* Muslims do not sing hymns, nor do they have a music tradition. Except for the famous call to prayer chant, "Allah U-Akbar..." (God is great), no singing or musical instruments of any kind are used in Islamic worship. Mohammed evidently disliked music and consequently music is generally regarded by the Koran as being associated with devils:
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