The Hillsong Movement Examined

This interdisciplinary volume brings together leading writers and thinkers to provide a critique of a broad range of topics related to Hillsong Church. Hillsong is one of the most influential, visible, and (in some circles) controversial religious organizations/movements of the past thirty years. Although it has received significant attention from both the academy and the popular press, the vast majority of the scholarship lacks the scope and nuance necessary to understand the complexity of the movement, or its implications for the social, cultural, political, spiritual, and religious milieus it inhabits. This volume begins to redress this by filling important gaps in knowledge as well as introducing different audiences to new perspectives. In doing so, it enriches our understanding of one of the most influential Christian organizations of the late 20^th and early 21^st centuries.  

“The strength of this volume is the commitment of its contributors and editors to understand the Hillsong movement on its own terms. Every discipline and methodology engaged utilizes the tools, terminologies, and frameworks available to provide new insight into the ecclesiological phenomenon … . This volume provides us with their introduction, and several points at which we can begin to dialogue and discern together the shape of Pentecostal engagement with the Great Commission and Great Commandment in the 21st century.” (David Ketter, Pneuma, Vol. 40 (3), 2018) “The best book on Hillsong I have read: we have history, probing cultural analysis, evaluation of music, brand, leadership style, ethical engagement and much more.  There is something here for everyone, and it casts light on 21st century as a whole.  A 'must read!”  (William K. Kay D.D., Professor of Theology (Emeritus), Wrexham Glyndŵr University, UK)

“Riches and Wagner have given us the go-to book on Hillsong. Their book provides the encyclopedia we’ve needed on this church and its worldwide impact. Unwilling to consider Hillsong from only a single methodological or topical viewpoint, The Hillsong Movement Examined provides an essential resource for a range of readers and researchers.” (Lester Ruth, Research Professor of Christian Worship, Duke Divinity School, USA)

“In an age of simple two- (sometimes one) dimensional stereotypes of contemporary Christian movements,  Tanya Riches and Tom Wagner have provided us with a richly multivalent resource focused on the Hillsong Church and the global Hillsong movement. Offering multiple points of entry and a variety of perspectives, this volume succeeds where so many others fail—by trying to start a fair and balanced conversation rather than end a conversation definitively. In terms of both contents and methods, this volume is a must read.” (Todd E. Johnson, Brehm Chair of Worship, Theology, and the Arts, Fuller Theological Seminary, USA)

Tanya Riches is a lecturer at Hillsong College, Sydney, and a researcher at the Centre for Disability Studies, an affiliate of The University of Sydney. She is an Australian songwriter and singer, whose first song was published by Hillsong Music Australia when she was fifteen years old. She has conducted three Hillsong choirs at two campuses (the City adult and youth choirs, and Hills youth choir), and administrated Hillsong’s United band for six years, during which time it achieved gold album status. Her MPhil thesis, entitled “Shout to the Lord: Music and change at Hillsong: 1996-2007,” charted the theological, musicological, and business change over ten years. She has published various articles on Hillsong Church, and to date, the only ABC Religion & Ethics opinion piece addressing this topic. She currently attends Hillsong Alexandria campus in Sydney. 

Tom Wagner is an ethnomusicologist based in London. His PhD thesis, entitled “Hearing the ‘Hillsong Sound’: Music, Branding and Transcendence in the Religious Experience Economy,” is based on three years of participant observation conducted at Hillsong Church London from 2011-2014. To date, he has produced five scholarly articles on the movement and collaborated with The New York Times on two articles regarding the church. He has co-edited two previous volumes on congregational music and media.