"I'm a Christian and I've never really listened to Madonna's song "Like A Prayer" but I do know the lyrics, video and the song were very controversial when it came out, but why? What is the song even about? Did you like the sound when it came out? Did you remember the controversy around it when it was released?"
Best answer posted by
Danibelle903 (a Roman Catholic)
It wasn't the song "Like a Prayer" that was controversial, it was the music video. Following the premiere of the video, Madonna lost her contract with Pepsi. It was a big deal and made major headlines.
So, what happens in the video? Some complaints include burning crosses, indecent dress in a church, implied masturbation in a church, making out in a church, and the visual portrayal of stigmata.
But, if you actually watch the video, that's not what it's about.
A woman (Madonna) witnesses a crime in which a group of white men attack and kill a white woman. A black man sees them and scares them away. As he checks on the woman, the cops show up and arrest him. The implication is that a black man standing over a white female victim must be the attacker.
The witness (Madonna) flees from the scene, unsure of what to do. She stumbles on a church. In the Church, she happens upon a statue and the statue is black. She prays, then lies down and falls asleep. She dreams that the statue comes to life and it's the same black man the cops arrested. He's crying. He leaves behind a knife and she cuts her hand, which prompts her to remember what she witnessed. Someone died and it's Madonna's moral responsibility to speak up.
The video ends with her going to the police station and offering her statement.
The burning crosses are not anti-Christian in the video. They're there to symbolize the unjust system that black men are subjected to by using an icon of white supremacists.
The song itself is sexual in nature, but not blasphemous. It's poetry and metaphor.
