Rutgers offering class on Springsteen’s religious lyrics

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Rutgers University freshmen are getting a dose of Bruce Springsteen-style religion this semester.

The state university is offering a semester-long class exploring the theological roots of the rock icon’s songs, according to a report on Rutgers Today, the school’s online news site.

Azzan Yadin-Israel, an associate professor of Jewish studies and classics, is teaching the course. Students are focusing on Springsteen’s interpretation of stories from the Bible in his songs.

“The seminar includes lyrics of songs from ‘Greetings from Asbury Park, New Jersey,’ Springsteen’s first album, all the way through ‘Wrecking Ball,’ so this is clearly a broad phenomenon,” Yadin-Israel told Rutgers Today.

Springsteen has made religious references throughout his four decades of songwriting, including biblical motifs in the songs “Adam Raised a Cain,” “Jesus was an Only Son” and “In the Belly of the Whale,” the professor said. Springsteen, who was raised a Roman Catholic, seems to mostly focus on the Old Testament.