A devotional song is a hymn which accompanies religious observences and rituals. A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a god or other religiously significant figure. ...

Each major religion has its own tradition with devotional hymns. In the West, the devotional has been a part of the liturgy in Roman Catholicism, the Greek Orthodox Church, the Russian Orthodox Church, and others since their earliest days. A devotional is a part of the prayer service proper and are not, in these contexts, ornamentation. During the Protestant Reformation, church music in general was hotly debated. Some Puritans objected to all ornament and sought to abolish choirs, hymns, and, inasmuch as liturgy itself was rejected, devotionals. The word leitourgia is derived from the two Greek words, leos and ergon. Leos, meaning the people of God and Ergon meaning the work. ... The Roman Catholic Church or Catholic Church (see terminology below) is the Christian Church in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, currently Pope Benedict XVI. It traces its origins to the original Christian community founded by Jesus of Nazareth, with its traditions first established by the Twelve Apostles and... The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest Christian organization in the world (or third if one sees Protestantism as a single entity). ... The Russian Orthodox Church (Russian: ), also known as the Orthodox Christian Church of Russia, is that body of Christians who are united under the Patriarch of Moscow, who in turn is in communion with the other patriarchs and primates of the Eastern Orthodox Church. ... The Protestant Reformation was a movement in the 16th century to reform the Catholic Church in Western Europe. ... A Puritan of 16th and 17th century England was any person seeking purity of worship and doctrine, especially the parties that rejected the Laudian reform of the Church of England. ...

In Eastern and Near-Eastern religions, devotionals can function as communion prayer and meditation. These are sung in particular rhythms which are sustained over a prolonged period of time to give practitioners a mystical experience. Rhythm (Greek ρυθμός = tempo) is the variation of the duration of sounds over time. ... Mysticism from the Greek μυστικός (mystikos) an initiate (of the Eleusinian Mysteries, μυστήρια (mysteria) meaning initiation[1]) is the pursuit of achieving communion or identity with, or conscious awareness of, ultimate reality, the divine, spiritual truth, or God through direct experience, intuition, or insight; and the belief that such experience is an...

See also

• bhajan: a Hindu or Sikh devotional.