A little while back I asked a few of our In Theory columnists what secular music spiritually inspires them. They liked Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin and Pete Seeger, among many others. I do too. Dylan’s “Blood On the Tracks” is an all-time favorite. I might add that Stevie Wonder has penned many songs that move me spiritually.

But for me, one of the most spiritually inspiring contemporary songwriters is Sufjan Stevens.

He’s sort of like a cross between Cat Stevens (no relation) and Elliott Smith (but not nearly so melancholy and sad). Cat, before he converted to Islam and became Yusuf Islam, wrote a great deal about his search for spiritual answers. There was, of course, his fascination with Buddhism and Zen before the near-drowning in Malibu led him to Islam. Sufjan has that whispery vocal that reminds me much of Elliott Smith, but beyond that the comparison is thin. Poor Elliott Smith was a tortured soul living out what appeared to be a protracted suicide. And as far as I know the Los Angeles coroner has never ruled whether it was suicide or homicide. It’s like a ghost story, which seems so oddly appropriate given the nature of his starkly beautiful songs.

I recall the first time I saw Sufjan Stevens perform live. In fact, that was when I first learned about him. It was at the All Tomorrow’s Parties concerts at the Queen Mary days after the 2004 presidential election.  The election was so close and the country so divided that tension felt so thick in the air. And then I saw Stevens do a version of the National Anthem that stood the hairs on my neck straight up. Chills just ran through me as I unexpectedly felt a pulse of patriotism carry me away. No matter how broken our country can seem at times I’ll still always love America — I felt Sufjan was trying to tell us the same thing.

One of his most spiritual songs, IMHO, is “Casimir Pulaski Day,” which is on his amazing album “Illinois” (aka “Come on feel the … Illinoise”). The album’s theme revolves around the state I grew up in and it follows his album “Michigan.” He’s got it in his crazy head to do an album for all 50 states. When I saw him at the El Rey a few years ago the fans, of course, begged him to do California next. In “Casimir Pulaski Day” (a pretty important holiday in Chicago) he talks about a friend who is terminally ill and reminisces about their better days. It’s about young love, about the frustrations we sometimes feel with God when we don’t feel He listens to our prayers, and, finally, the powerlessness we feel when we watch someone die and can’t do anything to stop it. In other words, it’s about faith. Like Job’s. When everything tells you it’s pointless, we cling to our faith.

But a more revealing view of Stevens’ perspective on Christianity can be found in his terrific album, “Seven Swans.” His version of the Transfiguration of Jesus on “The Transfiguration” is especially poignant. For years, me and my friends made an Olympic sport out of ridiculing Christian rock as so much of it is terrible. I salute the noble cause, but the music stunk. I won’t name names because that wouldn’t be, well, very Christian of me! But Sufjan Stevens makes it cool because he doesn’t just obsess on religion and he brings a talented writer’s sensibilities to the topic. It’s not blunt, shallow proselytizing. Just good storytelling. And as we all know some of the best stories are in the Bible.

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