I feel that sacred music should be a key part of the music education curriculum. There are several historical aspects to sacred music that should be studied when rehearsing or in the classroom. First, the "evolution" of sacred music is important for students to connect the styles and practices of various music periods: how it was composed/structured regarding voicing, melody, harmonic content, and text, etc. Gregorian chant and sacred motets from the Renaissance and Baroque periods differ greatly from one another, due to the current events of each time period, and the advancement (or lack of!) of music and composition.
Also, it is important to study the composers who wrote some of the great sacred pieces. By eliminating sacred music from study, how would students learn about the "big name" composers? Would they ever hear Handel's Messiah? That would GREATLY disappoint me, because the Hallelujah Chorus is probably one of my favorite choral pieces....EVER.
What about negro spirituals? "My Soul's Been Anchored in the Lord"....fantastic piece. This is a genre of music that really needs to be experienced in every choral student's journey.
To me, it's not the content of the music that is being taught, it is the musical elements...the style, the compositional techniques, the composers, and overall structure that is important.
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