Sonny's Blues

I'm not sure about the religion part of your question but music is certainly connected to salvation. Music becomes a channel through which Sonny can make himself understood. Witnessing the music of the street revival brings the brothers closer, prompting their first honest conversation in the work. More remarkably, at the climax, Sonny's music helps the narrator finally understand his life and trials. The connection art facilitates becomes the catalyst for a genuine epiphany in the narrator. As one critic explains, "By understanding Sonny's pain and accepting his humanity, his brother understands and accepts himself" (Nelson 28). Art then functions as a means not only for communication, but ultimately for redemption. Baldwin's commentary about the importance of stories suggests that writing, like music and other forms of art, serves this purpose.