"[4] According to the Centre for Church Music, Baring-Gould reportedly wrote "Onward, Christian Soldiers" in about 15 minutes, later apologising, "It was written in great haste, and I am afraid that some of the lines are faulty.

When I looked upon that densely packed congregation of fighting men of the same language, of the same faith, of the same fundamental laws, of the same ideals ... it swept across me that here was the only hope, but also the sure hope, of saving the world from measureless degradation.The song has been sung at many funerals, including at the funeral of American president Dwight D. Eisenhower at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., in March 1969.

The piece appears in several other films, including Major Barbara, Mrs. Miniver,[15] Elmer Gantry, A Canterbury Tale, The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, M*A*S*H, Taps, Reds, Striptease, The Bushbaby, The Ruling Class, Walker, Androcles and the Lion, Flyboys and First Reformed,[16] It is also sung or played in episodes of TV series, including Little House on the Prairie, Boardwalk Empire, The Simpsons, The Ren & Stimpy Show, Little Britain, Upstairs, Downstairs, Lark Rise to Candleford and Dad's Army.

[citation needed] Onward Christian Soldiers is the title of a 1984 album and song by the British anarcho-punk band Icons of Filth.

[17] In the book Sins of the Assassin by Robert Ferrigno, the song is the national anthem of the fictional Bible Belt.

"Christian Zeal and Activity", a 1973 work by American composer John Adams, is an arrangement of Sullivan's tune.

[18] The hymn's tune has also been used as the basis for many parodies, including Lloyd George Knew My Father[19] and Like a mighty tortoise, / Moves the Church of God; / Brothers, we are treading / Where we've always trod.