Jesus Ain't Your Homeboy
By Chelsea Theis
Lately, pop culture’s been getting religious. Jane Buckingham, president of Youth Intelligence, a New York trend-forecasting company, was quoted in the Wall Street Journal, as saying, “Religion in it’s own way has become a brand, and right now, it’s hot.”
Maybe it started when Madonna, who swears she’s devoted to a type of Jewish mysticism, was seen wearing a “Mary Is My Homegirl” shirt. Since then, Christianity-pushing fashion has spread everywhere. A T-shirt with a cuter-than-cute kitten sports a conversational bubble, saying, “Jesus Loves Me.” A midriff tee on Pamela Anderson says “Jesus Is My Homeboy.” Well that’s ironic.
A sweatshirt with a Bible. The Ten Commandments stamped on belt buckles and leather cuffs, toe rings, t-shirts—heck, there’s probably a thong out there stamped, “I Wait For God.” Large, jeweled cross necklaces worn by celebrities, bracelets, and earrings.
“I’m not sure I would call religion a ‘trend,’” says Father Scott Kubinski, Ithaca College’s Catholic chaplain.
But Kubinski says he believes that many people who are going along with the recent surplus of religious apparel probably do it because it’s popular and not as an expression of their faith.
Doug Williams, the creative director at Teenage Millionaire, the company that created the “homeboy” shirts (a company previously known for the slogan “Hot Punk”), says he thinks that the shirts are thought-provoking. They’re also providing him a huge pay check.
Some stores are refusing to sell these products, however. Hot Topic refuses to sell any merchandise with religious symbols or references, although it will sell merchandise for Christian rock bands. But that isn’t going to stop the many other chain stores that sell shirts with “gee/oh/dee,” “Fear No Evil,” and “Tougher Than Nails.”
But it’s not just fashion that’s hopping on the religious bandwagon. There are television shows, movies and magazines. But is this trend a fun way for believers to show their faith or just a passing fad that is irrelevant to most people that wear the apparel?
Teen magazine BibleZine, published by Thomas Nelson Inc., focuses on the New Testament and offers Christian band reviews and lots of fun pop quizzes. There’s even one that will let you find out if you’re dating a “Godly Guy.”
CBS’s “Joan of Arcadia,” a television show about a high school girl who talks to God, recently won a People’s Choice Award for best dramatic series. And who can ignore Mel Gibson’s The Passion of The Christ? The film opened Ash Wednesday of 2004 and brought in more than $370 million with the help of caravans of church congregations. And as soon as that paycheck started to wane, out came The Passion: Recut, in theaters this Easter. This version excludes many of the graphic images included in the original to cater to a more “family friendly” audience.
“I may be cynical,” said Kubinski, “but I think The Passion: Recut was primarily an attempt to make more money.”
But if churches ever feel like they need to talk even more about the movie, they can always order The Passion of The Christ Church Resource DVD for JUST $24.95 (plus shipping and handling). As the synopsis of the disk reads: “This new DVD includes film clips and stills from the powerful and moving motion picture and is designed for live performance use in worship services. You can use this Church Resource DVD to motivate and empower your congregation through sermon illustrations, PowerPoint presentations, bulletin covers/inserts and more!”
Father Kubinski notes that all this commercial religion probably never would have been allowed in his generation. “Older people are probably quite offended by such behaviors. It would have been considered deliberately sacrilegious in their day.”
Kubinski says he thinks that the recent commercialization of religion misrepresents religious faith. While he doesn’t view it as deliberately disrespectful, he says he doesn’t think that it’s completely courteous either.
“The point of religious faith is being misunderstood. The Gospel isn’t ‘trendy,’” Kubinski says. “It’s very challenging to our lifestyle in the United States. It’s already difficult to develop a faith with our lifestyle. We live in a rather superficial culture and commercialization follows this superficial path. Faith is a deeper reality.”
Chelsea Theis is a freshman journalism major who thinks Jesus probably made a good beat boxer in his day. E-mail her at ctheis1@ithaca.edu.