This was first published in Christian Today here –
Taylor Swift is on the Australian leg of her Eras tour so we are constantly being bombarded with news of her. The arrival of her private plane in Sydney was breathlessly covered by the news stations. And that’s not surprising – she sold out the 92,000-seat MCG in Melbourne three times and has done the same four times for the 82,000-seat Accor stadium in Sydney. It’s an extraordinary achievement for a tour that in Australia alone will raise $370 million.
But the key question is apparently whether you are a Swiftie or a ‘Tay Tay hater’? It is a characteristic that in our supposedly non-binary, diverse society, everything seems to be reduced to a binary option. Apparently if you like Taylor Swift it is a sign that you are a progressive Biden supporting liberal … and if you don’t like her, you are a Trump-supporting far-right Fascist!
As Christians, is it possible to have a more nuanced approach in considering the Taylor Swift phenomenon? I am reluctant given the almost Messianic/Demonic status given to her, but let’s have a go in the hope that I will survive both the blasphemy and the heresy charges!
Firstly, this is not about whether you like her music or not. Although it would be churlish not to acknowledge her song-writing talent, entertainment value, publicity awareness and business genius. For those who don’t know Swift – who is only 34 years old – she is the most significant musical figure and cultural influence in the world at the moment.
She is extraordinarily talented as a songwriter, finding a way to connect with the feelings of her fans in both her earlier Country style (e.g. Love Story), or later pop (like last year’s Cruel Summer). Personally, I don’t think she is as good as the person she was named after, James Taylor – although I was delighted to discover that she is of German/Scottish ancestry!
She was Time magazine’s 2023 Person of the Year and among her many achievements has 14 Grammy and numerous other awards.
She is currently in the midst of her Eras Tour – a massive undertaking which by the time it ends will have involved 150 shows on five continents.
With regards to Christianity, although Wikipedia claims she is a Christian, there is little evidence of that in her life. She was brought up in a churchgoing home and remembers how her grandmother’s singing in church inspired her – but she seems to have moved from the more cultural Christianity you would expect from someone brought up in the Bible Belt, to at best, a searching, questioning faith.
But that should not stop us appreciating her talent or her music – if that is your taste. She writes positive things about friendship and is way better than some of the hypersexualised cultural stars today. Her personality and demeanor also come across as caring and pleasant.
Sadly, she has become part of the American culture wars (and thus because of the wave effect, culture wars all over the world) because of her political views, which are certainly anti-Trump and pro-Democrat. But that does not mean, as some critics have suggested, that she is a pawn of the Biden Administration. And equally it does not mean, as some on the other side have suggested, that she could sway the coming election for Biden. Surely we have had enough celebrity endorsements to last a lifetime?!
Her political position means that she is treated with kid gloves by the mainstream media. If she were a Trump supporter there would be numerous questions about her private life, business interests etc. But because she is on ‘the right side’ she is protected. On the other hand, that means that some on the other side will vilify her. Neither one is a just or sensible reaction for a Christian.
But this hype around her politics illustrates another problem: in the rejection of God, a culture tends to lose its mind and look for other saviours. If you doubt that, then just consider that in the past week, I have read about Taylor saving the Australian economy through Taylornomics, women in China and the planet – as well as getting Biden re-elected!
The trouble with the idolisation is not so much at the cultural, macro level (which just shows the juvenile silliness that has taken over so many of our institutions), but rather at the individual micro level in that there are millions of mainly teenage girls who so idolise her that they could be called worshippers.
Watching them sing at the concerts, word perfect for every song, tears streaming down faces, screaming and chanting “F*** the patriarchy”, was a somewhat depressing sight. Inevitably they will be let down. A ‘personal’ relationship with Taylor will not provide real meaning in life.
I have read some Christian publications which tell us that though not overtly Christian, Taylor is ‘spreading the light of Christ’. Former Christian, the American commentator Chris Kratzer tell us that her charitable giving is proof that she is more like Jesus than most American evangelicals: “I’m beginning to think that all the hatred Evangelicals have towards Taylor Swift is because everyone can see she is far more like Jesus than they are.” He cites as evidence her donations in 2023: $50 million for truckers, $30 million for food banks, and $20 million for the animals.
But that does not make her like Jesus, who incidentally never had $100 million to give away. Taylor Swift does because she is a brilliant businesswoman (or she employs some brilliant businesspeople!). Consider the following. She is worth $1.2 billion because she gets royalties even though she doesn’t own the old songs. And she has recorded ‘Taylor’s version’ of those same songs, from which she gets streaming royalties and ownership. That’s a lot of money given that for example, a quarter of the Spotify top 50 in Australia are her songs.
For each stop in her tour she gets $13 million. She documented the tours and created a film that netted $130 million. Her album sales are tens of millions per year. The merchandise from her Eras tour has already netted some $200 million. Then there are brand endorsements and partnership, and brand equity with some social channels. On top of that, she has $150 million in real estate, including a Beverly Hills mansion and a New York Penthouse. Her cat alone is supposedly worth $97 million. Would Jesus have a multi-millionaire cat?!
Little wonder that she can afford to stay at a $36,000 per night executive suite while here in Sydney and flies everywhere in a large private jet (for which of course she pays carbon credits so she can still travel in luxury and tick the ‘I’m saving the planet’ box).
We would rightly be horrified if a televangelist had such wealth, or even a politician. But Taylor Swift gets a free pass on all this capitalism. None of it indicates a lifestyle based on faith in Christ! Nor does her support for abortion and Stonewall. Taylor represents and espouses the great idols of our age – sex, consumerism, and materialism – and in that, she is a child of our age, not a child of Christ.
And for that reason I cannot identify either as a ‘Tay Tay hater’, nor a Swiftie. I am a ‘Taylor Prayer’. I pray that the Lord will reveal himself to her and that she in turn will point her many followers away from herself, and towards Christ. In her song “Soon You’ll Get Better”, written after her mother was diagnosed with cancer, she wrote: “Desperate people find faith, so now I pray to Jesus too.” May the Lord make her desperate enough to seek Him, and may he answer her prayer.
Quantum 257 – Glastonbury, Ethical Porn, Morocco and Taylor Swift
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Well assessed, David! May God become her idol!
I think that Taylor Swift is not a Christian regardless of what home she was brought up in . She has made it clear publically that she is confused about her sexuallity and many other things . She has a huge following but sadly has misrepresented Christianity to her followers . As Christians it shouldn’t matter to us what public figures are doing or not doing unless they inquire after Christ . We need to be in the world but not of it and sadly most of us are too much in it. I would hope that if her background was of genuine Christianity and not the Christianity we see regarding the American political figures , then it will bear fruit in her life .
She’s famously in a relationship with a leading football player. I’m not sure what you mean by “confused about her sexuality?!”
That doesn’t mean that she is open to alternatives… he is just her current partner. It is not contradictory.
Peter
OK but you could make that claim about anyone!
Every generation has a few of these in their time. Not long ago Adele was top of the pops! They will come and go, as they have done before.
God does not have a PR problem, I don’t believe that there is a need for present day, short lived pop stars are needed to minister Christ.
The gospel is preached, sown and ministered. I don’t see these music media idols doing anything of the sort, other than portraying a false message to the younger generation to follow them and prop up their lifestyle by financing it through music that is hardly edifying.
The gospel is, God made this universe, He made you. His love for who you are and what He made you, despite your failures and flaws, is good news. You don’t need to be like Taylor Swift to know what it is to be loved. That’s the message young women need to hear. Not the image portrayed by the Swift brand, that is little less than a man made idol.
Maybe it’s because I have zero interest in pop music or any contemporary entertainment, but I honestly couldn’t care less about this woman. Does she have some message for the world? Is she actually any more talented than any of the other singers of her generation who the media decided not to elevate to stardom?
People need idols to distract them from God and from the dire state of things. She’s been made into one.
From a US point if view I’d say firstly the vast majority of Americans are neither swifties nor haters. It seems to me that her association with Democrats, like so many of us, is more by default after being unable to support Republicans cultural agenda. It would be a near contradiction for her to support a party that opposes women’s equality for example.
I would also point out that the “Christian” choice for president in the US leads an even more lavish lifestyle than TS and I’ve heard zero people complain about that. Unlike TS he’s not known for helping those in need either!
I’d say the best thing about TS is her positive impact on young people, especially girls after the pandemic. Her Eras tour has really lifted the spirits of those most impacted by lockdown and she’s providing a very positive example of both being able to equal or surpass male talent and modeling a healthy relationship in a country that sometimes feels a few weeks away from becoming the handmaids tale.
I think Christians need to be careful about making their young people choose between Christianity and TS because she may just win.
I’d also say that
If you have never heard anyone complain about Trumps lavish lifestyle then I suggest you expand your somewhat limited circles! The notion that Taylor Swift ‘models a healthy relationship’ is somewhat fanciful – as is the view that the US is only a few weeks away from becoming the handmaids tale (progressive authoritarianism is bad – but not quite that bad in the US – yet!).
Your view that given the choice between Christ and Taylor Swift – young people would chose the latter – just proves my point. NO real Christian would ever put anyone before Christ!
NO real Christian would ever judge someone – especially someone they don’t know!
I assume then that you are either not judging me, or by your own confession, you are not a real Christian….Your criteria would also mean that no real Christian would ever judge Hitler….!
David
Not all young people are real Christians yet. If you make Christianity unattractive then they won’t even be interested in hearing the message.
I mention Trump only because you claim that if a politician led a lifestyle like Swifts we would be horrified. Actually the vast majority of evangelicals in the US say they support such a person. And he’s been endorsed by pursues like Franklin Graham, Brian Houston and Bill Johnson. I confess I have not seen any Christian criticism of his lifestyle, even from Christians who don’t support him.
Most young people are not real Christians. And you won’t make them real Christians by trying to be ‘attractive’ to them – thats just weird and creepy. What really challenges young people is not Christians trying to mimic the culture but the real radicalness of the culture.
I can’t help what you havn’t seen….I suggest you open your eyes a wee bit wider….this blog for example has often criticised Trump…
David
You’re not going to win souls by creating unnecessary and artificial barriers to faith. The conservative pile on against Taylor Swift is about (wierd) politics, not Christianity.
No I still haven’t seen any Christian criticism of Trumps lifestyle.
This has nothing to do with a ‘conservative pile on about Taylor Swift’. Perhaps you should stop reading everything through the lens of American politics and start using a more biblical focus? As for not having read anything critical of Donald Trump by Christians – I suggest you broaden your somewhat narrow reading – start with this – https://theweeflea.com/2017/01/20/is-donald-trump-the-christian-president/
Thank you for the best, most thoughtful comment yet. The previous comments sound like the writers are just parroting something they heard at church about what they’re supposed to think about Taylor Swift. I appreciate the effort you put into your evaluation of the article and topic.
This would have been a far better article if you had simply said ‘let’s not judge people – but always see the best in the and love them.’
This blog needs more of that.
And yet you have just broken your own rule…you are judging me and my blog. Why do you think you have the right to do that? And at the same time seek to shut down anyone critiquing anything because we must not judge…?
Taylor Swift is one of the best singers but she can be flat