In the beginning, Jesus was an outcast, misunderstood and punished for it.
Those days are over.
Walk through any mall, flip on the television or turn on your radio, and you’ll see that Jesus is cool.
Jesus is becoming a pop-culture icon and inspiring mainstream movies (“The Passion of the Christ” made $370.3 million this year), music and, most noticeably, fashion. He is on T-shirts, messenger bags, wristbands, license plates, notebooks, stickers, bobbleheads and even ashtrays.
The most trendy T’s are the “Jesus Is My Homeboy” and “Mary Is My Homegirl” shirts made by Teenage Millionaire. The company has been around since 2002, but Hollywood hotties Madonna and Ashton Kutcher made these shirts popular last year.
Libby Wolfe, a high school junior in Overland Park, Kan., says the shirts are great, depending on who is wearing them.
“It’s really cool that people are able to wear those shirts and not be criticized. But I don’t like it when people wear them and say they are all into God, and then they don’t walk the talk, they’re just about the trend,” Wolfe says.
Michael MacDonald is the creative director of Living Epistles, a Christian apparel manufacturer (www.livingepistles.com). He says the Christian subculture has to communicate with people on their own level and these T-shirts provide a platform for that.
“If pop culture wants to focus on Jesus without bashing him and people have a genuine desire about getting close to him, it’s not a bad thing,” he says.
Christians aren’t the only ones wearing their faith; other religions are sporting theirs too. Many faiths, from Jewish and Catholic to Buddhist and Muslim, are blending fashion and religion.
“People really want to express themselves and differentiate themselves from the rest,” says Craig Karpel, co-creator of Jewcy, an online boutique (www.jewcy.com) that sells its own Jewish designs as well as Rabbi’s Daughters and the Jewish Fashion Conspiracy.
“Younger people seem to be more aware and tolerant of diversity, and everything seems to be moving in a more accepting and expressive direction.”
And for the most part, people sport the T’s to create an opportunity for dialogue, Karpel says. But any time you’re dealing with religion, some people will be offended.
“It is not meant to be self-hating in any way,” Karpel says of the religious T’s. “People [who] are more conservative think it is commercializing or lessening the value of the religion, but that’s not what we are doing.
“This is a very different world than it was even 30 years ago. When it comes to spreading religion, the methods have gotten a lot savvier and smarter than they ever were.”
Close to 20,000 methods can be found at Cafe Press, a Web mall that provides a venue for independent online stores.
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“I think there’s always been an element of religious merchandise on the Web, but the thing that has changed is the use of religious icons,” says Maheesh Jain, vice president of sales and marketing for Cafe Press.
“These days, it’s huge. There’s some political humor, and religious merchandise is edgier.”
Although Jain can’t say what exactly prompted the change, he credits popular media such as “The Simpsons” and religious T’s sold at Urban Outfitters with a lot of the influence.
Heavenly hip-hop
Mainstream music is feeling the spirit too. Kanye West rhymes about Jesus on his boundary-breaking song “Jesus Walks.” Mase, who retired five years ago to become a minister, returned to hip-hop earlier this summer with a radio hit, “Welcome Back,” and is on a crusade to do upbeat, curse-free music. Young Buck, one of 50 Cent’s partners in rhyme, incorporates his belief in Jesus in his verses, and R. Kelly’s double album, “Happy People/You Saved Me,” features one whole disc dedicated to his faith.
Religious wear
– Urban Outfitters, www.urbn.com
– Gadzooks, www.gadzooks.com
– Delia’s, www.delias.com
– www.datomana.com
– www.teenagemillionaire.com
– www.jewcy.com
– www.jewlo.com
– www.cafepress.com
– www.livingepistles.com
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Edited by Cara DiPasquale ([email protected]) and Kris Karnopp ([email protected])