Swifties and Mainline Protestant Christianity
Part 1: What the Mainline Church Can Learn from the Eras Tour
Introduction
This is the first in a two-part series exploring Mainline Protestant Christianity and Swifties. In this first part, I will explore the positives that Mainline Protestant Christianity can learn from Swifties at the Eras tour. In part two, I will take a more critical look at the ways in which both the Taylor Swift fandom and Mainline Protestant Christianity silence and alienate Black and brown people and how both can be better.
Earlier this month, I attended the Eras Tour and, in the days, leading up to it, I attended some of the local Taylor Swift-themed events. I had a blast. And of course, because most of my waking moments are spent thinking about 1) Taylor Swift 2) The Church (and or theology) I of course had to write some posts that combine my two passions.
There were a lot of things that I loved about the events that led up to the Eras Tour and the tour itself, and I wanted to spend this blog celebrating what I loved while also gently suggesting lessons that some Mainline Protestant Churches can learn from swifties. Obviously, both my experiences in Mainline Churches and at the Eras Tour are personal and others may have different experiences.
Embrace neurodiversity- I get really really passionate about things. I have a list of rotating interests-things that take precedence at different times or that are temporarily my topic of focus. But I also have two topics that I have been passionate about since I was a teenager and I am now in my 30s. Those two topics are Taylor Swift and theology. And I will be honest, my passion for those topics can be a bit intense. I have had to find ways and places to indulge in those interests without boring my friends and family to tears.
And I have had to learn to find ways to temper the impulse to talk about it all the time. One of the things I loved about the Eras Tour and the prep up to it, was that there were thousands of people who were talking, singing and thinking about Taylor Swift along with me. Don’t get me wrong, I was still awkward and may have done a bit too much (I created a 100 goodie bags with a friendship bracelet, Taylor Swift sticker and croc shoe charm, and a small paper directing people to my Taylor Swift themed devotional) but my too much was viewed as endearing and kind. it wasn’t viewed as a burden or as too much.
I’m going to be blunt: congregations aren’t always kind to people who are neurodivergent. In fact, predominantly white Mainline congregations aren’t always kind to people who display any type of wavering from the WASP status quo. Intentionally or not, too many congregations give the impression that all are welcome-only if we fit into a certain box. And if we don’t, well we can either learn to confirm or we can go somewhere else.
Many congregations aren’t equipped to welcome those who don’t fit the status quo by choice, let alone those of us who are neurodivergent. And that’s an issue-not only is that in direct contrast to the gospel in which God is portrayed as pushing back against the status quo and embracing the ostracized, and forgotten, but the Church is missing out. Those of us who are neurodivergent bring a host of gifts and talents that are often ignored and neglected and the Church is poorer for it.
I will be honest, I have felt welcomed by fellow Swifties in ways that I haven’t necessarily felt welcomed in some congregations.
2. Embrace passion and emotion-Growing up I attended a Pentecostal church and while there is a lot theologically that I have rejected, I still remember and cherish the ability to outwardly express emotion. We were encouraged to cry, to laugh, to sing, to jump around. In fact, sometimes we embraced emotions a bit too much, since services could drag on for hours. But even then, going to church felt cathartic. We were given permission to just be.
Likewise at the Eras Tour, people embraced the full gamut of their emotions. People were crying, singing, dancing, and screaming. And I have to admit it was magical being in a stadium with 60,000 + people singing the lyrics and having the time of their life.
There are mainly aspects of Mainline Protestant Christianity that I have grown to love and appreciate during my time attending various different denominations: the liberal theology, the willingness to engage in tough intellectual questions, the willingness (in some denominations) to experiment with liturgy.
But I have to admit, in almost every single congregation I have attended, emotions have been muted and reserved beyond the occasional laugh at a joke or cute baby. And I am not suggesting that white Mainline Protestant congregations go all Pentecostal in terms of worship style but sometimes it appears as if Mainline Christianity has gone in the complete opposite direction where faith is only an intellectual exercise. I can’t help but wonder, how can Mainline congregations get better at providing space for faithful expressions of emotions?
The Eras Tour embraces the full spectrum of emotion. And it embraces passion. Not everyone at the tour is a hardcore Swiftie, which I am glad about. I know a small minority of Swifties think there should be a test to get tickets, but I firmly believe There is room for people who only know a handful of songs, for those who have every single lyric memorized, and for those who are in between. However, the passion that swifties have can be life-giving. There were people at the concert who drove for hours to get there, who spent hours, days, and weeks trying to get tickets. There were thousands of people outside who couldn’t get tickets who were still singing and dancing. That type of passion and commitment was beautiful to witness.
My question is: how can Mainline Protestant Christianity inspire that type of passion? The reality is that more and more people aren’t buying what many Mainline Christians are selling. We see it in the declining membership, we see it in the fact that the children of attendees are leaving first chance they get. And sure, part of that can be traced to the changing religious landscape: more and more people are leaving organized religion. But the reality is, that people are still finding God and community, but aren’t interested in doing it in the Mainline Church.
3) Embrace the new while not forgetting the Old- One of my favorite things about Taylor Swift as a musician is her willingness to reinvent herself. Yes, there is a joke that all her music sounds the same, and don’t get me wrong there are definitely similarities and parallels, but there is also variety. And in the concert, while many aspects have stayed the same, she also leaves room for changes: whether it’s a new costume, a new song added to the list, the surprise songs with guests, etc.
There is both a comforting stability and a push towards pushing boundaries and doing something new. I noticed this tendency in the outfits some fans wore to the show. On the one hand, there were so many people who also wore a Junior Jewels shirts (and if I had the patience and time, I would have tried to take a photo with them but alas I was not in the mood), but even then we each had our own little nuances and touches to the shirt. On the other hand, some people went all out and wore one of a kind outfits. And of course, there were so many people who just wore regular t-shirts. There was room for it all.
And of course, the Eras Tour itself is a celebration of both the new and old. Taylor is celebrating and honoring her past while looking toward the future.
In some conversations about the future of Mainline Protestant Christianity, there is a tension between tradition and experimental forms of liturgy, worship etc. And these conversations often pit experimental and traditional as enemies, where congregations and individuals have to pick one or the other. This attitude is not doing the Church any favors. Instead, what if there can be room for both?
The reality is that tradition does matter and is beautiful AND that each generation wants to make their own traditions, which sometimes means they won’t be attracted to what previous generations thought was meaningful. That doesn’t mean we get rid of what other generations found/continue to find meaningful, but that if we want millennials, gen z, and gen alpha to make a home in our congregations, we need to make space for what they may find meaningful.
Conclusion
The days leading up to and including the concert, were fantastic. It truly was one of the best days of my life and I am so lucky to have experienced it. And I think there is much that the Mainline Protestant Church can learn from the Eras Tour and Swifties in general. This article captures only a snapshot of the lessons that the Church could embrace.
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Image: Multi-colored background. Text: What The Church Can Learn From The Eras Tour
1) Embrace neurodiversity
2) Embrace passion and emotion
3) Embrace the new while not forgetting the old