Where do we draw the line between culture and Christianity, or is there even a line?
Arielle Dreher | Editor-in-Chief
Smoke machines, neon lights and palettes decorate the stage in the dark auditorium. The lead singer is in skinny jeans, but he’s not alone, as both female vocalists look like they walked straight out of an Urban Outfitters catalogue. The sound is edgy, electronic and undeniably cool. Where are we? Not a concert. It’s a Sunday morning at 11 a.m., and we are at church.
In 2009, Los Angeles-based writer and journalist Brett McCracken embarked on a journalistic endeavor to investigate a sweeping trend he noticed in Christianity in the western world. That investigation turned into a year of in-depth research, and the result was the book, Hipster Christianity, which was published in 2010. The book examines how Christianity is beginning to fuse with the “cool” elements in culture. The term “hipster” was chosen for the title of the book, but McCracken did not use the term, “hipster”, to guide his research or interviews.
McCracken’s biggest question at the heart of his book is, “Can Christianity be cool?” He had found that this trend now dubbed “Hipster Christianity” had swept over not only how Christians and churches present themselves but also over how we think about our faith as well. “Cool is ephemeral, and Christianity is transcendent,” McCracken said. “Cool is self-focused; Christianity is self-effacing.” Christianity and cool are, in essence, closer to opposites, according to McCracken. “If we define cool as being setting yourself apart from someone else and showing off your unique style and your music tastes. … There is a definite friction between Christianity and cool,” McCracken said.
In his research, McCracken looked at multiple Christian communities and groups of people in churches, on college campuses and in several different cities and countries. He found that while a few authentic cool Christian communities existed, “wannabe cool” Christian communities were the most common. Authentically cool Christian communities were typically found in urban centers where members of that community naturally dressed a certain way and listened to particular kinds of music due to their environment, while wannabe cool communities were consciously trying to be cool in the way that they presented themselves.
McCracken did not suggest a total abandon and denial of what is cool and hip today, but rather he suggested a balance. “We should care about culture because we want to worship God through it and grow in our faith. … Through the truth that exists in culture,” he said. “[But] when we use culture to make ourselves look cool and hip, rather than approaching it in a humble way, that’s the problem.”
In his book, McCracken identifies several “Christian hipster churches” that are the epicenters of the culture of cool integrating with Christianity on several levels. Mosaic in Hollywood is one of those churches.
Although Hank Fortener, the lead pastor, has not read McCracken’s book, the term “hipster” church turned him off immediately because of the negative connotation that goes along with the word “hipster.” “Mosaic is one of the most inclusive communities on the planet,” Fortener said.
He expressed that Mosaic was a community that wanted to include the cool kids, the people who dislike the cool kids and the uncool kids. “They don’t have to fit into a subculture [to be included],” Fortener said.
Beyond the surface-level “cool” things, however, a deeper question is being asked: can Christianity hang out within the context of the modern-day culture? “Jesus has always been cool,” Fortener said. Keeping services as cool as Jesus typically attracts younger crowds; according to Fortener, around 70 percent of his congregation is under the age of 30.
There has been a longstanding debate about the church and the Christian’s place in the world and in culture. How are we to be in the world but not of it? Mosaic’s stance is simple. “The way we communicate [is] to and with the culture, not at the culture,” Fortener said.
McCracken defined his list of “hipster churches” because a big portion of the congregations at these churches were hipsters(i.e., those who favor more indie music and film, as well as, value styles that go against the mainstream). His main critique of the hip, emerging church asks what happens when “one of the places in our world where people can escape that [culture] and feel welcome” is not no longer inclusive due to its hip-ness. “Is this what the church should be? If a soccer mom walked into this church, would she feel welcome?” McCracken said.
Of course, most churches would not consciously be exclusive. However, the hipster movement hinges on exclusivity. You can’t go against the mainstream without neglecting those who are a part of the mainstream. “Ultimately what the church has to offer is the antidote to that exhausting pursuit of the ‘now’ which defines our culture these days,” McCracken said.
Hipster Christianity was not limited to a discussion of the emerging church. McCracken targeted the hipster movement particularly on college campuses, working at Biola University himself and writing from a place of self-critique as a Christian hipster. The book calls Christian college campuses “hotbeds of hip.” Why? “College is this place where you are on your own so that you have the freedom to experiment with new ideas and with your identity,” McCracken said. “So much of hipster culture is about coming into your own identity.”
Students just beginning college should be prepared to have their ideas and foundations shaken McCracken said, but they should not let new ideas completely undermine their faith and core values. College students tend to go through a cynical, doubting phase and come out senior year on the opposite side of ideology from where they began. The pendulum swing of ideas is natural, but the truth is probably lying somewhere in the middle McCracken said. For seniors, it is best to question yourself and your new ideas that you have come to believe. “The broader your sense of Christianity becomes, the more you see your own small view of it,” McCracken said.
While reading Hipster Christianity can be a wake-up call to motivations for liking certain bands or dressing a certain way, be wary of dramatic shifts of thought. Self-reflection on motivations behind how we engage with culture and consume media is a good place to start. According to McCracken, eventually, you should get to a place where you like a certain band, film or other form of media because it’s good, not because it’s cool. “I’ve had to abandon my desire to be up on culture and the ‘you’ve never heard of it’ mystique,” McCracken said.
Think you might be a Christian hipster? It took McCracken a year to research and write his book, exploring the mysterious, intertwining hipster and Christian cultures. This theological question is deeper and more complex than one article can summarize; however, it’s worth thinking about. “At the base of all of this, is our epistemological understanding of what is truth and where does it come from,” McCracken said. “And that’s very much in debate these days.”