But daddy I love her!
On being a Christian Swiftie
Taylor Swift released her eleventh studio album on the 19th of April, a day I had eagerly marked on my Google calendar the moment of its announcement at the Grammy’s earlier in the year.
It’s no secret that I’m a Swiftie. In fact, I’m an ‘OG’ fan: I used to (illegally) download her debut tracks from beemp3.com and obsessively read up on the ‘meaning’ behind each song. As she grew and matured—both in music-making and life—so did I. And so I traversed with her from the familiar terrain of fawning over my high school crushes to falling hard for bad-news boys in college, grappling with important questions about my identity and purpose, and learning and un-learning the meaning of (difficult, hard-to-define, unconditional) love.
If I’ve been a fan of Taylor for a bit more than a decade, then I’ve had to defend her for about the same length of time. This has been the unfortunate experience of every Swiftie since time immemorial. In the beginning, it was because she was the source of all the quintessential tween anthems. (And, of course, everybody hates what teenage girls love.) She’s been criticised for always singing about boys, always singing about love, having too many boyfriends, being too money-minded, being ‘fake,’ and so on.
Lately, especially since I began taking my faith more seriously, I’ve been exposed to a different kind of critique—that her laissez-faire approach to dating and relationships is a poor example for young women, that as a 34-year-old unmarried woman, there’s really nothing for faithful Christians to learn from her, and—more extremely—that she performed satanic rituals onstage during her record-breaking Eras World Tour, and confessed to practicing witchcraft in her later albums.
Because I’m aware of the infamy of Taylor Swift, especially in Christian circles, I generally refrain from posting about her on my social media. But when she released The Tortured Poets Department, I couldn’t help but share a story about how much I loved the album. This invited, predictably, a fair amount of criticism my way.
It’s now been a month since the album was released, and it seems like everyone and their aunt has had something to say about the dubious intersection of Christians and Swifties. This is my shot at answering that culturally significant question: Can a faithful Christian be a Swiftie?
Spoiler alert: I think yes.
But she performs Satanic rituals onstage!
Before we tackle this criticism, let’s turn our gaze to other celebrities who have famously included Satanic themes in their music or onstage performances.
Probably the most famous example in recent years would be Lil Nas X, an African American rapper who released a music video in 2021 where he performed sexual acts on a character meant to represent the devil. When the music video gave rise to significant controversy, the rapper responded that the disturbing visuals were meant to ‘open doors for many other queer people to simply exist.’ I won’t be the first to confess that I don’t exactly see the correlation between the two, but I digress.
Another recent example is Sam Smith (of ‘Stay With Me’ fame), who, along with Kim Petras, performed their song ‘Unholy’ onstage at the 2023 Grammys while wearing a tophat with plastic devil’s horns sticking out the top. The lyrics of the song and the original music video are similarly disturbing, containing a plethora of sexually suggestive visuals and Sam Smith once again decked out in devil’s horns.
I mention these examples to illustrate that there has been a general trend towards glorifying the unholy in the music industry lately. Is it possible that these incidents have put us on edge, making us look for devious intentions where there are none?
Let’s now look at the allegations of Taylor’s ‘Satanic’ rituals.
From what I’ve read, the main point of contention has been the song ‘Willow’ from her ninth studio album, ‘evermore’. There’s nothing nefarious about the song itself; one might even call it a run-of-the-mill Swiftian love song. However, for whatever reason, Taylor chose to incorporate witchy images into the ‘Willow’ official music video, and the theme carried forward into the Eras Tour stage performance of the song.
Most allegations of Taylor’s allegiance to Satan are accompanied by screenshots of her Willow stage performance, which features gold orbs, capes and hoods. I’ll confess that when I first watched this stage performance, I didn’t really understand the point of those elements. Maybe this might clear it up. In an interview after the release of the ‘Willow’ music video, Taylor was quoted as saying, “'willow' is about intrigue, desire, and the complexity that goes into wanting someone. I think it sounds like casting a spell to make somebody fall in love with you (an oddly specific visual)."
To me, this sounds like an artist using a metaphor to get to the root of a particular feeling. Using a spell as a metaphor to describe desire is entirely different from calling on a divine power that isn’t God to cast a spell (which would be, by definition, Satanic.)
Let’s look at allegations of her Satanism from her newest album, which admittedly carries more references to the supernatural than all of her previous albums combined. Most notably, her song ‘Prophecy’ has lyrics that explicitly describe tarot card reading and fortune-telling. On the surface, it’s easy to see why one might immediately label the song pagan.
There are a few things that would give me pause if I were you. Firstly, the song is a pretty heart-wrenching one. It’s written by a woman who seems rather convinced that there will be no happy-ever-after for her. She feels so hopeless by her lot in life that she concludes that there must be a prophecy, a supernatural force binding her to a life of loneliness. ‘Please,’ she begs in the chorus, ‘I’ve been on my knees / Change the prophecy / Don’t want money, just someone who wants my company.’ Again, it does not take a scholar to see how all of the fortune-telling imagery is just a storytelling device.
Secondly, in the bridge, Taylor sings what is probably my favourite line in the entire album. “A greater woman has faith / but even statues crumble if they’re made to wait.” To me, that line is everything. It’s Taylor acknowledging that faith is the characteristic of the great, an admirable virtue that, because of her desperation, she herself cannot possess. It’s an honest, telling line.
At the end of the day, as far as I can tell, all the witchy references in Taylor’s music are used in a metaphorical, lyrical capacity. They are not the same as Sam Smith’s devil horns and Lil Nas X’s unapologetic depiction of the actual devil. In fact, to put them in the same category would be dishonest, a deliberate misrepresentation of language and culture.
It’s hard not to be reminded of the craze that took over Christian circles back when JK Rowling was still churning out Harry Potter books. ‘Don’t read that stuff,’ we were warned, ‘Witchcraft is evil. You’ll get brainwashed into worshiping Satan.’ As it turned out, though, all Rowling was doing was using magic as a vehicle to tell a beautiful story about love, friendship, and sacrifice—arguably the three most Christian virtues to exist.
In fact, we don’t even have to draw from Harry Potter, on which opinions might still be divided. One need look no further than Lord of the Rings, the average Christian’s go-to fantasy series. Do we get hung up on the nefarious-looking, un-Christian ‘magic’ that permeates the LOTR universe? I mean, it has spells. It has wizards. It has supernatural powers that are not explicitly stated as coming from the one true God. But I’ll confess I’ve never seen an honest Christian call LOTR Satanic.
But her lyrics are blasphemous!
Those who make this claim are usually referring to a few of Taylor’s songs, especially in recent albums, that use Christian imagery like altars, tombs, resurrection, sin, and so on. Some of these songs include ‘False God’ from her album ‘Lover’ and ‘Guilty as Sin’ from ‘The Tortured Poets Department’.
Frankly, I don’t care for these songs and never listen to them. It’s just weird to have someone use holy images to communicate a twisted message. For example, in ‘False God,’ she sings: “We might just get away with it / The altar is my hips / Even if it's a false god / We'd still worship this love.” Given that I simply don’t agree with the idea, I never feel the need to listen to this song.
One thing I do find interesting, though, is the fact that she can’t seem to leave the religious imagery behind. In fact, her latest album contains more Biblical references than any of her previous work. I’ve seen many Christians conclude that she’s completely rejected the Christian faith she identified with until recently and even suggest that she’s trying to lead Christians away from their faith.
I wouldn’t agree with that assessment, and not least because it’s really not our place to judge where anyone’s faith is. Furthermore, I don’t think every single celebrity who’s rejected the faith has the secret, wicked intention of leading others down the same path. I’d elaborate, but I found this thread on Twitter (X) that puts it better than I ever could:
I think this take is great because it is pro-conversation. I agree with Joel: we should not be so quick to judge and shut down those who are not in the same place, spiritually, as we are. Rather, the popularity of this music gives us an invaluable opportunity to understand those around us. What are young women experiencing? What is the exact nature of their disillusionment with religion? If we are really taking the Great Commission seriously, then we should be all ears.
But she only sings about boys!
Admittedly, this has been the capital refrain against Taylor’s music since time immemorial. But I’ve noticed Christians around me approaching this complaint from a different angle.
This appears to be the point of contention: she’s 34, still unmarried, and dating the latest in a long string of boyfriends. And so she is, therefore, not a good role model for young women.
I completely agree: she is not a good role model for young women. But do we need the artists we listen to to also be our role models? Can’t we just look to them for good, enjoyable music and look elsewhere for inspiration and advice on how to live our lives?
I think it’s an unfortunate product of our celebrity-centric culture that we expect all of our favourite celebrities to also be good people. Here’s the thing, though: they’re not. (In fact, none of us are.) When I need advice, I go to wise friends and trusted elders, the Bible, and the life of saints. I don’t go to Taylor Swift. I don’t think anyone should.
There is another, more pressing issue with this complaint, though. I’ve noticed more and more Christians zeroing in on the fact that Taylor is not only single but a single woman in her mid-thirties.
There has been a growing contempt on the internet for single women in their mid-thirties, and it’s getting hard to ignore. The general consensus is that these women must surely have chosen a life of loneliness on purpose; having rejected marriage early on in their lives, they deserve what they’re getting now.
Not only is this a gross oversimplification and fundamental misunderstanding of the dating scene right now, but it also ignores the fact that Taylor has literally been singing about wanting marriage and kids since she was 16. While all these (mostly male) voices accuse her of being a ‘play-girl,’ every Swiftie worth her salt knows that, for better or worse, Taylor strides into every relationship expecting it to be her happy-ever-after.
The real problem lies in the messed-up, transactional way in which we approach dating and relationships in the 21st century. Men string along women for years without marrying them, and everyone is always on the lookout for someone better, a perfect spouse that doesn’t exist. But that problem can hardly be traced back to Taylor Swift. All I hear when I listen to yet another Swiftie love song is a hopeless romantic who has become an unfortunate product of her time.
(Brett Cooper has an excellent video on Taylor Swift and the ‘forever girlfriend’ phenomenon if anyone’s interested in further reading.)
Until we buckle down and accurately diagnose the real problem with our culture, though, Taylor Swift will remain a punching bag for men who are quick to judge and ridicule women whose lives don’t look the way said men expect them to look. And don’t forget the single thirty-something women in your life who are reading every insensitive post you share and comment you make about situations you know nothing about. Life is not easy for them, and a little compassion goes a long way.
But but but…
Let me quickly address two more complaints.
The first one being that her fans are crazy.
It’s true, they are.
But not uniquely crazy, no. Every big celebrity these days has to deal with the unfortunate but expected by-product of their fame: people become obsessed. It’s in our nature! That does not mean that the object of the obsession is intrinsically bad.
Taking this a step further, though, I think Taylor’s music has the ability to lead listeners down emotionally charged paths they might not always be ready to go down. For example, if you’re going through a heartbreak, then listening to ‘Back to December’ over and over again might not be good for your heart. If you’re prone to having obsessive, ill-advised crushes, then you should probably stay the heck away from her entire discography.
Saying that is different from saying, ‘No self-respecting Christian must ever listen to her music.’ Because listening to music is fun. It’s enjoyable. And I don’t know if you heard, but Christians are allowed to have fun. Although some fans might take their obsession with Taylor’s music too far (and give the rest of us a bad name…), many Swifties are just regular people who enjoy a good song.
The second complaint I hear is that because of Taylor’s vocal support of abortion and pro-LGBT messages, Christians should not listen to her music.
This is the strongest argument against listening to her music, but even this argument falls flat.
I don’t see why one should agree with everything that an artist does or believes in in order to enjoy their music. I’m a staunch believer in separating the art from the artist.
I hope that I talk about my own beliefs often enough that nobody would ever presume that I side with Taylor on those issues. But anyway, I think it’s time that we stop treating each other like politicians. Yeah, I do like her music. No, this is not an unconditional endorsement. Not everyone is ‘making a statement’ with their music choices; in fact, nobody is!
At the end of the day, I think the response to both of these complaints is the same. Sometimes, music is just music. And everyone is allowed to enjoy a good song.
And now, a few words on why this matters
Many might find this entire essay pointless and inconsequential. She’s just a pop star; who cares? Listen to her if you want, ignore her if you prefer. Is she really worth all these words?
I think so. I believe Christians should be wary of how and when we insert ourselves into debates surrounding pop culture. Because I subscribe to the maybe unpopular opinion that we Christians could benefit from being a little more, well, normal.
Which is not the same as being complacent and endorsing things that fundamentally disagree with our faith. But think about it: are we really going to be taken seriously when our reaction to every popular piece of media is to run away screaming at the very mention of magic, wizards, and premarital sex?
Trent Horn, as usual, puts it better than I can:
…What I do care about are Catholics who say that there are books or movies or television shows that are off limits to us, that are spiritually dangerous, and put up these warnings and burdens on people’s consciences that don’t actually have to be there, especially if they use exaggeration or false statements to bolster their view, because that can place an unnecessary burden on Catholics who are worried about sin, and it can make us look silly to non-Catholics. People will say that we overreact, we’re irrational, we’re detached from reality, that our faith isn’t worth taking seriously because we overreact to things.
(Fr. Ripperger, Harry Potter, and Healthy Skepticism, emphasis mine)
Of course, you could say: ‘I don’t care if a bunch of unrepentant sinners think I’m paranoid and silly.’ But that wouldn’t be very Matthew 28:18-20 of you. We are called to go out and proclaim the Gospel, not sit in our echo chambers and smugly pass comments on those outside our bubbles with different opinions from us.
My greatest concern with Christians calling Christian Swifties ‘hypocritical’ is that they’re making our faith about doing the so-called ‘right thing’: listening to the right music, aligning ourselves with the right opinions, having the right ‘take’ on the latest pop culture debate.
Our faith is quite simply not about that. In fact, I have no trouble imagining there one day being a Swiftie Saint in heaven. What is really incompatible with our faith is a lack of love for Jesus Christ. Once we let Jesus into our hearts, he guides and prunes as he pleases. Some are led to cut out all secular music. Some are led to change their profession. Some are led to remove themselves from the world completely and lead a cloistered life. None of these are the ‘right’ response to God’s love.
Obedience to Christ comes in many forms. Diversity can and should exist in the Church of God. Not all of us will subsist on Gregorian chants alone.
Thank God for that.
This was an amazing read! Thanks Krys!