No Sympathy for the Devil: Christian Pop Music and the Transformation of American Evangelicalism

Few would deny the social and political power that evangelical Christianity wields in the United States. But still fewer would have guessed that the genesis of this surge of influence was so closely tied to rock and roll music. Stowe, professor of English and religious studies at Michigan State University, offers a serious and impressive examination of how rock and roll music, once derided as evil by conservative Christians, was slowly integrated into their religious agenda. The advent of Christian rock, with roots in the Jesus Movement of the 1960s, provided a space within popular culture for Christian discourse. Such high-profile mainstream musicians as Bob Dylan, Al Green, Stevie Wonder, and Marvin Gaye helped cement an evangelical influence on popular culture with their highly publicized Christian conversion stories and song lyrics infused with religion. The author argues persuasively that Christian rock helped moor baby boomer Christians to their evangelical roots by making their religion more individualistic and less judgmental. Anyone even remotely interested in American or religious studies will be captivated by this study. (Apr.)