The Fine Line Between Freedom of Expression and Blasphemy
Recently, there has been a noticeable influx of popular mainstream influencers or companies partaking in blasphemous activities specifically targeted to Christians but seemingly don’t get the repercussions they deserve. From clothing companies to full-on animated TV shows, Christianity and its teachings have been twisted into and reduced to simply pieces of entertainment or punchlines to jokes. It seems that in mainstream online media, and overall culture, there happens to be an imbalance of respect and acceptance, as Christian topics and discussions can be disproportionately undefended and mocked.
Modern films and media don’t shy away from this. American rapper and singer-songwriter Lil Nas X, in his music video “J Christ,” imitated the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and dressed up as Him. It isn’t a surprise that modern music videos may adopt a slightly blasphemous take; however, this has also applied to televised shows and official films. Adult animated TV show “Hazbin Hotel” recently released an episode manipulating the story of Adam and Eve and portraying God as the villain and Lucifer as innocent and righteous. An addition to this is the Netflix Original film “The First Temptation of Christ,” which hints at a gay version of Jesus.
A significant pattern may be obvious here, where the identity of Jesus Christ is manipulated and downgraded into a mere costume rather than respected as a significant holy figure. Searching up “Jesus cosplay” on Google, there isn’t a lack of online results to purchase such a costume. But in terms of what has been released on social media, Pura Luka Vega, who gained controversy a while ago, backs up this statement well. To recall, the drag queen made headlines when footage of him performing to a remixed version of the song “Ama Namin,” all while dressed up in a drag version of Jesus. Similarly, RuPaul’s Drag Race contestant Ashley Madison used a costume of Jesus for an episode.
A rather stark insight to be gained from social media is the permission of this form of treatment toward Christianity because it is and has been more widely accepted by the majority compared to other religions. However, this simply does not justify the lack of respect and continuous mockery. Regardless of a religion’s popularity, its beliefs should not be disrespected or ignored. Then-popular TikToker Addison Rae, in collaboration with Adidas and clothing brand Praying, released a bikini, titling each section of the garment with the Holy Trinity. The controversy began when Rae released a photo on her social media account posing in the said bikini, which aroused hate from mainly Christians and conservatives. In line with this, Nessa Barrett, another popular TikToker, posted a video of her and her friend dancing to a recital of a verse from the Quran. While Barrett’s video was taken down immediately, the Holy Trinity bikini post is still up.
With the rise of “freedom of speech” and an overall acceptance of a wider range of beliefs and ideas, Christianity, which has objectively taken the place of being the conventional norm of society’s moral basis, has lost its significance in this generation. In addition to this, society has then evolved to adopt a subversive mentality, aiming to overthrow previous Christian or “holy” beliefs. Unfortunately, that has translated into the normalized, blatant disrespect Christianity has been under throughout social media. Witnessing this wave of ignorance and disrespect may seem overly normalized and, consequently, to Christian viewers, be tempting to fall into accepting and embracing the idea of a liberal and permissive kind of Christianity. However, it is during these times that Christians, especially the youth, have to trudge on with heavier caution, as this trend may continue to grow by the day. As Christians, it is important to continue setting an example for non-believers, keeping in mind that we are to turn the other cheek and this is not an excuse for us to do the same to anyone. After all, this isn’t a battle for who gets the last word.
