I’m still not sure what being a “hipster” means. I figure it has something to do with being “in the know” about culture and replacing cars with bikes. Other than that, I wasn’t aware being a hipster had become a movement (and maybe it hasn’t), but leave it to Christians to slap a label on another group of people who are trying to look at the gospel through a new lens and call them something. Hipster Christians. I don’t know if this is a new term though; Paste Magazine has the hipster movement chronicled since 2000.
In the last issue of Relevant Brett McCracken, the author of Hipster Christianity, wrote an article about the pursuit of cool among Christians. Whether he is right or not, he is getting a lot of attention–both good and bad.
The article piqued my interest—mainly because I found I both agreed and disagreed with him and because he spurred some further evaluation on my part. According to McCracken, the hipster Christian movement has brought a new awareness for social justice–an awareness for the poor and disenfranchised. While social justice has been around far longer than hipsters, this movement seems to have gained momentum over the last few years. This can be categorized as only a positive, and if justice becomes “cool,” even better. You can credit this to the hipsters if you want—or maybe to Jesus. (That may make a little more sense since it was Jesus, not the hipster movement, who preached the Sermon on the Mount.) Either way, I’m glad it’s catching on.
McCracken’s major concern about hipster Christianity is that with the pursuit of “hip” and “cool” comes exclusion. Like he mentions in the article, “Hip is an individual pursuit… “Cool” is ultimately a lonely world because it makes people fear you.” I agree with this statement, and it does seem to be a growing problem in what he labels the hipster generation. I am just not convinced it pertains only to hipsters. Isn’t this a tension found throughout all Christianity? If it isn’t spending too much money on clothes so we can look like we shop at a thrift store, it’s competing to keep up with our neighbors in the cul-de-sac. This concept of chasing cool is found everywhere. If trying to be hip naturally excludes those we should be reaching, as the young “hipster” generation, how do we change this need to be cool?
*Disclaimer: I don’t know if you could call me a hipster though; my bike isn’t a fixed gear.
Photo credit: D.so
Question: How many hipsters does it take to change a light bulb?
Answer: it's a really obscure number. You've probably never heard of it.
did you hear about the answer at a poetry reading in Westport?
Thanks, Rachel, for exploring this. I appreciate the tension that you point to in regards to the Christian life. Tension is everywhere in our living out our beliefs. Personal/corporate; piety/social action. But, we don't like the tension–it makes us too uncomfortable. So, we ignore the tension…or "the man behind the curtain." (reference to the Wizard of Oz).
Good post, Rach! I read that article around the same time I read another on the topic in Christianity Today found here: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/septembe…
It was interesting to me that this was news all of a sudden. Like you said, this particular movement can be chronicled back pretty far for it to just now be considered news. And forget this particular movement, you had a great point when you said that this behavior isn't new. People of all different types of groups within the church do this to others all the time. It doesn't matter if they are a group of people who like obscure music, message tees and the just got out of bed look or if it's people who dress uber conservatively, don't support establishments that are open on Sundays, and seem to think the phrase "in the world not of the world" means that Christians go out into the world to tell everyone why they're going to hell
I totally agree with you. McCracken was pointing out a problem that reaches further than one small group. I think he was using hipsters as an example. The thing that has surprised me the most is how much media time he is getting because of this opinion: Christianity Today, Relevant, and The Wall Street Journal. Whether right or wrong, he is getting people's attention.
Unfortunately, it can't be "Christian" if it isn't given a label. Maybe one day we'll be beyond that. Great post, Rachel.