When most people go to church, they expect to sing hymns that they recognize from prior services.
But not all churches stick to the same program every Sunday.
And swarms of attendees showed up when this church played a famous pop singer’s music.
German church hosts Taylor Swift-themed service
Heidelberg, Germany’s 600-year-old Church of the Holy Spirit is a famous church that was originally Catholic but is now Protestant.
According to a report from Deutsche Welle (DW), the church recently hosted a liturgical service called “Anti-Hero – Taylor Swift Church Service” to try and attract a younger crowd.
To their surprise, the church ended up drawing close to 1,200 people to the unconventional service.
Heidelberg Pastor Christof Ellsiepen said that, “The Church of the Holy Spirit has always been a place of encounter and exchange. That’s why a pop music religious service fits so perfectly.”
“With it, we are giving space to the questions and issues that occupy the younger generation,” he added.
According to parish pastor Vincenzo Petracco, Swift has attached Christianity to everyday life thanks to her focus on issues like women’s rights, racism, and gender equality.
The unique Sunday service featured a rainbow banner that hung behind the musicians and welcomed, “All sizes, all colors, all cultures, all sexes, all beliefs, all religions, all ages, all types, all people.”
That day, the congregation leaned toward much younger and more female attendees than usual.
People were treated to six songs written by Taylor Swift that were performed by Tine Wiechmann, a local singer and professor of music.
One song Swift wrote for her mother entitled Soon You’ll Get Better was penned when she was diagnosed with cancer.
Weichmann said the performance of that song was “emotionally stirring.”
“Holy orange bottles, each night I pray to you,” the lyrics read. “Desperate people find faith, so now I pray to Jesus, too.”
Swift’s Christianity is in doubt
The topic of Swift’s faith has long been a point of debate among Christians in the United States.
While the 34-year-old Pop Star was raised in the American Bible Belt and has said she is a Christian publicly, some say she portrays a “we don’t do God” attitude in her music and performances.
Many Christians have criticized Swift’s latest album, The Tortured Poets Department, because they believe some of the wording “mocks God and Christians.”
The Christian entertainment review company MovieGuide claimed that the new album from Swift “mocks Christianity.”
According to MovieGuide, Swift has “made her hatred for religion known through her newly released album.”
Sean Feucht, a conservative Christian singer and founder of the Let Us Worship movement, said he thinks Swift made fun of Christians in the album on social media.
“Almost half the songs on Taylor Swift’s new album contain explicit lyrics, make fun of Christians, and straight up blaspheme God,” he wrote. “Is this the music you want your kids listening to?”
Patriot Political will keep you up-to-date on any developments to this ongoing story.
