Why does the American religious right get all the attention: is there not also a religious left? Why is it always on the back foot? Why, though such a basic part of the nation’s history, does it seem un-American? It suffers from the same problem as its political cousin: most Americans think of the left as something for metropolitan elites or angry black radicals. (President Obama is associated with both.)
But liberal Christian voices are breaking out. A few young preachers have edged away from conservative evangelicalism, but their criticism of the dominant religious culture tends to remain cautious (why lose the chance of a massive congregation?). A notable exception is Jay Bakker, 35-year-old pastor of a church for the young hipsters of Brooklyn, called Revolution NYC. This is no megachurch, but it might be a sign that a new sort of American Christianity is brewing.
Bakker (pronounced baker) is a smallish chap with big black specs and tattoos almost everywhere, including ‘HELP ME LORD’ on his knuckles. There’s a Southern gothic feel about him, which is borne out by his story. He is the son of Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, the televangelists who were hit by a sex and fraud scandal in the late 1980s. He has today decisively rebelled against the turn-or-burn moralism of evangelical culture, though he retains some of its keep-it-simple-and-soulful style.
In his memoir, Son of a Preacher Man, he tells of the weird world in which he grew up. His televangelist father built a Christian theme park that was for a while the most popular visitor attraction in the US after Disney’s. Jay was the sad young prince of this strange world; his parents were busy asking viewers for donations; his only friends were his security guards.
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