When Does Faith Matter?

I guess I'm the last living heterosexual to learn who Taylor Swift is. In my defense, I almost exclusively listen to classical music on public radio. But as it happened, they were piping in "Love Story" at the pool where I swim laps, and, well, I guess my musical taste isn't as hi-falutin' as I like to pretend.

Once I figured out that young Swift had a Christian background, I wanted to get a sense of how her faith influences her work and life. That search led me to her erstwhile connection with one of the Jonas Brothers, about whom Beliefnet writer Joanne Brokaw had this to say:

Yes, the guys are Christians, but I'm not talking about the "you have to use your fame to sing songs about Jesus" argument. I'm talking about maintaining a healthy personal spiritual life. Being a solid Christian on a daily basis amidst the music industry fracas is much harder than just warbling Jesus songs from the stage, and I don't have a problem with their chaste puppy love music as long as they live offstage what they say they believe. But the schedule that these guys are on is ridiculous. There are only so many hours in a day, and if most of them are focused on commerce (how many more products can we plaster their faces on?) there's little time left for spiritual growth. And without a strong spiritual foundation, it's just a matter of time before those worldly accolades can lead even the most stable star down a Britney-like path.

Wise counsel. I was also impressed by this trenchant observation:

Admittedly, the guys don't have much (or any) control over what the media writes about them. While most of the articles I've read touch on their faith, I haven't seen anything go into detail. And I haven't seen an article about them recently in any Christian media. They may be more than willing to talk about purity and Jesus, but the media might not be interested in reporting that right now. But if they slip up? Well, then their faith will be fodder for the tabloids.

Or not even slip up. I made a passing reference a while back to a Southpark episode involving the Jonas Brothers about which I intended to say more, and now is as good a time as any. The point of the episode was to call out Disney for using the Jonas Brothers purity rings to evade parental radar while marketing sex to pre-teen girls.

Now I suppose that, fifty years ago, the on-stage presence of such as the Jonas Brothers would indeed have elicited much harrumphing from arch-conservatives like yours truly. (I don't actually know this, having neither been around then nor ever seen a Jonas performance.) But we're stuck with the culture we've got, and if the Jonas Brothers performances themselves don't raise any flags with an intelligent observer like Joannne Brokaw, then it becomes hard to take the Southpark critique in good faith. I can't help thinking that the only reason the show's writers thought the Jonas aura might be age-inappropriate is because of the brothers' outspoken Christianity.