Christianity is reportedly in decline in the West, especially among trendy millennials. And yet, the Cross has become a fashion accessory, appearing on t-shirts, jewelry, tattoos, and as a high-fashion design element.
British youth minister Martin Saunders, discusses the phenomenon in The Cross in fashion: Appropriation or opportunity? | Christian News on Christian Today.
Some Christians decry the custom, thinking that the fashionistas are draining the Cross of its meaning, trivializing the instrument of sacrifice by turning it into just another aesthetic form.
Some take over a complaint being made by the identity politics folks on the left, that using a Cross without believing in it is an act of “cultural appropriation,” the equivalent of a white person wearing African garb.
And, of course, the Cross is probably sometimes being used “ironically,” that trope being much favored by young adults.
But Saunders says that in his experience with British youth, the Cross has a mysterious resonance that most of them don’t fully understand. And it is a point of contact for discussing Christianity with them. He writes
I spend a fair amount of time with young people and they seem to be the group who – more than anyone – are delighted to wear this somewhat mysterious spiritual symbol on their clothing. Many of them are living with what theologians have called ‘the ruins of faith’, perhaps knowing the name of the baby Jesus but unaware that Easter is about more than chocolate and a long weekend. They don’t really know what the cross is, but they find themselves drawn to it, perhaps because they feel ‘spiritual’ and they understand that it at least carries that connotation. What’s interesting to me is how ready these young people seem to be to have conversations around the icon they almost inadvertently bear.
That’s the great opportunity that I think the cross in fashion presents. In most cases (unless they’re being deeply satirical) those who choose to wear it have on some level already felt an affiliation to it. Whether on their shirt, jacket, ear or bag, they’re carrying around a perfect natural discussion starter – if only we have the guts to ask them about it. In my experience, people are remarkably happy to talk to someone who starts a conversation with a compliment about their fashion sense.
Here is an idea: What if we emphasized a more Cross-saturated version of Christianity when trying to reach said millennials, a spirituality that is darker, more realistic, more tough-minded, and more atonement-minded than the theologies of glory that are dominant today and that are becoming harder for thoughtful people to take seriously.
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