American Idolatry: Christian vs. Gay

We live in a mad world:

I find it kind of funny; I find it kind of sad. The word is on the street that the two finalists on this year’s season of American Idol received divided support for more than just their musical talents: unbeknowst on the program proper, Kris Allen is reportedly a worship leader and has done missionary service in the past, while Adam Lambert is openly gay. With Kris Allen’s win last night, despite a never-before-seen standing ovation for Adam Lambert’s performance of Mad World only a few weeks ago from the nefariously cantankerous Simon Cowell, many people are speculating now on how these additional factors worked in. Did Christianity really win Kris Allen the title of American Idol? To what extent is the American consciousness shaped by a motto like, “in hoc signo vinces,” even today? Or, conversely, did people vote against Adam Lambert because of pervasive rumours– which he has neither confirmed nor denied– that he is openly gay and has been in several publicly-recognized gay relationships?

My real question is this: why do we think in terms of “Christian vs. gay”? Are the two really mutually exclusive? What I appreciated about this unique situation on this year’s American Idol is that it pitted the two against each other. Even if the rumours about the two are not true, they nevertheless are publicly perceived in a sort of black-and-white way: the Christian vs. the gay.

Another reason to consider the outcome of something as vapid as American Idol is that it represents a microcosm of the democratic process in America. It will likely be some time before we see the a gay man running for president– but, will it play out the same way? Do we want to see things in opposition? A Christian man vs. a gay man? If the Democrats submitted a gay man as their candidate, would the Republicans be more likely to submit a fundamentalist Christian?

Perhaps what is most intriguing about American Idol is that it represents a more direct form of democracy. There’s no counting states differently, tabulating counties, etc. Everyone has perfectly equal representation. In democracy, it’s really not the best candidate who wins. It’s the candidate who represents the majority of the voting population. And, if American Idol attests to anything, it’s that Christians are motivated to vote and vote as a block for those who they believe represent them– this article recaps several other American Idol wins according to their religious affiliation.

I’m reminded of something Judith Butler had to say about gay marriage. Despite being one of America’s primary queer theorists, a gay activist, and a lesbian, Judith Butler does not believe in gay marriage. For her, incorporating the queer subject into the marriage structure simply subverts queerness and strengthens the heteronormative cultural hegemony. She urges queer-identified people not to demand the participation in social institutions, but to be counter-cultural. My point is this: perhaps queerness has no place in democracy.

Consider for a moment how gay marriage came about in Canada. It wasn’t done through the democratic process– our elected officials didn’t make it happen. Rather, it was done through the legal system. This is still not to say that gay marriage should necessarily be the desired goal, but it is to say that democracy merely sustains a status quo; democracy is rarely the path to change.

Many of our notions of marriage are descended from contemporary Christian values. I am always a little skeptical of the gay Christians I meet: are the two really mutually possible? I personally do think they’re in opposition. This is not because I believe Christ would have been homophobic; rather, the current Christian institution seeks to perpetuate the heteronormative dynamic.

In terms of the behaviours of religious institutions, I would like to mention that earlier today I was talking to my roommate about my recent post on Islam and Malcolm X’s belief in its ability to unite us. She posed a very worthwhile question: why would we want that kind of unity? It’s a unity in which each of us submits totally to a system of unquestionable laws. It’s a unity which is oppressive towards women and denies their autonomy. I don’t mean to sound Islamophobic; nevertheless, she pointed out the Koranic prohibition against menstruating women being allowed to prepare food. It is a system which, at very least, disempowers women to be self-determining.

Something else she drew attention to was the instantiation of economic power dynamics in religious texts. The texts written when men controlled nearly all economic functions bespeak patriarchical power distribution. To put in play the same Koranic laws today is to perpetuate the oppressive dynamics of seventh-century Arabic culture.

However, religion is not so rigid as we sometimes think it is. Medieval Christians, for instance, would have no concept of “Christian vs. gay.” In Foucault’s History of Sexuality, the historian draws attention to the Medieval written prohibitions against homosexuality, and then the virtually non-existent records of anyone ever being punished for it. Similarly, Medieval Christians had very different notions of when something was or wasn’t a sin. Homosexuality was among the gravest theological sins– yet, if one looks at the guidelines given to Priests to administer confessions, homosexuality was a minor misdemeanor. Why? Because the Church likes to look the other way. Whatever prohibitions they theologically stated, they nevertheless tried very hard to ignore the reality of monks sleeping with monks, Priests with their parishoners, and the other things real people do in their real lives. It’s only since the social concept of “gay identity” has arisen that the Church has made such strong statements against it.

My conclusion? The heteronormative power dynamic of Western culture should be resisted in order to affect actual change. The religion backing American Idolatry is pervasive and certainly worth more contemplation.

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Tags: Adam Lambert, American Idol, Canada, Christian, Christianity, counter-culture, democracy, Democrats, discrimination, Foucault, gay, gay marriage, hegemony, heteronormativity, history, homophobia, institutions, Islam, Judith Butler, Koran, Kris Allen, lesbian, marriage, missionary, politics, queer, queer theory, Republicans, sexuality, Simon Cowell