Taylor Swift's new album draws criticism from Christian leaders who say it mocks God, Christians
Taylor Swift's new album, The Tortured Poets Department, has garnered criticism from faith leaders who have taken to social media this week to express their distaste with the lyrical content that they believe mocks God and Christians.
Released last Friday, critics have voiced concern over lyrics that seem to suggest that Christians are both hateful and judgemental.
In the song "But Daddy I Love Him," Swift sings:
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"But daddy I love him / I just learned these people only raise you / To cage you / Sarahs and Hannahs in their Sunday best / Clutchin' their pearls, sighing, 'What a mess' / I just learned these people try and save you 'Cause they hate you."
In the same song, Swift sings:
"God save the most judgmental creeps/ Who say they want what's best for me/ Sanctimoniously performing soliloquies I'll never see/ Thinkin' it can change the beat/ Of my heart when he touches me/ And counteract the chemistry/ And undo the destiny/ You ain't gotta pray for me/ Me and my wild boy and all of this wild joy/ If all you want is gray for me/ Then it's just white noise, and it's just my choice."
In the song "Guilty As Sin," Swift sings: "What if I roll the stone away?/ They're gonna crucify me anyway/ What if the way you hold me is actually what's holy."
Eleven of the 31 songs contain an "E" under the album's description listing, which stands for "explicit." And several songs have the F-word included within the lyrics.
Shane Pruitt, the National Next Gen director for the Southern Baptist Convention's North American Mission Board and co-author of Calling Out the Called, wrote in a Facebook post that there is a difference between being secular and being "Anti-Christian." He urged Christian parents to seriously consider if they should allow their children to listen to Swift's music.
"I'm definitely not the minister or parent that has the 'no secular music' stance," Pruitt wrote. "Also, I fully realize unbelievers are going to act like unbelievers. HOWEVER, there is a difference between being secular and being ANTI-CHRISTIAN."
Pruitt added that he used to listen to Swift but said he thinks "now it's time to reconsider."
"As Christians, who are filled with the Spirit, should we be entertained by, sing with, and expose our kids to lyrics that aren't just different than what you believe, but are actually mocking what you believe?" Pruitt asked.
The Christian entertainment review company MovieGuide believes the album "mocks Christianity."
"While it's no secret that Taylor Swift is not a Christian, she made her hatred for religion known through her newly released album 'The Tortured Poets Department,'" MovieGuide stressed in its review.
"The album is full of minor quips that elevate Swift above God while also featuring two songs devoted to tearing down the Christian sexual ethic."
MovieGuide contends the lyrics to the song "I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)" contain rhetoric alluding to the idea that God doesn't want to "lift a finger."
The lyrics read: "They shake their heads sayin', 'God help her,'/ When I tell 'em he's my man/ but your good Lord doesn't lift a finger/ I can fix him, no, really, I can. And only I can."
"The fact that one of the most popular and famous celebrities of her generation cannot find happiness reveals that living in the world leads to death while living for Christ and under his teachings leads to life," the review stated.
"Unfortunately, Swift has chosen the path toward death and is reaping the fruits of her labor."
MovieGuide also objects to the lyrics of the song "Florida!!!," which the organization says is about "going off the deep end and all in on worldly fun and entertainment."
"While Swift has since clarified that this song was about a fantasy rather than an actual experience she has had, it still glorifies going off the deep and engaging in complete debauchery," the organization states.
Sean Feucht, a conservative Christian singer and former worship leader at Bethel Church who founded the Let Us Worship movement, took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share how he believes the new album is making fun of Christians.
"Almost half the songs on Taylor Swift's new album contain explicit lyrics (E), make fun of Christians and straight up blaspheme God. Is this the music you want your kids listening to?" Feucht wrote.
"You think I'm just being religious & overreacting? Read the lyrics & decide for yourself."
Alex Clark, host of the Turning Point USA podcast "The Spillover," who also launched the pop culture show "POPlitics!" didn't take kindly to Feucht's comments on Swift.
"Sean Feucht, whatever his name is … let's not even get into his own controversies and who he aligns with and all the sketchy stuff that this guy, who he surrounds himself with in the Christian community. Cause that could be a whole other episode. So, it's like OK, we're going to take advice from these people who have their own situations and it's like, so are you never going to watch any Netflix movies? You're never going to listen to any artist. If this is the criteria that we're going with, … basically, you have to say: 'I'm never going to listen to music,'" Clark said on her show.
While many faith and worship leaders have criticized Swift's album, Forbes reports that The Tortured Poets Department needed only a few hours before it became the bestselling album of 2024 in the U.S. The album sold roughly 1.4 million copies in just its first full day of availability.
Nicole VanDyke is a reporter for The Christian Post.
