Bad Religion: Deconstructing the Christian Music Industry with Semler

The queer artist that’s topping the Christian Contemporary Music charts marks a step in the right direction for true LGBTQ affirmation in Christian spaces. 

Bad Religion explores the relationship between music and spirituality, from Christianity and Islam to the paranormal and the occult.

Written by Heather Stewart

Illustrated by Roberto Soto

Every June since the Stonewall riots, individuals adorned with head-to-toe rainbow apparel and pride flags gather in celebration of LGBTQ legal rights and acceptance. Among the colorful, content crowds, clustered groups of protestors make their presence known, equipped with megaphones and religious protest signs, spewing words of hate directed at those around them. Protestors call their counterparts to repent while pride attendees scream their defense — this is normally as far as exchanges go between these groups. That was until queer and gender non-conforming Christians like singer-songwriter Grace Semler Baldridge (known professionally as Semler) started the work of melding the gap between LGBTQ liberation and oppressive religious rhetorics. 

“I think we're seeing a bit of a reckoning moment," Baldridge, who uses all pronouns, said. "For so long, church institutions, organizations, and individuals were able to act beyond reproach. They were always able to say, ‘You can't have a problem with this, because I'm doing this in the name of God.' And now, having people speak to this, it feels cathartic.” 

The catalyst of this reckoning was when Baldridge's very gay, very Christian, and very church-critical EP, Preacher’s Kid, topped the iTunes Contempary Christian Music album chart in February. While the singer has been releasing music since 2017, Baldridge's initial online following stemmed from their Refinery29 series, “State of Grace,” a collection of YouTube videos covering sensitive church topics like gay conversion therapy,  corrupt mega-churches, and the allegedly money-hungry Christian music industry — all the conversations that pewed Christian sanctuaries often avoid. 

With Preacher’s Kid, Baldridge translated these conversations into songs. As the first openly queer music artist who climbed their way to the top of the CCM charts, Baldridge's looming success in the Christian music industry has made an unexpected impact, despite the generally negative consensus on LGBTQ liberation in Christian communities. Similar to other CCM artists like Jennifer Knapp and Marsha Stevens, Baldridge’s queer, Christian identity has garnered criticism and kept their music from being broadcasted on Christian radio stations. A long road of obstacles lies ahead before monumental changes occur within Christianity and its music industry, if at all. 

It’s these modern, anti-LGBTQ perspectives alongside the harmful, non-affirming experiences sprinkled throughout Baldridge’s upbringing that inspired the content of Preacher’s Kid. The EP’s title is autobiographical, since the singer's father is an Episcopal preacher who believes in queer-affirming theology. But for other parents of LGBTQ youth, that is often not the case. Everything from homophobic comments at youth group to people telling the musician they would 'pray the gay away' had an immense effect on Baldridge's youth.

“It's things like [these] that I've been processing,” they said. “I told myself, ‘You don't have any religious trauma ... because you were spared.' Then in quarantine, my heart and my mind were like, ‘I think you have to think about these things' … Things I never had time to consider before that actually did leave a lasting impact on me.” 

Photo courtesy of Bia Jurema

With Baldridge addressing how homophobia negatively impacted them, the musician could finally process and heal from their past and develop the level of self-liberation it took to release Preacher’s Kid. Now, Baldridge doesn't shy away from calling out problems in the Christian church — even affirming churches run by people like their father. With raspy vocals and new wave, indie folk instrumentals inspired by Phoebe Bridgers and Julien Baker, Baldridge directly addresses their experience as a queer Christian. 

Standout track "Bethlehem'' sees the singer condemn a variety of issues within the Christian church, including fraudulent mission trips, "fame hungry pastors," and the ostracization of LGBTQ individuals. Baldridge said this critical and upfront approach was lacking in church when they were younger. “You can't heal from something if you're not talking about it,” they said. “That's what I wanted to express specifically in my music. I'm not trying to pull any punches — I think that the fruit of the white Western Evangelical Church in the United States right now is rotten, and I think it's worthy of being called out.”

Image courtesy of $PK Records

Preacher's Kid has been well-received by many because of its harsh criticisms of institutional religion. Baldridge said the EP's blistering vulnerability and visible queerness would have "provided a sense of comfort … a sense of hope" for their younger self. For today's youth, this hope stems from finding shared experiences similar to Baldridge's and reflects a similar camaraderie in the progressive Christian community. In recent years, there has been an uprising of online LGBTQ-affirming, Christian spaces and resources, which made 2021 an ideal time for Baldridge to release their February EP.

Individuals like YouTuber Brenda Marie Davies and author Kevin Miguel Garcia (whose spoken word is featured on Semler’s latest EP, Thank God For That) speak out against harmful church rhetorics in the same non-traditional fashion as Baldridge, whose music has been popular among these faith-deconstructing, “exvangelical” communities (groups of people who have left the Evangelical branch of Christianity or the religion altogether). 

In a Country Queer article, former Christian church member Adeem Bingham wrote, “Preacher’s Kid is an incredibly important album for so many people — even apostates like myself. I’m so grateful that teenagers in youth groups are getting to see a queer folk artist at the top of the chart with no need to disguise who they are.”

 Photo courtesy of Bia Jurema

Despite pockets of progressive Christians within the religion, many remain un-affirming or hesitant to affirm the LGBTQ community. Many modern churches have adopted the “love the sinner, hate the sin” rhetoric towards the LGBTQ community. However, this sentiment still perpetuates the idea there is something evil about being queer or trans, which can be extremely damaging to the mental health of the community. According to a CDC statistics query, LGBTQ youth "seriously contemplate suicide at almost three times the rate of heterosexual youth.” 

Despite this harm, a majority of Christian musicians and pastors trade true, progressive inclusion for preservation of financial gain by remaining silent with public affirmations of the LGBTQ community. These hardships aside, Baldridge said they are hopeful that more people will confidently come forward and share their affirmations. "Candidly, it is life and death,” they said. "As Christians, we are taught to value people over money and anything like that. … You cannot be privately affirming in a position of power. You have the privilege and the responsibility to create change within an industry that has caused harm to a lot of people.”

Backlash and opposing views won't stop the chart-topping Christian music artist from releasing religiously rebellious tracks. Through their music, Baldridge remains resilient in their activism and intends to hold Christians and the Church accountable by telling the stories of those who have been oppressed or hurt by the religion. While it may be decades before conservative churches play Semler during a worship service, the growth of a more progressive church that addresses institutional toxicity alongside Baldridge's impact on the Christian music industry pushes hope to the forefront.

“I think that we're seeing an appetite for this type of storytelling, so I don't want to be the last person to break into these charts," Baldridge said. "If you have a story to share, from your Christian tradition or perspective or upbringing, then there is a place for you, and people will receive you.”