Bad Religion: Christian Aestheticism in Pop Music Videos

Pop music visuals are popular ways to showcase an artist’s work. These three pop stars introduced Christian themes into the medium, allowing them to express their own story and views on religion.

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

Written by Mahina Adams

Religious imagery as it is portrayed in pop music videos can provide a deeper insight into a pop star’s interpretation of faith. In the case of Christianity, artists have often been examined closely when expressing an interpretation of their belief through their art. The religious aesthetics in Beyoncé’s “Heaven,” Madonna’s “Like a Prayer,” and Lady Gaga’s “Judas” are used to tell a story uniquely catered to the artist’s own image and history with Christianity.

Queen Bey is known to not shy away from expressing her beliefs, whether that be showing support of Biden in the most recent presidential election or her participation in the discussions of brutality in Nigeria. Religion is not out of the question, either. Raised as a Methodist in Houston, Texas, Beyoncé uses “Heaven” to celebrate the life of someone who has passed and as a way to help find closure for those that have lost a loved one. In her 2013 song, Beyoncé shares how she celebrates those that have passed on to the afterlife.

At a slower tempo and with more of a gospel vibe than other religious songs such as “Like a Prayer,” the imagery of Christianity created by Beyoncé is one of respect, also signified by the depiction of her in quiet prayer at the onset of the video. The video goes back and forth with imagery of Beyoncé in a church, mourning the loss of her friend, and scenes of her and her friend having fun while she was alive. This celebration of life shown rather than solely church imagery is reminiscent of Beyoncé’s Creole roots, where death is seen as an opportunity to celebrate someone’s life and those they have impacted. Crosses are shown throughout the video — on the rosary beads, as a grave marker, and even as tattoos. Using the cross in more traditional depictions such as the tattoos (rather than explicitly in the church) allows the video to be adaptable to those who are heavily involved in the Christian faith; the visual also has more casual entertainment segments for secular fans. Although there is still speculation today about who the song is truly about in Beyoncé’s life, the personal lyrics are adaptable to others who use religion to help heal their pain.

Madonna takes a more critical approach, blaspheming Christian symbols and images rather than celebrating them. Madonna and her spiritual journey have gone through many changes throughout the years, and her 1989 release of “Like a Prayer” sparked controversy, especially in the reactions from the Catholic church. Raised in an Italian American Catholic household, Madonna has a deep connection to Catholicism, but this doesn’t stop her from heavily criticizing it in her video.

With imagery of her literally falling from Heaven in the wonder that is ‘80s green screens, Madonna expresses her own split away from the church and its beliefs as she falls from grace. The idea of sinning is very personal to Madonna, and in a Rolling Stone interview, she comments on her constant guilt brought by her Catholic upbringing and the feeling that she can’t escape being a sinner. Madonna evokes a lot of religious symbolism: In the scene where she picks up the knife to reveal injuries on her palms similar to the nail wounds from Jesus on the cross, she recalls the stigmata often associated with Roman Catholicism. She emphasizes the corruption of the Catholic church, and even more relevant to today’s current events, twists the ending to tie in the corruption of the prison system as well, especially towards people of color.

Lady Gaga, similar to Madonna, is far from subtle. In an interview with The Guardian, Gaga described her Monster Ball Tour, which included the hit “Judas,” as a “pop-cultural church,” likening it to a religious experience and an alternative to organized faith. Filled with dance numbers and iconic outfits, she uses religious aesthetics to retell the story of the betrayal of Jesus by Judas.

Gaga adopts the same color scheme used by Madonna — the royal red, gold, and black similar to the color palette of many religious Baroque pieces (think “The Crowning with Thorns” or “Saint Jerome Writing”). Through the story of Judas betraying Jesus, Gaga expresses her own experiences with betrayal and forgiveness, and stepping into the light because of it. Although there is religious imagery, her explicit message is more secular than Beyoncé’s or Madonna’s. In Gaga fashion, Jesus dons a golden crown of thorns as Judas (played by Norman Reedus) wears a leather jacket stitched with the name across the back. Playing a modern Mary Magdalene, Gaga is stoned to death at the end of the video for the sins she’s committed, providing a metaphor for her sins coming back to haunt her. In the bathtub scene with Judas and Jesus, resembling Christian baptism, Gaga is seen “washing the feet of both good and evil” in order to see the light.

The religious themes that are encapsulated throughout these videos highlight how influential religion can be to an artist’s work. Pop, not often viewed as the genre of spirituality, is transformed into the artist’s intended message whether it be positive or negative. Although Beyoncé, Madonna, and Lady Gaga are definitely not the first artists that come to mind when picking up a Bible, the artistry of their videos is worth another analysis.