“Hipster” Christianity: 9 hilarious attempts by the religious right to be cool

They want so badly to be hip — and yet they fail so spectacularly

ALEX HENDERSON,

This article ori
ginally appeared on ALTERNET.

It’s evident that social conservatives have a serious demographics problem. If they are realistic, they realize that appealing primarily to white rural Christian fundamentalist males over 55 has its limitations. As a result, some of them have been making an attempt at youth outreach. But when social conservatives try to flaunt their hipster credentials and demonstrate that they aren’t as old, as white, as male, as uptight and sexually repressed as you think, the results can be embarrassing or awkward. And in many cases, their message is still one of repression. Below are nine examples of attempts to use “hipster” imagery to sell a socially conservative or Republican message.

1. Chicks on the Right

Miriam Weaver, aka Mockarena, and Amy Jo Clark, aka Daisy, the Indiana-based Republicans who publish the Chicks on the Right website, acknowledge that the Republican Party has an image problem in the United States. They assert that they started their blog because “conservatism needs a big-time makeover” and they are tired of conservatives being stereotyped as “stodgy old white guys.” Just to show you how hip they are, Daisy and Mockarena (who host a political talk show on WIBC-FM in Indianapolis) declare that they prefer skinny jeans, miniskirts and stiletto heels over a more buttoned-up conservatism. But once readers get past the fun imagery, Chicks on the Right is full of the usual Christian right clichés one hears nonstop on AM talk radio: caring about the poor is “socialism,” the ACLU is anti-religion and anti-family, Sarah Palin is a “true patriot,” health insurance should not cover female contraception, etc. Chicks on the Right is an obvious attempt to lure young women over to the Republican Party, but Daisy and Mockarena certainly aren’t trying to accomplish that with a lot of original ideas.

2. 1Flesh

As backward and retrograde as they are, Christian right websites that favor a hipster look can be good for comic relief. 1Flesh.org would be funny if the site weren’t promoting a blatantly irresponsible message. Full of MTV-ish graphics, the site describes 1Flesh as “a grassroots movement dedicated to bringing great sex to the entire universe through the power of organic family planning.” But it’s actually a far-right Christian fundamentalist site that encourages unprotected sex and urges young couples to avoid using “unnatural” contraception methods such as condoms and birth control pills (thus increasing the risk of unplanned pregnancies). The phrase “personal responsibility” is often used on the right, but when it comes to encouraging responsible sexual behavior, 1Flesh fails miserably.

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http://www.salon.com/2014/02/21/9_absurdly_embarrassing_attempts_by_the_religious_right_to_appear_hipster_partner/