Some of you are probably aware
that Christian music legend Michael
Tait, whose hit song “God’s Not Dead
(Like a Lion)” became a symbolic tune for Donald
Trump’s MAGA movement, has been accused of
sexually assaulting three men, two of whom
believed the rock star drugged them more than
two decades ago according to a months-long
investigation. Additionally, four other men have
made similar claims that Tait, a founding member
of DC Talk and later a frontman for Newsboys,
engaged in inappropriate behavior, unwanted
touching and acts of sexual aggression. For his
part, Tait posted a
“confession” on social media in which he “disputes some
details” but conceded that the substance of such
scurrilous allegations and drug use contained in
a recent investigative report were “largely
true.”
DC Talk was one of the most
popular and successful acts in the history of
the genre better known as CCM (contemporary
Christian music). In fact, the hip-hop-inflected
pop group’s most popular album, 1995’s Jesus Freak, was certified triple-platinum
and spent 79 weeks on the Billboard 200. The band eventually went on
hiatus in 2001, with Tait and fellow members
Kevin Max and Toby Mac all pursuing alternative
solo careers.
Such sordid revelations against
entertainers are hardly unusual. Louis C. K.,
Sean Combs, Russell Brand, Bill Cosby, and
others spring to mind. The difference in this
instance is that Michael Tait had unabashedly
aligned himself with conservative politicians or
activists over the years. You know — the people
who denounce such “sinful and vile acts” as
unworthy of God. Back in 2019, he was one of
numerous well-known evangelical figures who
signed an authored letter denouncing an op-ed in
the prominent Christianity
Today magazine for advocating for then
President Trump’s impeachment. Down the road, he
stood on-stage next to Trump at a rally
encouraging evangelical support. Eventually,
Tait posted a video last year attempting to
persuade his supporters to vote for Trump.
Recent charges about Tait’s
behavior dramatically conflict with the highly
austere, sanitized public persona he stealthily
and shrewdly cultivated for decades. Tait has
sold more than 18 million albums, with songs
encouraging young Christians to refrain from
drugs, alcohol, and sex and to embrace
heterosexual norms. Such messages aside, the
reality appears to be that, according to people
that various news sources interviewed, Tait’s
alleged drug use and wayward and untoward
behavior were the “biggest open secret in
Christian music!” Go figure.
A reporter for The Guardian (US edition) interviewed
more than two dozen individuals in the Christian
music industry; the majority stated they had
been aware of such rumors that Tait had engaged
in abusive behavior michael-tait-sexual-assault-allegations. Each of these young men grew
up in evangelical churches where Tait’s music
was central in their youth groups, summer camps,
and mission trips as well as other aspects of
their lives. Having taken Tait’s message as
gospel, they were naive about sex and drugs
throughout their youth. As can be imagined,
these youth were mesmerized when they eventually
met their childhood idol but rapidly saw their
image of him as a role model/paragon of
Christian virtues disintegrate as he led them on
a sordid and harrowing journey of musical
deviance.
Young and occasionally gullible
male musicians say that Tait (the star) supposedly targeted them
by dangling the possibility of career or other
lucrative options, then abruptly ceased all
contact once it was evident that they would not
offer him sexual favors. Several of his victims
recited that Tait would allegedly invite them to
parties at his house in Nashville, encouraging
them to drink alcohol and partake in drugs
before making sexual advances. Manipulative,
troubling, and disturbing to be sure.
A larger question to consider
from this unfortunate drama is why a person like
Michael Tait and those often viewed as the
“other” would find themselves so comfortably at
home in and pledge allegiance to a movement such
as Christian nationalism that tends to deride,
degrade, denigrate, and disparage many things he
represents — Black, gay, etc.?
To be sure, Christian
nationalism is not an ideology where an
individual’s belief system defines their
political values. Human beings can certainly
hold divergent opinions as they relate to
arguments around racial politics, immigration,
religious freedom, reproductive rights, or any
other issue of political conflict. Indeed,
Christians routinely spar among one another on
such issues. Debate and diversity of viewpoints
are often beneficial to both the debaters and
the larger society. What distinguishes Christian
nationalism is not religious participation in
politics but the myopic perception that
Christian primacy and theology must saturate
virtually every aspect of our society.
The movement ties to a visceral sense that the church’s
well-being and survival depend on the outcome of
any given political race. Christian
nationalism’s supporters have little if any
compunction about attempting to impose their
personal value system upon others. Such beliefs
often manifest themselves through linear
ideology, a specific identity, and unbridled
passion. As can be imagined, if Christian
nationalism were successful in becoming the
norm, it would abolish our current constitution
and fragment our democracy.
Frankly, it appears that Michael
Tait, like a segment of LGBTQIA+, non-Whites,
women, and people of historically marginalized
groups, aligns himself with reductive,
reactionary movements out of severe denial or
what psychologists refer to as Stockholm
syndrome, a psychological response where victims
of a traumatic event, such as kidnapping or
abuse, develop positive feelings or emotional
attachment to their captors or abusers.
While some of these individuals
latch on to such movements due to their perverse
opportunism, many others, I am inclined to
believe, do so for psychological reasons.
Regardless of Mr. Tait’s reasons or motives, the
fact is that he now finds himself in the middle
of a tawdry, tortuous, craven, revelatory
high-profile saga. Perhaps such a trying moment
will enable him to engage in deep rumination and
self-reflection as well as confront his private
demons that have been publicly exposed to the
larger world. May God be with him at this most
challenging time.
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