The Gospel according to Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift isn’t the light of the world. And she won’t fill our culture’s God-shaped hole. But the biggest pop star on the planet does identify as a Christian

In December 2023, a clip of preacher Dr Tony Wood went somewhat viral. The pastor of Mission Bible Church in Costa Mesa, California regularly posts clips from his sermons on Instagram, but the reason for the wider-than-normal distribution of this particular message was that it made a target of a beloved cultural icon. The world outside the pastor’s window had become obsessed with singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, and he was not impressed. “When the hope of the world is someone in pink spandex and known for glitter bombs, you know that the world is in a woeful and grievous place,” he declared.