Dark Bilious Vapors

Shirt messaging takes on a religious tone by Clayton Collins (Christrian Science Monitor):

”If you think Jesus is in you, you might want him on you. And if wearing one of those WWJD - "What would Jesus do?" - bracelets popularized in the 1990s seems too quietly introspective, then you just might want to go bold.

In-your-face bold.

That's the hope of T-shirt makers and retailers pushing edgier - some say offensive - slogans such as "My God can kick your God's butt."

Observers call the shirts part of a move to tap into youth culture and ride what many see as a society increasingly warm to Christian conservatism.

In chasing brand-aware youths, some shirt makers simply bend popular slogans - Abreadcrumb & Fish, G.A.P (for God Answers Prayers), Got Jesus?

Others take a more graphic approach.

"Even before there was a movie called 'The Passion (of the Christ),' we had a category called The Passion," said Lorri Carter, product-development director at Kerusso, a maker of religious apparel whose online ads include the tagline: "You have the faith. Get the gear."

One Kerusso shirt inscribed with "Rebel with a cause" depicts Jesus on the cross. "That graphic nature is just to show you how profound (Jesus') gift was," she said.

Apparel comprises only about 2 percent of store-based Christian retail's $4 billion in annual sales, said Nancy Guthrie, a spokeswoman for CBA International, the industry's trade association. But that doesn't include direct online sales from shirt-printers of all sizes - or sales at festivals and concerts.

Some youths - like some celebrities - might wear Christian garb just to be ironic. "It's not for us to judge the wearers' hearts," said Randy Johnson, general manager of Living Epistles, a major Christian apparel manufacturer, "whether it's mocking or heartfelt belief."

Karen on 05.13.05 @ 06:51 AM CST