The Devil's Music: How Christians Inspired, Condemned, and Embraced Rock 'n' Roll by Randall J. Stephens (review)

Throughout the course of the twentieth-century United States, few cultural outlets proved more influential than Christianity and rock 'n' roll. And yet, rarely are the two linked in the popular imagination. Randall J. Stephens corrects this omission in historical memory with The Devil's Music: How Christians Inspired, Condemned, and Embraced Rock 'n' Roll by revealing the often complicated but nevertheless inherent relationship between Christianity and rock 'n' roll. From the early influences of the music found in Pentecostal churches, to the ensuing push and pull relationship between the two, to Christian rock's dominance by the end of the century, Stephens shows how Christianity and rock evolved with and adapted to one another.

The Devil's Music begins its analysis with the early days of rock 'n' roll's national popularity, when "The rebellious, loud anthems of Black and white teenagers threatened the good order of the white Christian South and stirred the leadership and laity in Black churches as well" (p. 47). Though the music and religion appeared antithetical, Stephens shows how many early rock 'n' rollers were in fact directly influenced by the energetic, music-filled Pentecostalism they had grown up with. Throughout the 1960s, the Beatles and the growth of the counterculture continued to represent a perceived threat to Christianity, stemming from fears the music distracted from or even replaced religious devotion, and beliefs rock encouraged gender deviance. By the early 1970s, however, many Christian leaders began to recognize how popular culture and its music held an unavoidable influence in the lives of young, baby boomer Americans. As growing numbers of churches began to adopt rock music and stylistic elements of the counterculture, even Billy Graham, a fierce opponent in the 1950s and 1960s, grew to embrace the music under the proper circumstances. Not all Christians, however, welcomed rock. From the 1970s onward, fundamentalists in particular continued to attack the music and its influence. Despite such criticism, Stephens shows how Christian rock grew into a powerhouse industry by the end of the century.

Impressively researched, Stephens draws from a broad range of both religious and secular, mainstream sources to round out his study. Particularly refreshing were the chapters on the 1960s and 1970s, when growing numbers of younger Americans grew to embrace Christianity. Though this period is often correctly remembered for its cultural divisiveness, historical memory often oversimplifies these divisions into a youthful counterculture on the one hand, and the aging silent majority, on the other. Stephens complicates this over-simplification of generational tensions, showing how the younger and older generation compromised to create a version of conservative Christianity that was palatable to both. At times, however, this work could have benefited from more historical context and interpretation. For instance, Stephens does not provide an interpretation to the question the mainstream media posed by the early 1970s: "Why had not America become less, not more, religious?" (p. 195). What was it about the 1960s and 1970s that made Christianity increasingly attractive? Stephens does not go beyond superficial explanations of Christians simply adopting the sonic and stylistic markers of the counterculture to explain what about this period made religion grow. Though he adequately shows how Christians adopted and rejected rock, at times he could have been more forthcoming about why, and under what broader historical circumstances Christianity grew. Still, this shortcoming does not distract from the overall merits of The Devil's Music, and this work should be of interest to not only those interested in popular music and religion, but conservatism and rise of the New Right, Southern history, and race.