Christian Punk and Populist Traditionalism

Drawing on interviews with Christian punk musicians and fans in theUK, USA and Australia, this article explores the principles informingthe global Christian punk subculture, one of the more controversialforms of contemporary Christian music to have developed in recentdecades. Using the work of sociologist and theologian Tex Sample, thisarticle argues that Christian punk articulates a form of ‘populisttraditionalism’ at odds with liberal capitalism. Rejecting bothsecular individualism and conventional progressive politics, Christianpunk values are grounded in Pentecostalism and Evangelicalism,confounding normative political categories and studies of popularmusic and youth culture alike.