Turn on any popular radio station and you are bound to hear a Katy Perry song. Seems like every song she records dominates airtime and keeps her at the top of the charts. In some ways she sings anthems for her generation; in other ways she leads her generation’s parade of questioning, doubt, and reflection on faith and the spiritual life. Young (and even some older) people love her catchy songs and sweet public persona. However, many may not know that she started out as a Christian artist, singing songs to and about her love for Jesus Christ.
Katy is the daughter of Pentecostal evangelists and had a self-described sheltered upbringing. When her Christian music career was slow to take off, she went the route of pop music. The change from being surrounded by fundamentalist Christians to the world of pop music shook up everything she believed in and set her on a faith journey that now leaves her speaking more about her new questions than the answers she had memorized while growing up. Her breakout song, “I Kissed a Girl,” declared her independence from her fundamentalist Christian upbringing. She has been quite public about her faith journey, her relationship with her parents, and what she now believes about God.
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