Religious Symbol or a Fashion Statement?

The general belief by all Pentecostal Christians is that Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sins. The symbol that Christians then identify with is the cross. The cross can be found on rosaries and many types of jewelry, but what is the real reason people where this symbol? Many of us can agree that it is not always just seen as a religious symbol but also as a fashion statement. I can remember in my public high school, many girls started to wear the Catholic saint bracelet, not because they were Catholic but because the bracelet had turned into a fashion statement along with the rosary.

I have also noticed over the years how popular it had become to have a tattoo of the cross. It could be the fact that many people feel the need to outwardly display their beliefs, or it may just be another fashion statement. However, we cannot say whether or not a person identifies with a specific religion because as we said in class, only the person can say themself if they are a certain religion because there is no way for me or anyone else to disprove that.

Many people in the music industry display forms of the cross through both jewelry and tattoos, so is it a symbol for religion or just for show?

As you can see this isn’t tied directly to a specific race or even gender, but it does bring up a controversial issue in religion as to what the purpose is of wearing such a sacred symbol as the cross. It can even be offensive to some people knowing that the cross is being worn for secular purposes rather than religious beliefs.

These people are considered as “idols” to some people today, so what message are they sending? Are they saying be religious, wear the cross because it is cool, or just support what you believe in?