Punk Rock is My Religion: Straight Edge Punk and ’Religious’ Identity

189 Pages·2017·11.16 MB·English

by  Francis Stewart

Punk Rock is My Religion
As religion has retreated from its position and role of being the glue that holds
society together, something must take its place. Utilising a focused and detailed
study of Straight Edge punk (a subset of punk in which adherents abstain from
drugs,alcoholandcasualsex)PunkRockisMyReligionarguesthattraditional
modesofreligiousbehavioursandaffiliationsarebeingrejectedinfavourofkey
ideals located within a variety of spaces and experiences, including popular
culture.Engaging with questions of identity construction throughconcepts such
asauthenticity,community,symbolismandmusic,thisbookfurthersthedebate
on what we mean by the concepts of ‘religion’ and ‘secular’. Provocatively
exploring the notion of salvation, redemption, forgiveness and faith through a
Straight Edge lens, it suggests that while the study of religion as an abstraction
is doomed to a simplistic repetition of dominant paradigms, being willing to
examine religion as a lived experience reveals the utility of a broader and more
nuanced approach.
Francis Stewart grew up in Northern Ireland and discovered punk in her early
teens (early 1990s) through the late, great John Peel, the not late but equally
great Terri Hooley and the radio stations that came up Belfast loch. Punk was
the perfect soundtrack to the environment. She left in the late 1990s to attend
university in England, where she completed an undergraduate degree in
Religious Studies and English Literature. This was followed by seven years as a
high school teacher of religious studies, before returning in 2006 to complete
her education. A Master’s in Theology at the University of Glasgow was
followed by a Doctoral thesis at the University of Stirling, where she combined
her multiple interests and passions of punk rock, religion, anarchy and DIY
communities. Since graduation she has worked part time in the religion
department at Stirling.
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Punk Rock is My Religion
‘ ’
Straight Edge Punk and Religious Identity
Francis Stewart
K ~~o~;J~n~~~up
ORKYOR LLONODONNLODNDOONN
Y
LONDONANDNEWYORK
Firstpublished2017
byRoutledge
2ParkSquare,MiltonPark,Abingdon,OxonOX144RN
andbyRoutledge
711ThirdAvenue,NewYork,NY10017
RoutledgeisanimprintoftheTaylor&FrancisGroup,aninformabusiness
©2017FrancisStewart
TherightofFrancisStewarttobeidentifiedasauthorsofthisworkhasbeen
assertedbyherinaccordancewithsections77and78oftheCopyright,
DesignsandPatentsAct1988.
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereprintedorreproducedor
utilisedinanyformorbyanyelectronic,mechanical,orothermeans,now
knownorhereafterinvented,includingphotocopyingandrecording,orinany
informationstorageorretrievalsystem,withoutpermissioninwritingfrom
thepublishers.
Trademarknotice:Productorcorporatenamesmaybetrademarksor
registeredtrademarks,andareusedonlyforidentificationandexplanation
withoutintenttoinfringe.
BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData
AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationData
Names:Stewart,Francis,author.
Title:Punkrockismyreligion:straightedgepunkandreligiousidentity/
FrancisStewart.
Description:NewYork:Routledge,2017.|Includesbibliographicalreferences
andindex.
Identifiers:LCCN2016053810|ISBN9781472489661(hardback:alk.paper)|
ISBN9781315182568(ebook)
Subjects:LCSH:Religionandculture.|Identification(Religion)|Identity
(Psychology)--Religiousaspects.|Straight-edgeculture.|Straight-edge(Music)
Classification:LCCBL65.C8S742017|DDC201/.7--dc23
LCrecordavailableathttps://lccn.loc.gov/2016053810
ISBN:978-1-4724-8966-1(hbk)
ISBN:978-1-315-18256-8(ebk)
TypesetinSabon
byTaylor&FrancisBooks
Dedicated to the life and work of Edward Ian Bailey.
Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine [Under the shelter of each
other, people survive]
– Irish proverb.
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Contents
List of figures viii
Preface ix
Acknowledgements xi
1 ‘Earth Crisis’: introduction 1
2 ‘Minor Threat’: an overview of punk and Straight Edge 17
3 ‘Youth of Today’: the relationship between religion, punk and
Straight Edge 45
4 ‘Chain of Strength’: the role of music 67
5 ‘Count Me Out’: space, place and community 89
6 ‘Stick to your Guns’: anarchy, authenticity and ‘religion’ 115
7 ‘Prayer for Cleansing’: salvation, forgiveness and redemption 136
8 ‘The Faith’: conclusion 151
Bibliography 166
Index 174
Figures
2.1 Young punks in the late 1970s wearing self-made, layered clothing
and hairstyles 19
2.2 Author’s own Straight Edge tattoos 38
4.1 Crowd dancing at Warzone, Belfast, 2012 72
4.2 Straight Edge praying hands tattoo 83
5.1 Signage of rules at 924 Gilman Street club in Berkeley, California,
and the rules from Warzone in Belfast. 92
5.2 A section of the inside roof of 924 Gilman Street taken in 2009 94
5.3 Gilman Street, right side, main wall, 2009 95
5.4 Large poster and t-shirt for 924 Gilman, 2009 112
6.1 Graffiti on the outside wall of the Beat Kitchen, Chicago, February
2011 131
7.1 Image submitted by Frank as part of his interview in Manchester 141
8.1 Karl’s selected image of Straight Edge utilising the praying hands 157
Preface
This book is based on fieldwork undertaken from 2009–2015 in the USA, the
UK and Ireland, beginning life as a PhD thesis. Consequently, this is an
academic book rather than a true documentary on a fascinating aspect of punk.
There are many excellent documentaries on punk and I encourage you to check
them all out.
In many ways this books sits in an in-between position, just as Straight Edge
itself does. It tries to find a balance between theory and voice of the subculture
itself. Yet those voices are selected and edited. The voices of the interviewees
matter and so are not censored in language, or in expression. Their hesitations,
repetitions and at times struggle to articulate their thoughts all remain in the
text; how someone says something is as important as what they say.
It sits in between an acceptance and a deconstruction of the category of
‘religion’, between traditional ideas and approaches to ‘religion’ and a reaching
for something new. Consequently, ‘religion’, and at times other categories, is
always written in single quote or scare marks to denote its problematic and
contested nature. The only exception to this is when interviewees used the term
without themselves acknowledging any issues with the concept.
Finally the author is also in-between, she is Straight Edge, an anarcho-punk
and a scholar of ‘religion’. This book comes as much from her belief in the
power and importance of punk, especially Straight Edge punk as a potentially
positiveforceintheworld,asitdoesinherinterestinhowthestudyof‘religion’
and ‘secularity’ can move forward. To attempt to maintain a critical focus, the
typical shorthand of Straight Edge – sXe – has not been used (except where
interviewees used it deliberately). This is also to denote its status as a
subculture.
Punk did not die in 1979; it is alive, vibrant, creative and important in the
lives of many. Unfortunately the documenting of it is often myopic, white,
male-centred, and only focused on a few large cities. This book hopes to con-
tribute in a small way to the study and documenting of punk by trying to
countersomeofthoseapproaches.Thereisaninclusionofasmanywomenand
people of colour aspossible in the interviewees; Londonis purposely ignoredas
are those who are ‘celebrities’ of punk – they already have a platform to be
heard from and tell their story from. This book is concerned with those who