America’s Relationship with The Bachelor & Christianity
The Bachelor has become a staple for American women over the last two decades. Personally, the first season of the Bachelorette was the only season I cared about. My ten-year-old self was all about girl power, and I determined that every man who did not receive a rose was obvious now available for me. Over the years I would only watch the highlights of the popular seasons, until a few days ago. Given the ample amount of down time due to the pandemic, I felt compelled to watch this season to participate in office Slack chats. Plus, the Bachelor, Matt James, is the first Black bachelor in history — he won’t be the last. However, what has really struck me this season is Mr. James’ devotion to God and the entire cast’s large lean towards Christianity.
There is no doubt that this show is a money maker. The participants are presented so many opportunities because of the fan base they gain. Sure, a rose is nice and deemed the ultimate goal, but social media can be thanked for helping launch or pivot the careers of the participants. Brand deals are no joke and why do Bachelor contestants always do well on Dancing with the Stars? In addition to the participants, the producers are rolling in the dough. They help create more eccentric group dates that provoke Kardashian level drama. It sells. But, who really matters? The fans — the millions of viewers who purchase cable just to see who gets a rose. The producers have obviously done some serious demographic analysis. If they had not, we wouldn’t have a very religious bachelor this season.
In the first episode of this latest season, Matt James asks everyone to bow their heads and pray. All the women followed. Some were so touched by Mr. James’ prayer that they cried. I cringed.
We are in the 21st century, and Christianity has reared its head into primetime television and our pop culture. Historically speaking, as a society become more modern, religion takes a back seat or at least become less traditional. In the case of the United States, we are becoming more conservative Christian.
In the early 2000s, the neighbor Baptist mom who I rode carpool with would only play KSBJ, the Christian radio station, because the other radio stations were not wholesome or mention Jesus (unfortunately I still know all the lyrics to “Our God is an Awesome God”). Now, many musicians and celebrities actively talk about their Christian faith publicly, on social media of course. You never hear about the “non-believers” or the Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, etc.
As Americans, we are granted the freedom of religion and expression, but media companies do their due diligence. They will show us what we want to see. The majority of their viewers want to see a deeply religious bachelor/bachelorette and equally as faithful participants. The irony is the sexual liberation the Bachelor sells. The beautiful men and women. the sexy outfits, the fantasy suite, and the windmills and vibrators (thanks Hannah Brown and Katie Thurston). Based on this, we are country of double standards — deeply religious and sexually liberated.
We have learned to compartmentalize religion and sex but intersect them continually making us hypocrites.
I am not stating that Christianity is bad and the Bachelor is manipulating the public. Instead, I’m asking us to realize what we are being presented and think about the why. We pride the United States as being a melting pot. When will we get an agnostic Bachelor/Bachelorette? Maybe a Jewish or Muslim one too? Probably never, if we, the audience, show the media that we only prefer Christianity with a side of hot sex. Or, we just badger Chris Harrison on Twitter. I’m sure Netflix or Hulu will let you do a test run, Chris.
