Born Again (Christianity) - Public Stances

Public Stances

In recent history, born again is a term that has been widely associated with the evangelical Christian renewal since the late 1960s, first in the United States and then later around the world. Associated perhaps initially with Jesus People and the Christian counterculture, born again came to refer to a conversion experience, accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior in order to be saved from Hell and given eternal life with God in Heaven, and was increasingly used as a term to identify devout believers. By the mid 1970s, born again Christians were increasingly referred to in the mainstream media as part of the born again movement.

In 1976, Watergate conspirator Chuck Colson's book Born Again gained international notice. Time magazine named him "One of the 25 most influential Evangelicals in America." The term was sufficiently prevalent that during the year's Presidential campaign, most notably with Democratic party nominee Jimmy Carter describing himself as "born again" in the first Playboy magazine interview of an American Presidential candidate. Modern musicians such as Little Richard, Mark Farner, Dan Peek, Donna Summer, Bob Dylan, Kerry Livgren, Dave Hope, Dave Mustaine, Nicko McBrain, Roger McGuinn, Ted Nugent, Kanye West, Carrie Underwood, Johnny Cash, Brian Welch, Keith Farley, Cliff Richard, Charlie Daniels, Randy Travis, Alice Cooper, Steven Tyler, Mariah Carey, Nick Cannon, and Lou Gramm were artists whose born again conversions had an impact on modern culture. Others such as department store magnate James Cash Penney, Chick-fil-A founder Truett Cathy, actor/martial artist Chuck Norris, wrestlers Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho, AJ Styles, Ted DiBiase and wrestler Sting, and actors Jesse McCartney, Kirk Cameron, and Mr. T are also mentioned as being born again. Born-again athletes like New York Jets quarterback Tim Tebow, St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford and former Rams Superbowl XXXIV winning quarterback Kurt Warner, Olympic hurderler Lolo Jones, boxer Katie Taylor and New York Knicks player Jeremy Lin. Former Alabama governor and American presidential candidate George Wallace became born again in the late 1970s, which led him to apologize for his earlier segregationist views.