Allegations of sexual misconduct have hit the Christian music community. At least five men accused internationally known Christian musician Michael Tait of sexual assault, in what Andrew Mall, associate music professor at Northeastern University, called “the highest-profile case” he’s seen in this section of the music industry.
While this is news to the world, others said Tait’s behavior was “the biggest open secret in Christian music.” Northeastern experts said the alleged incidents were likely exacerbated by the insularity and beliefs of this particular branch of Christianity. “My hope is that, at the very least, it shifts the conversation within evangelical churches and communities to recognize that this stuff happens,” said Mall, who wrote a book on the Christian music industry. “So many of the young people that grow up in these churches grow up in sheltered environments. They don’t have access to media, or are led to believe that some media isn’t very truthful. There’s less of a concept that (sexual abuse) does happen in the evangelical bubble.”
Tait’s career dates to the late 1980s, when he helped found the band DC Talk while attending Liberty University, an evangelical Christian college. The band released five albums and won multiple Grammys. When it went on hiatus in 2000, Tait performed solo before joining Newsboys, another Christian rock band. He has sold 18 million albums of Christian music, encouraging sobriety and abstinence.
