Jesus t-shirt

What you are wearing says a lot about you. Wearing a crucifix or Star of David necklace signifies that you are Christian or Jewish. When one attends an academic conference one must wear business or business casual type clothing. Unbeknownst to me it is appropriate to change into casual clothes for drinks at a reception. While wandering around said reception I saw the distinguished religious studies scholar who happened to be the chair of the undergraduate section, and he was wearing this t-shirt. At first I could not make out what was on the shirt and then I was shocked and confused to see nothing else but a picture of Jesus riding a dinosaur on this gentleman's shirt. Aside from the image itself being striking this scholar was wearing at a religious studies conference.

I asked him if the shirt was a logo for a band or something of that nature and he said something along the lines of nope, just Jesus riding a dinosaur. I do not think that the professor wearing this shirt was necessarily trying to make a religious or political statement. I think he found humor in the image (academics, myself included, tend to have very interesting senses of humor).

But t-shirts can and have been used to spread messages or make a social commentary. Think of the current election and people wearing shirts supporting Bernie Sanders or Trump. These shirts often have witty catch phrases or striking images on them and they are clearly worn to make a statement. Religious groups also produce t-shirts that followers can wear. I have seen shirts that say Jesus saves on them. If you see someone in this type of shirt you are very aware that they are trying to spread some sort of religious message.

I am also sure that shirts can offend people. It would not shock me if someone somewhere was offended by the Jesus riding a dinosaur t-shirt. T-shirts with faith proclamations on them can make people not of that faith tradition very uncomfortable. People judge others based on what they are wearing. A Trump supporter will judge a Sanders supporter if they are wearing a shirt with Sanders face on it. The clothing we wear sends a message to those around us. Some times that message is as simple as someone finding humor in an image of Jesus riding a dinosaur.