Fast Facts About Bad Religion

Bad Religion was formed in 1980 in Los Angeles, California. The original members of the band were Greg Graffin, Jay Bentley, Jay Ziskrout, and Brett Gurewitz. Each of the original members was in high school at the time of the band’s initial formation. They played their first official show at Joey Kills Bar in Burbank, California, in November 1980.

Bad Religion is considered a punk rock band. Their music has long been associated with skater culture, and they’ve sat on the same label as other punk-rock mainstays like Green Day, The Offspring, NOFX, and Rancid. Although punk was briefly considered dead in the 1980s, Bad Religion is partially credited with bringing it back during the punk revival movement of the 90s. 

Like many of their punk-rock contemporaries, Bad Religion makes music that largely focuses on problems in society. Greed, political dishonesty, issues with organized religion, and more are all focal points in the band’s songs. However, despite the band’s highly controversial name, none of the members consider themselves to be anti-theistic – they’re simply critical of organized religion and blind belief.

Bad Religion has also long employed the use of a provocative logo called “The Crossbuster.” The symbol features a traditional black Latin cross covered by a red prohibition sign. The logo was originally created by founding member and lead guitarist Brett Gurewitz early in their time as a band. Band member Greg Hetson has explained that the symbol is not meant to be strictly anti-Christian. Instead, it’s intended to represent the anti-authoritarian, anti-establishment nature of the band.