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When news broke in the mid-1990s about separate adultery scandals involving Christian music superstars Michael English and Sandi Patty, reaction from the evangelical community was swift and severe. Christian radio and retail were quick to pull those artists' songs from the air and CDs from the shelves.

When Amy Grant divorced and remarried in the late 1990s, many radio stations and stores pulled her music from circulation. Only in recent years have English, Patty, and Grant been relatively welcomed back into the retail (and to a degree, radio) fold.

In the wake of Jennifer Knapp's recent revelation that she is in a long-term same-sex relationship, the reaction from Christian radio and retail has been somewhat mixed—partly because Knapp hadn't been on the Christian music charts in years—and some in the business didn't even want to talk about it.

Knapp walked away from the scene in 2003 but now is staging a comeback, though not as a "Christian musician." Knapp, whose new album Letting Go releases in May, says she's still a Christian, but is no longer on a Christian label (she's indie), nor is she interested in making music marketed to a faith audience. (Her new album does include some references to her faith.)

CT contacted a number of people in radio and retail for this story; several chose not to comment, while others noted that since Knapp has been out of the picture for a while, they didn't have to wrestle with a decision whether or not to carry her music.

"We haven't been playing her songs for a long time, so it's been easy for us," says Tim McDermott, president and general manager of Houston's KSBJ, one of the nation's top Christian radio stations. But if Knapp were a current star, McDermott said they would definitely pull her music from the airwaves. "I'd be surprised if any station decided to play her music at this time.

"We have a standard of ministry for the artists we play," McDermott continues. "The lifestyle of the artist matters a lot; we view our artists as 'ministers' on the air. We want artists who love the Lord and live by Christian principles. We also want to love the person, but we believe their lifestyle has to line up with the Word of God. Jennifer apparently sees a congruence between what she's doing and the Bible, but we read it differently. We want to be careful and not judge her, but the Bible's pretty clear about [homosexuality]."

In the wake of the Patty, English, and Grant controversies, KSBJ drafted a policy, "When Artists Fall" with the help of pastors, artists, and record company personnel. The policy in part reads, "KSBJ, in good conscience, cannot continue to keep an Artist in the public spotlight who has fallen spiritually and whose sinful actions, because of their public nature, have had negative repercussions not only on the individual's ministry and the ministry of KSBJ, but also the Body of Christ. Accordingly … KSBJ will remove all songs by the Artist from airplay until the Artist acknowledges his or her sin, seeks forgiveness, and begins steps toward restoration."

Mike Prendergast, programming director at KLTY in Irving, Texas, said the station hasn't played any of Knapp's music "in well over a year," but wouldn't answer any other questions, including whether the station has officially pulled her from the air.

CT was unable to reach a spokesman for K-LOVE, the massive syndicated Christian radio network.

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