Satanic jeans sweet among young Swedes

STOCKHOLM, Sweden — A punk-rock style, trendy tight fit and affordable price have made Cheap Monday jeans a hot commodity among young Swedes, but what has people talking is the brand's ungodly logo: a skull with a cross turned upside down on its forehead.

The jeans' makers say it's more of a joke, but the logo's designer said there's a deeper message.

"It is an active statement against Christianity," Bjorn Atldax said. "I'm not a Satanist myself, but I have a great dislike for organized religion."

Atldax insists he has a purpose beyond selling denim: to make young people question Christianity, which he called a "force of evil" that had sparked wars.

Such a remark might incite outrage in more religious countries.

But not in Sweden, a secular nation that cherishes free speech and where churchgoing has been declining for decades.

Cheap Mondays are flying off shelves at about $50 a pair. There are plans to introduce them to the United States and elsewhere.

The jeans' makers say about 200,000 pairs have been sold since March 2004 — and note they've received few complaints about the grinning skull and upside down cross, a symbol often associated with satanic worship.

Even the country's largest church, the Lutheran Church of Sweden, reacts with a shrug.

"I don't think it's much to be horrified about," said Bo Larsson, director of the church's Department of Education, Research and Culture.

The Rev. Karl-Erik Nylund, vicar of St. Mary Magdalene Church in Stockholm, complained that Swedish companies don't treat Christianity with the same respect that they afford other religions.

"No one wants to provoke Jews or Muslims, but it's totally OK to provoke Christians," he said.