A new study from Religion in Public reveals that Bible-believing Christians and Christian nationalists are the most likely demographic to embrace conspiracy theories, including those related to 9/11 and mass shootings. Christians who consider themselves “biblical literalists” and believers who agree with Christian nationalism are more likely than the general population to believe in conspiracy theories. This is due to their belief in supernatural or paranormal beliefs and the belief that conspiratorial thinking does not relate to a dearth of religious fervour.
The Bible offers several principles that can help Christians respond biblically to conspiracy theories. One principle is to do not fear what the conspiracy theory might say. Since the early twentieth century, there has been a significant overlap between Christian fundamentalism and millennialism in the United States and belief in false conspiracy. Christian nationalism and biblical literalism independently predict conspiracy thinking, but the effect of Christian nationalism increases with it.
Conspiration theories can tap into an existing confirmation bias that all humans essentially have. Christians are not only broadcasting QAnon conspiracy theories to huge online audiences but also reimagining Christian belief from the Bible to marry the two ideologies. Some theories suggest that Americans who have no religious affiliation find themselves attracted to other causes, such as the Q craze.
Religious beliefs are more often situational than propositional, and reading reported conspiracy beliefs deepens our understanding of them. The Christ Conspiracy marshals evidence that the religion of Christianity and Jesus Christ were created by members of various groups. The beliefs that drive both religions and conspiracy theories are complex, social, and fluid, informing behaviors in unpredictable and unpredictable ways.
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I love this article because as a Christian I often see people in people media (especially QAnon members) claiming to be Christian. And it makes me feel so angry that they are using what should be a beautiful, kind, and joyful religion to justify the spread of hatred and ignorance. Thanks you so much. I hope you continue to make these articles, I love your personality, style, and perspective ❤️
I have heard that indoctrination of children has legitimate impacts on their psychological development. When you teach kids what to think, a lot of times they aren’t also teaching them HOW to think. And I think that ends in a lot of people (including my own religious family members) more open to conspiracy/culty behavior and being taken advantage of.
This was excellent. I grew up an evangelical homeschooled kid and resonate with everything you said. Unfortunately, I don’t know that your arguments would sway most people who are already entrenched in the false god of fundamentalist nationalism. I do think it could be helpful for helping someone who’s on the border toward a more inclusive and respectful approach to politics/education. I wish I knew a better way of reaching friends and relatives who have fallen prey to the conspiracy theories that QAnon and fundamentalist christian organizations propetuate. Thanks for your informative and entertaining articles!
Hi, Mary Clare! Minor correction: Q level clearances are actually not from the military but are the highest clearance for the U.S. Department of Energy. These are the people who get to access secrets about the nuclear program, for example. Edit now that I have finished the article: Also, I went to a Christian school for grades 1-12 and there was a lot of ABeka curriculum plus high school Bible textbooks from Bob Jones University. So I see they’ve gotten worse. And yes, when I was in college one of my best friends told me he had thought Nelson Mandela was a communist and the bad guy because of how our history book (from the ABeka curriculum) portrayed him. My personal favorites were one of the ABeka high school world history books saying communists were planning to subvert the eorld through rock music and one of the Bob Jones Bible class books listing listening to rock music as a sign that a character was rebelling. 😂 Also in 8th grade I had a conversation with my mom (who was anti-death penalty) about our Bible class saying that capital punishment is biblical based on God’s covenant with Noah after the flood (again, Bob Jones University).
I went to a Mennonite highschool, we also had to take bible studies, but the one thing they did well was teaching us that questioning and Faith can go side by side and strengthen faith. Critical thinking is a vital human skill that should always be taught even with faith. If you don’t know how to think critically it is very easy to fall prey to conspiricies or cults. They just have to make an argument that sounds a tiny bit reasonable and be all, “and this is where it says that in the bible” and you will just follow them because “that sounds kinda like it might be reasonable?” Just because someone throws out a reasonable ‘Sounding’ Arguement doesn’t make them right, you have to HAVE to question things.
Unfortunately, I fell in the rabbit hole of Christian conspiracy theories when I was a high school student. (For me, it was with Hollywood pop culture (a special interest of mine), Disney being satanic, and general theories like some you were talking about.) I can tell you this, it is not a fun time, more like the opposite.