Christian fundamentalism and conspiracy theories
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Christian fundamentalism and conspiracy theories is a movement in the Christian fundamentalism.
History
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 theories. [1][2] In 1991, in the book The New World Order, Pat Robertson claimed that a conspiracy has existed in the world led by Freemasonry and the Illuminati, in collaboration with Jewish Bankers. [3]
One of the recurring subjects of Christian fundamentalist conspiracy theorists is the accusation of homosexual people of a gay agenda and of being responsible for social problems. [4]
The QAnon conspiracy movement originated in 2017, described as "birthed in a matrix of evangelical fundamentalism",[5] has been linked to Christian fundamentalism by multiple scholars.[6]
Adherence to conspiracy theories is particularly high in fundamentalist churches where pastors teach these theories. [7] [8] However, this movement can also find an audience among Christians from different evangelical churches, sometimes in opposition to their pastors who officially reject these theories. American pastor Jon Thorngate explains this phenomenon by the distrust of expertise, which encourages many citizens to challenge established authority figures, whether churches or the mainstream media. According to a 2018 survey by BGC, 46% of evangelicals believed that mainstream media spread fake news. If conspiracy theories meet with some success among evangelical Christians, it is mainly linked to the Christian packaging of the messages, i.e. biblical verses. However, by studying these messages in depth, they are contents coming from different religious movements, such as Santeria.
A 2022 study found a positive correlation between religious fundamentalism and COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs.[9]
Criticism
In 2017, Ed Stetzer wrote that Christians should repent of spreading false conspiracy theories and fake news online, which he says "directly violates Scripture’s prohibition from bearing false witness against our neighbors". He argued that "The Seth Rich conspiracy theory is a textbook example of false witness... Without seriously defending their claims, conservative Christians across the country accused their neighbor of murder."[10]
See also
- Blood libel
References
- ↑ Fenster 1999, pp. 147–148.
- ↑ Wilcox 1988, pp. 663–664.
- ↑ Michael Isikoff, The Robertson Right and the grandest conspiracy, washingtonpost.com, USA, October 11, 1992
- ↑ Katherine Stewart, How Christian fundamentalism feeds the toxic partisanship of US politics, theguardian.com, UK, October 26, 2012
- ↑ Pettipiece, Timothy (2021-03-21). "History repeats itself: From the New Testament to QAnon". http://theconversation.com/history-repeats-itself-from-the-new-testament-to-qanon-156915.
- ↑ Miotto, Nicolò (2022). 'Stand against the wiles of the devil.': Interpreting QAnon as a Christian extremist movement (Thesis). Prague: Charles University. hdl:20.500.11956/178337.
- ↑ Beaty, Katelyn (August 17, 2020). "QAnon: The alternative religion that's coming to your church". https://religionnews.com/2020/08/17/qanon-the-alternative-religion-thats-coming-to-your-church/.
- ↑ Kristian|, Bonnie (2020-08-26). "QAnon Is a Wolf in Wolf's Clothing". https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2020/august-web-only/qanon-is-wolf-in-wolfs-clothing.html.
- ↑ Łowicki, Paweł; Marchlewska, Marta; Molenda, Zuzanna; Karakula, Adam; Szczepańska, Dagmara (2022-03-01). "Does religion predict coronavirus conspiracy beliefs? Centrality of religiosity, religious fundamentalism, and COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs" (in en). Personality and Individual Differences 187: 111413. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2021.111413. ISSN 0191-8869. PMID 34866726.
- ↑ Stetzer, Ed (2017). "Christians, Repent (Yes, Repent) of Spreading Conspiracy Theories and Fake News—It's Bearing False Witness" (in en). The Exchange. https://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2017/may/christians-repent-conspiracy-theory-fake-news.html. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
Sources
- Fenster, Mark (1999) (in en). Conspiracy Theories: Secrecy and Power in American Culture. University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 978-0-8166-3242-8.
- Wilcox, Clyde (1988). "The Christian Right in Twentieth Century America: Continuity and Change". The Review of Politics 50 (4): 659–681. doi:10.1017/S0034670500041991. ISSN 0034-6705.
Further reading
- Barkun, Michael (2003) (in en). A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic Visions in Contemporary America. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-24812-0.
- Brekke, Torkel (2019). "Christianity Betrayed - Conspiracy Theory about a Leftist-Muslim Plot against Christianity in Norway" (in en). Journal of Religion and Society 21: 1–15. ISSN 2684-852X. https://www.sv.uio.no/c-rex/english/publications/2019/christianity-betrayed.html.
- Dyrendal, Asbjørn; Robertson, David G.; Asprem, Egil, eds (2018) (in en). Handbook of Conspiracy Theory and Contemporary Religion. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-38202-2.
- James, Nigel (2000). "Militias, the Patriot Movement, and the Internet: The Ideology of Conspiracism". The Sociological Review 48 (2_suppl): 63–92. doi:10.1111/j.1467-954X.2000.tb03521.x.
- Knight, Peter, ed (in en). Conspiracy Theories in American History: An Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-57607-812-9.
- Ruotsila, Markku (2004). "Mrs Webster's religion: conspiracist extremism on the Christian far right". Patterns of Prejudice 38 (2): 109–126. doi:10.1080/00313220410001692321.
- Thielman, Sam (11 August 2020). "When the news becomes religion" (in en). Columbia Journalism Review. https://www.cjr.org/first_person/qanon-conspiracy-religion-journalism.php. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
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