The truth is out there. Or so they say. Conspiracy theories have clouded the search for truth. For some, they don’t possess a shred of evidence and aren’t worth the trouble. For others, conspiracies and those who believe them are laughable. But for a portion of the American populace, they are very real and are virtually the center of their lives. Conspiracy theories, for the most part, have resided on the fringes of society. But in the past two years they have migrated front and center, making headlines and, for some, raising grave concerns. The pandemic from which much of the world is still reeling, along with various other socio-political events, have only exacerbated what many see as a growing problem. Reactions from individuals or groups with firmly held beliefs in conspiracy theories have played out with sometimes disastrous consequences in American society. Alarmingly, Christians are caught up in all of this, many times not knowing exactly what to believe as truth.
Christians have always understood that there is a reality beyond the present physical one we inhabit on a daily basis, but what happens when this kind of thinking is taken to places it was never meant to go? In an age when virtually limitless information is available at one’s fingertips, is the truth being overwhelmed by competing voices? What exactly is a conspiracy theory? Should conspiracy theories be discounted wholesale, or should they be considered plausible at some level? Are Christians particularly susceptible to conspiracy theories? If so, why? All that and more on this edition of Questions From The Pew.
RESOURCES:
Half of U.S. Protestant Pastors Hear Conspiracy Theories in Their Churches - Lifeway Research
“Conspiracy Theories and the Paranoid Style(s) of Mass Opinion” - J. Eric Oliver and Thomas J. Wood
What do we know about conspiracy theories? - American Psychological Association