Are Conspiracy Theories a Surrogate for God?

Abstract

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Religion, spirituality, and susceptibility to conspiracy theories: examining the role of analytic thinking and post-critical beliefs

“…Yet we contend that the substantive similarities between religious beliefs, spirituality, and support for conspiracy theories are negligible, making the argument unconvincing. By contrast, research in political psychology suggests that the observed correlations are explained by the fact that religious beliefs, conspiracy ideation, and other so-called epistemically unfounded beliefs (e.g., belief in the paranormal and pseudo-science) are rooted in individual differences in thinking styles especially with regard to information about potential transcendental realities (Baumard and Boyer, 2013;Lobato et al, 2014;Ståhl and van Prooijen, 2018;Wood and Douglas, 2018). Dual process theories of thinking distinguish between intuitive and holistic information processing styles (type 1) and more analytic and deliberative thinking (type 2) processes (Evans, 2008;Stanovich, 2010;Kahneman, 2012).…”

“…Thus, holistic spiritualities and conspiracy beliefs are both at odds with established "truthmaking institutions" (Boyer, 2020, 87) and contest the domination of these institutions. Spiritual believers see themselves in opposition to the Christian mainline congregations that dominate the religious field, just as conspiracy believers see themselves in opposition to the mainstream worldviews with regard to their political attitudes, health beliefs, and behaviors (Lamberty and Imhoff, 2018;Wood and Douglas, 2018). Scholars of conspiracy beliefs argue that this similarity explains the higher disposition of spiritual believers toward conspiracy beliefs because of their deeply rooted conviction of having insights into the truth of hidden power structures (Robertson and Dyrendal, 2018).…”

“…If the correlation between religiosity and conspiracy beliefs is not due to similar content, it is more likely due to cognitive and perceptual characteristics of individuals that predispose individuals to religious and conspiracy beliefs (Wood and Douglas, 2018). Boyer (1994) introduced the concept of "minimal counter-intuitiveness" to explain why religious information is easier to remember for human brains.…”

“…Boyer (1994) introduced the concept of "minimal counter-intuitiveness" to explain why religious information is easier to remember for human brains. The concept has also been used to explain belief in conspiracy theories, especially its counter-schematic nature, i.e., the opposition to mainstream worldviews (Wood and Douglas, 2018). This means that the common denominator between religiosity and conspiracy may be the way in which individuals process certain forms of information.…”

Conspiracy Theory as Individual and Group Behavior: Observations from the Flat Earth International Conference

“…It is from these complex social processes, we conjecture, that much of the phenomenon of conspiratorial thinking emerges. While these ideas have not been directly proposed or tested, related notions can be found in research hypothesizing that conspiracy theories substitute for religion and that conspiracy communities share many features with religious communities (Franks, Bangerter, & Bauer, 2013; Wood & Douglas 2018). The study of the social nature of conspiracy communities has gained recent scholarly attention among sociologists interested in social movements, but this work is still in its infancy (Bertuzzi, 2021).…”