A History of Conspiracy Theories & Evangelicals (#100) - a podcast by Dan Koch

I’m joined by Dr. Sam Perry to discuss the tangled historical web of White Evangelicals in the US and their use of and affiliation for various conspiracy theories, starting in the 1950 around “outside agitators” in the Civil Rights movement. Sam traces through lines all the way up to Donald Trump, hitting the Moral Majority, Pat Robertson, Tim LaHaye/Left Behind, Obama, and birtherism along the way. We also get some historical context for many conspiracy theories that we were taught in Evangelical households growing up: the Satanic panic, New Age denunciations, the “gay agenda,” anti-Catholic sentiment, and more. We talk about parallel institutions within Evangelicalism and their distribution role in disseminating certain conspiracy theories. It was a lot to cover, and more could be said about almost every issue that came up, but I think listeners will find it helpful (and even entertaining) nonetheless.

Sam’s article on The Conversation: https://theconversation.com/amp/evangelical-leaders-like-billy-graham-and-jerry-falwell-sr-have-long-talked-of-conspiracies-against-gods-chosen-those-ideas-are-finding-resonance-today-132241

Why Are Christians Succeptible to Conspiracy Theories?:
https://www.abc.net.au/religion/why-are-christians-susceptible-to-conspiracy-theories/13003550

The American Life "The Problem We All Live With": https://www.thisamericanlife.org/562/the-problem-we-all-live-with-part-one

Rhetorics of Race and Religion on the Christian Right: https://www.amazon.com/Rhetorics-Race-Religion-Christian-Right-ebook/dp/B081LMTKFZ

Edited by Josh Gilbert (joshgilbertmedia@gmail.com -- he is accepting more work!)
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