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Handbook of Conspiracy Theory and Contemporary Religion
Series: - Brill Handbooks on Contemporary Religion, Volume: 17
Conspiracy theories are a ubiquitous feature of our times. The
Handbook of Conspiracy Theories and Contemporary Religion is the first reference work to offer a comprehensive, transnational overview of this phenomenon along with in-depth discussions of how conspiracy theories relate to religion(s). Bringing together experts from a wide range of disciplines, from psychology and philosophy to political science and the history of religions, the book sets the standard for the interdisciplinary study of religion and conspiracy theories.
Asbjørn Dyrendal (b.1965), PhD., is Professor in the History of Religion at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. He has published widely on conspiracy beliefs and new religious movements, including the recently co-authored
The Invention of Satanism (Oxford UP, 2016).
David G. Robertson (b. 1975), PhD., is Lecturer in Religious Studies at the Open University and co-founder of the Religious Studies Project. His work applies critical theory to the study of alternative and emerging religions, and to "conspiracy theory" narratives. He is the author of UFOs, the New Age and Conspiracy Theories: Millennial Conspiracism (Bloomsbury 2016) and co-editor of After World Religions: Reconstructing Religious Studies (Equinox 2016).
Egil Asprem (b. 1984) , PhD., is Associate Professor in the History of Religion at Stockholm University, Sweden. He has published extensively on Western esotericism, occultism, and magic, including the monographs Arguing with Angels: Enochian Magic and Modern Occulture (SUNY, 2012) and The Problem of Disenchantment: Scientific Naturalism and Esoteric Discourse, 1900–1939 (Brill, 2014).
Contributors are: Asprem, Egil; Atkinson, Matthew D.; Aupers, Stef; Berridge, Willow; Bretfeld, Sven; Cusack, Carole M.; DeWitt, Darin; Douglas, Karen M.; Dyrendal, Asbjørn; van Eck Duymaer van Twist, Amanda; Endresen, Cecilie; Falkof, Nicky; Farley, Helen; Frydenlund, Iselin; Hagemeister, Michael; Harambam, Jaron; Jackson, Paul; Keeley, Brian L.; Makeeff, Tao Thukier; Nefes, Türkay Salim; Newcombe, Suzanne; Partridge, Christopher; Poli, Barbara De; Robertson, David G.; Shnirelman, Victor A.; Ryutaro, Tsuji; Uscinski, Joseph E.; Wood, Michael J.
David G. Robertson (b. 1975), PhD., is Lecturer in Religious Studies at the Open University and co-founder of the Religious Studies Project. His work applies critical theory to the study of alternative and emerging religions, and to "conspiracy theory" narratives. He is the author of UFOs, the New Age and Conspiracy Theories: Millennial Conspiracism (Bloomsbury 2016) and co-editor of After World Religions: Reconstructing Religious Studies (Equinox 2016).
Egil Asprem (b. 1984) , PhD., is Associate Professor in the History of Religion at Stockholm University, Sweden. He has published extensively on Western esotericism, occultism, and magic, including the monographs Arguing with Angels: Enochian Magic and Modern Occulture (SUNY, 2012) and The Problem of Disenchantment: Scientific Naturalism and Esoteric Discourse, 1900–1939 (Brill, 2014).
Contributors are: Asprem, Egil; Atkinson, Matthew D.; Aupers, Stef; Berridge, Willow; Bretfeld, Sven; Cusack, Carole M.; DeWitt, Darin; Douglas, Karen M.; Dyrendal, Asbjørn; van Eck Duymaer van Twist, Amanda; Endresen, Cecilie; Falkof, Nicky; Farley, Helen; Frydenlund, Iselin; Hagemeister, Michael; Harambam, Jaron; Jackson, Paul; Keeley, Brian L.; Makeeff, Tao Thukier; Nefes, Türkay Salim; Newcombe, Suzanne; Partridge, Christopher; Poli, Barbara De; Robertson, David G.; Shnirelman, Victor A.; Ryutaro, Tsuji; Uscinski, Joseph E.; Wood, Michael J.
"No one before has undertaken the tremendously important and timely task of compiling a volume, dealing with the relationship between conspiracy theories and religion (...) The book not only examines the intersection of religion and conspiracy theories, but also provides a survey about the global phenomenon of conspiracy theories by discussing examples in different times and cultural environments."
- Dominic Bornand, Andrews University Seminary Studies 56, 2018.
" As I read the chapters in this volume, I thought about how I might use this material in a course on conspiracy theories and religions. (...) I highly recommend this book for college or university libraries."
- W. Michael Ashcraft, Truman State University, Reading Religion, September 15, 2020.
- Dominic Bornand, Andrews University Seminary Studies 56, 2018.
" As I read the chapters in this volume, I thought about how I might use this material in a course on conspiracy theories and religions. (...) I highly recommend this book for college or university libraries."
- W. Michael Ashcraft, Truman State University, Reading Religion, September 15, 2020.
Foreword
Michael Barkun
List of Authors
Introducing the Field: Conspiracy Theory in, about, and as Religion
David G. Robertson, Egil Asprem and Asbjørn Dyrendal
Part 1: Explanations
1 Conspiracy Theories and the Study of Religion\s: What we are Talking about, and Why it is Important Asbjørn Dyrendal, Egil Asprem and David G. Robertson 2 Rational Enchantments: Conspiracy Theory between Secular Scepticism and Spiritual Salvation Stef Aupers and Jaron Harambam 3 Is a Belief in Providence the Same as a Belief in Conspiracy? Brian L. Keeley 4 Are Conspiracy Theories a Surrogate for God? Michael Wood and Karen Douglas 5 A Web of Conspiracy? Internet and Conspiracy Theory Joseph E. Uscinski, Darin DeWitt and Matthew D. AtkinsonPart 2: Correspondences
6 The Satanism Scare in Apartheid South Africa Nicky Falkof 7 “Trust Me, You Can’t Trust Them”: Stigmatised Knowledge in Cults and Conspiracies Amanda van Eck Duymaer van Twist and Suzanne Newcombe 8 Popular Music, Conspiracy Culture, and the Sacred Christopher Partridge 9 Close Companions? Esotericism and Conspiracy Theories Egil Asprem and Asbjørn Dyrendal 10 The Counter-Elite: Strategies of Authority in Millennial Conspiracism David G. RobertsonPart 3: Locations
11 Buddhism Endangered by Hidden Enemies: Conspiracy Narratives in Sri Lankan Buddhist Present and Past Sven Bretfeld 12 Buddhist Islamophobia: Actors, Tropes, Contexts Iselin Frydenlund 13 Islamism and the Instrumentalisation of Conspiracism Willow J. Berridge 14 Anti-Jewish and Anti-Zionist Conspiracism in the Arab World: Historical and Political Roots Barbara De Poli 15 A Fantastic People and Its Enemies: An Analysis of an Emerging Albanian Mythology Cecilie Endresen 16 Was Aristotle an Anti-Semitic Alien? Conspiracy Theory, Ufology, and the Colonisation of the Past in Contemporary Greece Tao T. Makeeff 17 The Role of Conspiracy Theory in the Aum Shinrikyo Incident Tsuji Ryutaro 18 Framing of a Conspiracy Theory: The Efendi Series Turkay Nefes 19 The Third Rome Against the Third Temple: Apocalypticism and Conspiracism in Post-Soviet Russia Michael Hagemeister 20 Alexander Dugin: Between Eschatology, Esotericism, and Conspiracy Theory Victor Shnirelman 21 Conspiracy Theories and Neo-Nazism in the Cultic Milieu Paul Jackson 22 Evil Cult or Persecuted Minority? Conspiracy Theories Surrounding Falun Gong and the Government of the People’s Republic of China Helen Farley 23 The Messiah is a Salesman, Yet Consumerism is a Con(spiracy): The Church of the SubGenius, Work, and the Pursuit of Slack as a Spiritual Ideal Carole M. Cusack Afterword: Further Reflections, Future Directions Egil Asprem, David G. Robertson and Asbjørn Dyrendal Index
Researchers and students in fields such as religious studies, political science, sociology, psychology, and history who have an interest in conspiracy theories, religion and politics. Educated laymen with similar interests.