Henry Idema: Religion and conspiracy theories

Conspiracy theories are nothing new in American history, but today conspiracy theories from QAnon to the Deep State are especially strong and divisive. Why?

I believe that secularization and religious decline are factors. In years past, we have turned to organized religion for two main reasons: community and a belief system to make sense of the chaos of life and a belief system that gives us solace in face of suffering and death. Many people still find these things in religion but increasingly, if you believe the sociologists, fewer and fewer people turn to their religion for the answers to the questions that religion has traditionally tried to answer.

What has filled the vacuum left in the human soul by secularization? I would argue that, in part, that spiritual vacuum is filled in by various conspiracy theories. The internet plays a new historical role in the creation and spread of conspiracy theories. Like-minded people explore the internet to find a belief system they can internalize to make sense of the chaos of both their lives and the society in which they live.

But not only can a conspiracy theory provide a person with a belief system, but the true believer also finds through social media the community he or she longs for, and perhaps lost in a church during the pandemic or lost due to neglect or the loss of faith that religion can explain their plight.

There are historical reasons that have contributed to the rise of conspiracy theories. The lies created to justify the Vietnam and Iraq wars have fed our distrust of Washington. We now know that both Johnson and Nixon knew the Vietnam War could not be won, yet both presidents lied to the American people about the war in part because they did not want to be the first president to lose a war. The Bush administration started a war based on Iraq's possession of weapons of mass destruction, even when weapon inspectors said there was no evidence.

The tobacco industry said for years cigarettes were not dangerous to our health, and for years the oil industry argued fossil fuels posed no danger to the environment. All of these lies were soil of distrust that nurtures today's conspiracy theories.

What makes the weaknesses of religion and the strength of conspiracy theories so relevant right now is that Putin is using conspiracy theories to weaken America's resolve to support Ukraine. Putin is using social media to strengthen the candidacy of Donald Trump and other Republicans who oppose America giving any more aid to Ukraine. Those in Congress and those running for president who oppose America helping Ukraine are Russian assets.

I am not arguing that these politicians are Russian agents, but it is obvious they are assets to Putin, who wants to divide us, who wants us to side with Russia in this war, who wants us to see Ukraine as run corruptly by Nazis and not worth our money. I am arguing, however, that what these GOP politicians are doing is fulfilling Putin's greatest desire — that America will stop aid to Ukraine. Putin will fight this war until our election in 2024, when aid to Ukraine will be on the ballot. Remember a person can be a Russian asset without being a spy or receiving money. A person who does what Putin dreams of is a Russian asset even without the self-awareness on the part of a politician of being such an asset. He or she can do Putin's bidding, in other words, without being consciously aware of it. God help us if it is ever proven that any politician ever took money from Russia or was a Russian spy. We might never recover from the disillusionment such a betrayal and treason would instill in all of us.

What people bring to conspiracy theories from their religion or lack thereof is a set of beliefs in ideas that can not be proven. Try arguing with a Trump true believer about the Deep State or a supporter of QAnon about facts, and you will get nowhere.

The earliest conspiracy theory in the Christian religion is that the Jews killed Jesus. The historical facts are that the Romans executed Jesus as an enemy of the state, and the biblical evidence is Jesus was very popular among his fellow Jews. But this conspiracy theory to this day fuels anti-Semitism and arguably is the mother load or pattern of conspiracy theories ever since.

A conspiracy theory, let me repeat, is a belief system with no agreed-upon or shared scientific or historical facts to back it up. Thus it can not be proven, or disproven. That is the parallel between religion and conspiracy theories.

Which brings up this issue: What is its responsibility to combat conspiracy theories? I do not know if many Christians still believe the Jews as a people are responsible for Jesus' death. Regardless, the church must teach historical facts, not conspiracy theories — starting with reasons for anti-semitism. In other words, the church must teach critical thinking, something sadly lacking in our society and in our media.

Concerning the war in Ukraine, the church must single out Putin as an evil dictator responsible for the murder and rape of thousands of women and children and the deaths of tens of thousands of Ukrainians and Russians. The church must teach the lessons of Munich and how that agreement between Britain and Germany played into Hitler's hands, as he soon demonstrated by invading Poland, which was the event that started World War II.

Maybe you can answer these questions:

• Is the church preaching about the dangers and the poison of evil?

• Is the church telling its community about the evil of Putin, and what his winning this war will mean for Poland, the Baltic states, and other countries, as well as our own if Putin invades a member of NATO?

I believe one reason for religious decline is that people in the pews are not hearing a belief system that makes sense of the world, especially making sense of evil, and, in particular, the evil of the most evil man in the world since Hitler, and the dangers of Putin's evil actions for the rest of the world. If the church will not stand up to evil and fight against it, then why should anyone support it? Sadly, too many Americans have left the church and turned to conspiracy theories for solace and community and the marching orders and purpose for their lives.

— Henry Idema lives in Grand Haven. He can be reached at henryidema3@yahoo.com.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Henry Idema: Religion and conspiracy theories