Agents of Hope

 

QAnon and the Faithful

Commentary by Khari Brown and Ronald Brown in Sojourners examines the increasing connection between religion and support for QAnon. In a report release in May 2021 by the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI), 15 percent of Americans agree with QAnon allegations "that government, media, and financial worlds in the US are controlled by a group of Satan-worshiping pedophiles who run a global sex trafficking operation." There's a statistic from the study that's hopeful,  82 percent of Americans disagree. What is disturbing is 23 percent of white evangelical Protestants, core Republican Party constituents, are QAnon believers. 

To paraphrase Mr. Rodgers, can you say False Prophet?

Baptist churchgoers in Missouri shared Facebook posts that claim Democratic party leaders are sexually trafficking and eating children.

Pew research went over data from 2020 and 2021. There is considerable evidence that most individuals are more likely to challenge the conspiracy theories  when they attend places of worship where clergy emphasize racial justice, democracy, , and scientific reasoning. Worship attendees who heard sermons supporting Black Lives Matter, 83 percent said QAnon is bad for the nation. Of those who heard preaching that identified Donald Trump's claims about election fraud as false, 64 percent held an unfavorable view of QAnon.

The commentary concludes, clergy and their pulpits have a critical role in encouraging Americans to think critically about conspiracy theories that damage our democracy and cloud our understanding that we all are created in God's image.