The Emergence of Conspirituality

Original Articles

Abstract

The female-dominated New Age (with its positive focus on self) and the male-dominated realm of conspiracy theory (with its negative focus on global politics) may seem antithetical. There is a synthesis of the two, however, that we call ‘conspirituality’. We define, describe, and analyse this hybrid system of belief; it has been noticed before without receiving much scholarly attention. Conspirituality is a rapidly growing web movement expressing an ideology fuelled by political disillusionment and the popularity of alternative worldviews. It has international celebrities, bestsellers, radio and TV stations. It offers a broad politico-spiritual philosophy based on two core convictions, the first traditional to conspiracy theory, the second rooted in the New Age: 1) a secret group covertly controls, or is trying to control, the political and social order, and 2) humanity is undergoing a ‘paradigm shift’ in consciousness. Proponents believe that the best strategy for dealing with the threat of a totalitarian ‘new world order’ is to act in accordance with an awakened ‘new paradigm’ worldview.

Acknowledgements

Referees of the Journal of Contemporary Religion offered valuable comments on an earlier version of the paper.

Notes

Notes

1. Clients might reject the label ‘conspirituality’, seeing their political beliefs as factual rather than ‘paranoid’ (Hofstadter) and disliking New Age associations, but this movement is large enough to warrant a name. Conspirituality, a word invented by a ‘spiritually conscious, politically charged’ Canadian hip hop group, describes it succinctly.

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