Handbook of Conspiracy Theory and Contemporary Religion ed. by Asbjørn Dyrendal, David G. Robertson, and Egil Asprem (review)

This volume considers conspiracy theories "in, about, and as" contemporary religion. Its twenty-three chapters include a wide range of traditions, geographical regions, and theoretical approaches. While conspiracy theories were once fodder for mockery, the editors suggest that they have now become one of the defining issues our age. Readers seeking fantastic or risible discourses about reptilian overlords, the hollow earth, or chemicals in the water that "turn the frogs gay" should probably look elsewhere. The chapters in this volume demonstrate that conspiracy theory plays an important role in political movements around the globe and, as such, requires more serious analysis. In addition to essays by religious studies scholars, there are also contributions from scholars of psychology, history, sociology, political science, philosophy, and anthropology.

The volume is organized into three parts. Part one, "Explanations," considers theoretical approaches to conspiracy theory and religion as well as how such factors as the internet and individual psychological propensities affect the spread and acceptance of conspiracy theories. Part two, "Correspondences," analyzes specific themes dealing with religion and conspiracy theory. Part three, "Locations," offers chapters analyzing conspiracy theories as they relate to specific regions and cultures.

Part three is the largest, containing thirteen chapters, but is also the most interesting. The editors made a deliberate decision to focus on conspiracy cultures beyond the Anglophone world. This approach allowed less room for analysis of conspiracy theories with which Americans may be more familiar. For example, there is almost no discussion of the intersection of conspiracy theories with Protestant dispensationalism. However, this created room for chapters on little-known and under-researched cultures of conspiracy theory including South Africa, Greece, Albania, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Russia, the Arab states, China, and Japan. Together, these chapters demonstrate how conspiracy theory is important for understanding contemporary global religion by showing, for example, how Islamophobic conspiracy theories intersect with the persecution of the Rohingya minority in Myanmar.

There is much in this volume to interest scholars of new religious movements. Anyone interested in Colin Campbell's model of "the cultic milieu" or Michael Barkun's theory of "stigmatized knowledge" will find ample discussion and application of these concepts. There is space to mention only a few highlights. tsuji Ryutaro's chapter on Aum Shinrikyo draws on material the author stored and collected from the group's website before it was taken down in 1999. Tsuji shows how Aum Shinrikyo borrowed heavily from western conspiracy theories about Freemasons and other stigmatized groups and wove them into its own apocalyptic scenario. Helen Farley's chapter on the conflict between Falun Gong and the People's Republic of China government considers how both sides appeal to western assumptions: the government deploys western stereotypes about destructive cults, while Falun Gong has found western audiences are sympathetic to a narrative of a religious minority oppressed by the Chinese Communist state. Farley describes the difficulty of interpreting these competing claims and recounts experiencing a campaign of harassment from a practitioner who believed she was an agent of the People's Republic of China. The volume closes with Carole Cusack's analysis of The Church of the SubGenius, a group that is sometimes classified as a "parody religion" because its mythology invokes aliens, yetis, and other fantastic elements. Cusack draws parallels between this mythology and French philosopher Guy Debord's theory of "the spectacle" to show how the Church's ludic elements contribute to a serious protest against capitalist ideology.

As is commonly the case with volumes of this sort, most researchers are likely to have great interest in one particular chapter while having little use of the rest. As such, the publisher likely intended for this volume to be purchased by libraries rather than individuals. But as a whole, these chapters show the importance of thinking seriously about conspiracy theories for understanding contemporary religion and model better approaches to this topic. Those who...