scholarly journals "Crisis, Conspiracy, and Community in Evangelical Climate Denial"

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 72-91
Author(s):  
Aaron Ricker
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Social Identity ◽  
Climate Science ◽  
Conspiracy Theory ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
Evangelical Christians ◽  
Special Knowledge ◽  
Definition Of

Statistically speaking, American Evangelical Christians are uniquely attracted to apocalyptic conspiracy theories when it comes to the topic of climate change. Since Evangelicals constitute a powerful voting/lobbying/shopping bloc, it is worth asking why this might be the case and what (if anything) can be done about it. To this end, my study considers the relevance of two major cultural tributaries to American Evangelical pop apocalyptic culture. In the first section I consider biblical apocalyptic culture and argue that the characteristic apocalyptic promise to disclose hidden divine plans to a misunderstood but soon-tobe- vindicated elect group naturally entails conspiracy-theory thinking. I argue further that apocalyptic imagination and conspiracy-theory thinking are powerful tools for the definition of identity and community. In the second section I turn my attention to the kind of Evangelical pop apocalyptic culture that helped push climate science denial into the Christian mainstream. I argue that in pop apocalyptic productions like the influential tracts and comics of Jack T. Chick, the image of the elect as the persecuted and powerful bearers of special knowledge found a new lease on life, and continues to fascinate millions with the attractive offer of somebody special to be and somewhere special to belong. I conclude that apocalyptic questions of crisis and conspiracy have a sociological function, as means to the end of defining social identity. Understanding this concrete function of conspiracy-theory thinking in Christian apocalyptic imagination can help in assessing and addressing the troubling phenomenon of Evangelical climate denial.

scholarly journals Stand out of my Sunlight: The Mediating Role of Climate Change Conspiracy Beliefs in the Relationship between National Collective Narcissism and Acceptance of Climate Science

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Bertin ◽  
Kenzo Nera ◽  
Katarzyna Hamer ◽  
Isabella Uhl-Haedicke ◽  
Sylvain Delouvée
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Climate Science ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
Negative Relation ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Climate Skepticism ◽  
Conspiracy Beliefs ◽  
The Relationship

Despite the scientific consensus about the anthropogenic nature of climate change, there are still obstacles hindering society from acknowledging the severity of the situation. Notably, previous research suggests that climate change threats can cause people to display ethnocentric reaction to preserve the ingroup’s interests. In this research, we investigate the relation between collective narcissism and attitudes towards climate science. We argue that national collective narcissism is negatively associated with the acceptance of climate science. We further hypothesized that this relation might be mediated by conspiracy beliefs about climate change, because narcissistic identifiers are prone to hold conspiracy beliefs. In a pilot Study (N = 409), we found that national collective narcissism was significantly associated with climate change conspiracy beliefs. In Study 1 (N = 295), climate change conspiracy beliefs mediated the negative relation between national collective narcissism and acceptance of climate science. In Study 2 (N = 375), this mediation was replicated when controlling for other forms of climate skepticism. Lastly, general conspiracy mentality did not mediate this relation, which emphasizes the importance of considering the specificity of climate change conspiracy theories (rather than generic propensity to believe in conspiracy theories) in understanding distrust toward climate science.

scholarly journals The dark side of social movements: Social identity, non-conformity, and the lure of conspiracy theories

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anni Sternisko ◽  
Aleksandra Cichocka ◽  
Jay Joseph Van Bavel
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Social Identity ◽  
Social Identities ◽  
Conspiracy Theory ◽  
Social Progress ◽  
Dark Side ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
Democratic Attitudes ◽  
Identity Motives ◽  
Powerful Group

Social change does not always equal social progress--there is a dark side of social movements. We discuss conspiracy theory beliefs –beliefs that a powerful group of people are secretly working towards a malicious goal–as one contributor to destructive social movements. Research has linked conspiracy theory beliefs to anti-democratic attitudes, prejudice and non-normative political behavior. We propose a framework to understand the motivational processes behind conspiracy theories and associated social identities and collective action. We argue that conspiracy theories comprise at least two components – content and qualities— that appeal to people differently based on their motivations. Social identity motives draw people foremost to contents of conspiracy theories while uniqueness motives draw people to qualities of conspiracy theories.

scholarly journals Recurrent fury: Conspiratorial discourse in the blogosphere triggered by research on the role of conspiracist ideation in climate denial

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 142-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephan Lewandowsky ◽  
John Cook ◽  
Klaus Oberauer ◽  
Scott Brophy ◽  
Elisabeth A. Lloyd ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Science ◽  
Scientific Discourse ◽  
Hiv And Aids ◽  
Blind Test ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
Behavioral Studies ◽  
Climate Skepticism ◽  
Growing Body

A growing body of evidence has implicated conspiracist ideation in the rejection of scientific propositions. Internet blogs in particular have become the staging ground for conspiracy theories that challenge the link between HIV and AIDS, the benefits of vaccinations, or the reality of climate change. A recent study involving visitors to climate blogs found that conspiracist ideation was associated with the rejection of climate science and other scientific propositions such as the link between lung cancer and smoking, and between HIV and AIDS. That article stimulated considerable discursive activity in the climate blogosphere—i.e., the numerous blogs dedicated to climate “skepticism”—that was critical of the study. The blogosphere discourse was ideally suited for analysis because its focus was clearly circumscribed, it had a well-defined onset, and it largely discontinued after several months. We identify and classify the hypotheses that questioned the validity of the paper’s conclusions using well-established criteria for conspiracist ideation. In two behavioral studies involving naive participants we show that those criteria and classifications were reconstructed in a blind test. Our findings extend a growing body of literature that has examined the important, but not always constructive, role of the blogosphere in public and scientific discourse.

Conditioning Factors in the Usage of "Conspiracy Theory"

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryor Snefjella
Keyword(s):  
The United States ◽  
Conspiracy Theory ◽  
Survey Method ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
Conditioning Factors ◽  
Social Settings ◽  
Adequate Understanding ◽  
Specific Factors ◽  
Definition Of

This study attempts to create a clear definition of the term "conspiracy theory" using a survey method. The term sees currency in media and social settings, especially with the proliferation of the internet and events such as 9/11, but there is not an adequate understanding of how the term is used. Queen's students were surveyed to determine conditioning factors in their usage of the term. The students were presented with a set of fifty hypothetical claims that a certain event had occurred or is occurring, and then were asked whether the claim is a "conspiracy theory" to them or not. Fifty‐nine students were surveyed. The analysis of the resulting data reveals that collectivity is not a conditioning factor for usage; the actions of groups and individuals were treated almost identically, with both consistently deemed "conspiracy theories" in the data. Specific factors, such as the presence of an assassination or aliens, were identified. Hypothetical claims designed to be "strange" also scored consistently high. Gender was ruled out as a factor, as was the nation implicated in the claim, either Canada or the United States. The results show that the term has specific factors which condition usage. Also, the unimportance of collectivity as a factor contradicts most academic definitions of the term. What this study might have revealed is that there is a vernacular, popular usage that differs from the academic usage. 27

scholarly journals Consideraciones sobre las teorías conspirativas aplicadas a las caravanas de migrantes

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 ◽  
pp. 0
Author(s):  
Jesús Pérez Caballero
Keyword(s):  
Political Discourse ◽  
Conspiracy Theory ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
Making Sense ◽  
The Media ◽  
State Actors ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The U.S

The main purpose of this article is to analyze the conspiracy theories that emerged to explain migrant caravans en route to the U.S. in October 2018. Through the doctrinal and documentary review of the main approaches to such theories, a political theological definition of conspiracy theory is proposed. Subsequently, the main newspaper sources that include conspiracy explanations about the caravan phenomenon are examined, comparing them with the characteristics studied, and the proposed definition. It is concluded that some states and non-state actors reacted with a political discourse that had conspiracy theories at its core. It was their way of making sense and exploiting in the media, a novel way of migrating because of its swarming features.

scholarly journals Stand out of my sunlight: The mediating role of climate change conspiracy beliefs in the relationship between national collective narcissism and acceptance of climate science

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
pp. 738-758
Author(s):  
Paul Bertin ◽  
Kenzo Nera ◽  
Katarzyna Hamer ◽  
Isabella Uhl-Haedicke ◽  
Sylvain Delouvée
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Climate Science ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
Negative Relation ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Climate Skepticism ◽  
Conspiracy Beliefs ◽  
The Relationship

Despite the scientific consensus about the anthropogenic nature of climate change, there are still obstacles hindering society from acknowledging the severity of the situation. Notably, previous research suggests that climate change threats can cause people to display ethnocentric reactions to preserve the ingroup’s interests. In this research, we investigate the relation between collective narcissism and attitudes towards climate science. We argue that national collective narcissism is negatively associated with the acceptance of climate science. We further hypothesized that this relation might be mediated by conspiracy beliefs about climate change, because narcissistic identifiers are prone to hold conspiracy beliefs. In a pilot study ( N = 409), we found that national collective narcissism was significantly associated with climate change conspiracy beliefs. In Study 1 ( N = 295), climate change conspiracy beliefs mediated the negative relation between national collective narcissism and acceptance of climate science. In Study 2 ( N = 375), this mediation was replicated when controlling for other forms of climate skepticism. Lastly, general conspiracy mentality did not mediate this relation, which emphasizes the importance of considering the specificity of climate change conspiracy theories (rather than generic propensity to believe in conspiracy theories) in understanding distrust of climate science.

scholarly journals On the meaning of independence in climate science

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Annan ◽  
Julia Hargreaves
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Science ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Statistical Definition

Abstract. The concept of independence has been frequently raised in climate science, but has rarely been defined and discussed in a theoretically robust and quantifiable manner. Improved understanding of this topic is critical to better understanding of climate change. In this paper, we introduce a unifying approach based on the statistical definition of independence, and illustrate with simple examples how it can be applied to practical questions.

A failure of imagination: Competing narratives of 9/11 truth

Diogenes ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 62 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 121-129
Author(s):  
Mark Fenster
Keyword(s):  
World Trade Center ◽  
Conspiracy Theory ◽  
Popular Politics ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
Contemporary World ◽  
Intelligence Services ◽  
Late Twentieth ◽  
Trade Center ◽  
Cover Up ◽  
Late Twentieth Century

This essay describes the emergence of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon as an object of conspiratorial intrigue and imagination, offering a snapshot of the “9/11 truth movement” and its various theories as they began to reach full bloom. Theories about the attacks have come to constitute the dominant conspiratorial present – a present that looks remarkably like the mid- and late-twentieth-century past, despite significant changes in information technology and the continuing institutionalization and ironization of conspiracy theory as an influential form of popular politics. In addition to the 9/11 conspiracy community, the essay considers the battle over the 9/11 Commission’s review of the government’s failure to anticipate the terrorist attacks. The Commission engaged in knowing and savvy efforts to respond to conspiracy theories and to preempt popular belief in them, offering an authoritative narrative (or, more precisely, set of narratives) to explain what occurred. Meanwhile, the 9/11 truth movement made equally knowing and savvy efforts to critique the official account, responding with its own efforts to reinterpret and re-narrate the attacks, their causes, and what they signify about the contemporary world. While the 9/11 Commission may have criticized the federal government and its intelligence services for their failures of imagination prior to the attacks, the truth movement criticized the Commission either for a failure of imagination – an explanation for the attacks that could see through the “official” account – or for a quite imaginative cover-up of the hidden truths of 9/11. By considering the clash between official authorities and an active conspiracy community, this essay considers how the movement attempted to form a collective political and scholarly community, producing a blizzard of texts offering narratives that compete with the ones told by the Commission that seek the impossible grail of conspiracy theory: the truth. The essay also considers the effects, if any, of the state’s attempt to preempt and respond to conspiracy theories.

Science communication and mediatised environmental conflict: A cautionary tale

2021 ◽  
pp. 096366252098513
Author(s):  
Claire Konkes ◽  
Kerrie Foxwell-Norton
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Political Communication ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Climate Science ◽  
Environmental Conflict ◽  
Cautionary Tale ◽  
James Cook ◽  
Social Sphere ◽  
Tenured Position

When Australian physicist, Peter Ridd, lost his tenured position with James Cook University, he was called a ‘whistleblower’, ‘contrarian academic’ and ‘hero of climate science denial’. In this article, we examine the events surrounding his dismissal to better understand the role of science communication in organised climate change scepticism. We discuss the sophistry of his complaint to locate where and through what processes science communication becomes political communication. We argue that the prominence of scientists and scientific knowledge in debates about climate change locates science, as a social sphere or fifth pillar in Hutchins and Lester’s theory of mediatised environmental conflict. In doing so, we provide a model to better understand how science communication can be deployed during politicised debates.

scholarly journals Rethinking Climate, Climate Change, and Their Relationship with Water

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 849
Author(s):  
Demetris Koutsoyiannis
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climatic Variability ◽  
Main Element ◽  
The Political ◽  
Real World Data ◽  
Modern Times ◽  
External Agent ◽  
Historical Investigation ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Water Issues

We revisit the notion of climate, along with its historical evolution, tracing the origin of the modern concerns about climate. The notion (and the scientific term) of climate was established during the Greek antiquity in a geographical context and it acquired its statistical content (average weather) in modern times after meteorological measurements had become common. Yet the modern definitions of climate are seriously affected by the wrong perception of the previous two centuries that climate should regularly be constant, unless an external agent acts upon it. Therefore, we attempt to give a more rigorous definition of climate, consistent with the modern body of stochastics. We illustrate the definition by real-world data, which also exemplify the large climatic variability. Given this variability, the term “climate change” turns out to be scientifically unjustified. Specifically, it is a pleonasm as climate, like weather, has been ever-changing. Indeed, a historical investigation reveals that the aim in using that term is not scientific but political. Within the political aims, water issues have been greatly promoted by projecting future catastrophes while reversing true roles and causality directions. For this reason, we provide arguments that water is the main element that drives climate, and not the opposite.

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