This one deserves a thread of its own:
The Emergence of Conspirituality
by Charlotte Ward and David Voas
http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db=all
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.
Introduction
The growth of industry, cities, and administrative structures has led to the
separation and specialisation of social institutions. Individuals themselves
occupy distinct roles (in the family, workplace, and community) that may no
longer overlap. This social and personal fragmentation has caused conventional
religion to become disconnected from everyday life. Alternative ideologies are
available, however, offering holistic worldviews that contest the political
pragmatism, economic rationalism, scientific empiricism, and social dislocation
characteristic of the modern age. Examples include the Romantic movement that
began in the late eighteenth century and the counter-culture of the 1960s.
In this article we focus on two forms of holistic thought that are increasingly
prevalent in the contemporary period. One is what has variously been labelled
the New Age, alternative spirituality or the holistic milieu (Heelas and
Woodhead). These groups embrace the idea of a person as an integrated whole,
with mind, body, and spirit subject to a common set of principles. The second
ideology is conspiracy theory. Here one finds a denial of contingency, the
discovery of patterns in events that might otherwise seem to be random, and the
attribution of agency to hidden forces (Aaronovitch).
A hybrid of conspiracy theory and alternative spirituality has appeared on the
internet. The existence of such a synthesis has previously been noted in
passing (Barkun; Goodrick-Clarke), but no detailed account has yet been given
of what, for the sake of convenience, we call 'conspirituality'.1
Barkun identifies three principles found in nearly every conspiracy theory: a)
nothing happens by accident, b) nothing is as it seems, c) everything is
connected. Similar principles are fundamental to much New Age thought and
alternative spirituality. These worldviews make public and personal life
respectively seem less subject to random forces and therein lies part of their
appeal.
Notwithstanding these shared principles, there is a wide gulf between the
ordinary understandings of conspiracy theory and the holistic milieu. The
former is male-dominated, often conservative, generally pessimistic, and
typically concerned with current affairs. The latter is predominantly female,
liberal, self-consciously optimistic, and largely focused on the self and
personal relationships. It is therefore far from obvious how a confluence of
these two streams could be produced.
We argue that conspirituality is a 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 (Fenster).
2. Humanity is undergoing a 'paradigm shift' in consciousness, or awareness,
so solutions to (1) lie in acting in accordance with an awakened 'new
paradigm' worldview.
Conspirituality is a web movement with diffuse leadership and constantly
shifting areas of interest. In the nature of the case it is difficult to
estimate its influence, but it seems clear that many millions of people have
been exposed to this material, a substantial number of whom apparently
subscribe to its tenets.
In what follows we describe conspirituality and its formation, starting by
examining the parent sectors and then considering their merger. We focus on the
US and the UK. While our aim is primarily descriptive—to point to the existence
of an important branch of contemporary spirituality that is little
recognized—we also offer some hypotheses concerning its origins, current
appeal, and future prospects.
Methods
Because conspirituality appears to be an internet-based movement with a
relatively modest presence in 'real life', web ethnography is the method of
choice. The first author gathered information over three years of participant
observation, both online and at lectures and conferences. Web sites were
continuously tracked and developments noted. Hyperlinks connecting web sites
permit a type of snowball sampling, supplemented by web searches to identify
sites that are not well connected with others dealing with related topics. As
many web links and leads as possible were followed up. We believe that we
gained a comprehensive overview of the area as it relates to the US and UK.
Given the considerable range of providers (of ideas, advice, and leadership)
available, there is naturally a concern that the examples mentioned below may
not be representative of the movement as a whole. We have endeavoured to use
one or more of the following criteria in choosing which to cite: a)
demonstrable commitment to the movement's core convictions; b) high levels of
popularity, which could be confirmed by independent means; c) extent of
cross-referencing by other recognized providers; d) suitability to illustrate
particular points.
The exclusive focus on British and American English language sites and hence on
issues of Anglo-American concern is a potential source of bias. Conspirituality
is a global movement; we are aware of sites in other languages and providers
from other cultures but were unable to assess their content and scope.
References to web sites are provided to document the phenomena described.
Background information from other sources can also be helpful and Wikipedia
entries are included in the secondary material. In so doing we are simply
offering the view from the ground. What matters in this context is not what
experts regard as the best or most accurate profile of a particular personality
(for example), but what ordinary web users find when they search for
information.
New Age Spirituality
How one defines the New Age is not important for present purposes, but we will
adopt Melton's characterisation (as summarised here by Barkun):
[The New Age] includes the following elements: mystical individual
transformation; an awareness of new, non-material realities; “the imposition of
(a) personal vision onto society”; and belief in universally invisible but
pervasive forms of energy. (Melton qtd in Barkun 32) Hanegraaff has mapped the
boundaries of the New Age and the Kendal Project quantified it (Heelas and
Woodhead), but the web continues to expand it. Recent additions extending the
idea that humanity is shifting consciousness are 'lightworkers', 'starseeds',
and 'indigo children'.2 (These terms describe different types of
predestination, special talents or psychic abilities.)
The New Age remains largely feminine (Houtman and Aupers; Heelas and Woodhead).
Although some aspects of New Age thought and practice—for example, those
related to ET channellings or political change—have some kinship with
conspiracy theory, the New Age seems largely incompatible with that realm. As
an illustration it is worth considering Diana Cooper, successful within the
sectors of channelling, healing and “personal growth” (Hanegraaff 42). Cooper,3
“visited by angels” since the 1980s, has written 23 books, founded World Angel
Awareness Day and a school4 that, by 2006, had trained over 400 teachers—mainly
women5—to “spread the light of angels”. Channelling, healing, and meditations
feature prominently on her web site. Subscribers are taught that to meet energy
head-on generates resistance and that what is resisted persists; negative focus
attracts or energises negativity; criticism mirrors critics' flaws; pointing
the finger promotes 'polarity'.
On politics, Cooper's web site advises, “Give no energy to fear, darkness and
mass hysteria. Instead focus on the good, the wise and great, so that it
expands.”6 She writes that “there is a huge backlog of resistance to progressive
policies (like the gun lobby)”, but “There are things that we can do to offer
grace to clear the karma of America”. On Obama's election, she says, “The wave
of excitement in the US and throughout the world sent a wave of energy out,
which pushed Earth onto its ascension pathway.” She states that she does not
belong to any religion but acknowledges them all. As for conspiracy theory,
We have all chosen to incarnate at an exciting time when civilization as we
know it is ending and the new being founded. There will be changes and you can
look at these as frightening or an opportunity for service and growth… Be
careful what you read on the internet. If it is spreading doubt and fear move
on to a site of love and light.
The New Age Belief in a Shift in Consciousness
Much has been written about New Age beliefs in a shift (Kemp 190; Hanegraaff
107) and about the New Age's 'globalisation' and its methods (Rothstein;
Holloway). Marilyn Ferguson's book The Aquarian Conspiracy contributed to the
popularisation of beliefs in a 'new paradigm' and New Age organisations such as
the Club of Budapest7 and the Wrekin Trust8 claim to examine evidence of a
shift. Global communications, too, reinforce perceptions that a shift is
occurring, as audiences can listen on the web to Madonna discussing her
“spiritual awakening”,9 Rabbi Michael Laitman—whose web site currently ranks
within the top thousand most popular Israeli sites—urging humanity to awaken
via Kabbalah10 or New Ager Eckhart Tolle and Oprah Winfrey (who have declared
their intention to awaken people en masse through their partnership11) saying to
millions of Oprah viewers, “There's a shift happening in humanity, a shift in
consciousness, happening now”.
This rhetoric is echoed by others outside the New Age. The New Spiritual
Progressives,12 a peaceful activist movement, say that
In every faith there is a struggle happening right now between those who hear
God speaking as the force of power and domination and those who hear God
speaking as the force of healing, transformation, love and
generosity.13
Political film maker Velcrow Ripper says on his 2008 documentary
Fierce Light:
Sparked by what Gandhi called “soul force”, and Martin Luther King called “love
in action”, millions are discovering the power of taking positive, peaceful
action that comes from the heart, driven by the understanding that we're all in
this together. [i]Fierce Light captures this inspiring zeitgeist, which is being
called the largest global movement in history.14 [/i]
Conspiracy Theory
The term 'conspiracy theorist' tends to be used pejoratively. Since the advent
of the worldwide web, however, the realm of conspiracy theory has gained shape,
prominence, and even respectability. Unlike the spiritual milieu, this remains
a largely male enclave of political and scientific foci. Few good quantitative
studies have been conducted, but “American conspiracy theorists seem to be
primarily a white phenomenon; and primarily a white male phenomenon” (Ramsay
36). Of the 40 or so notable theorists who were listed on Tinwiki,15 only one
is female. In that respect, this area is typical of political activism: “that
women generally have lower levels of interest in politics than men is a well
rehearsed political fact” (Campbell and Winters 53). Activism should not be
confused with ideology or casual participation, however. Just as voter turnout
is similar among men and women, belief in conspiracy theories divides evenly
between the sexes (Goertzel 733).
An examination of the history of conspiracy theory suggests that in recent
decades it has contained four main sectors, all of which overlap and continue
to develop:
1. speculation about specific episodes
Was Diana, Princess of Wales, assassinated? Was 9/11 an 'inside job'? Barkun
(6) calls these “event conspiracies”. Most people are exposed to these theories
(even through the conventional media) and are likely to speculate to some
degree: the main difference between now and 1963, when Kennedy was
assassinated, is the web.
1. bio- and geo-conspiracies
The terms 'bio-conspiracies' and 'geo-conspiracies' are used here to describe
the large areas of conspiracist belief surrounding manipulation of the natural
world. The following examples are far from exhaustive: have diseases been
manufactured? Have cancer cures and free energy technologies been suppressed?
Is water fluoridation dangerous? Are we given the truth about genetic
engineering? Is weather manipulation possible? Most people come across these
ideas in the conventional media and from hearing about movements such as the
campaign against the use of the artificial sweetener aspartame.
1. X-Files-type conspiracy theory (Ramsay 28)
In Britain and the US, the 1950s saw the formation of UFO groups and the
expansion of counter-cultures such as science fiction fandom. Ramsay usefully
describes subsequent major influences by decade: in the 1960s, the publication
of books such as Psychic Discoveries behind the Iron Curtain; in the 1970s, the
appearance of celebrity psychics, writer Erich von Dniken, and the film Close
Encounters; in the 1980s, fascination with channelling, mind control, and alien
abduction. (Many of these interests overlap with the New Age.) Since then
conventional media and the web have further popularised and expanded these
topics.
1. the radical right's belief in a shadow government/New World Order (NWO).
Barkun (6) categorises this sector as systemic or super-conspiracy. In recent
decades, political activists in America, such as Pat Robertson and Lyndon
Larouche, have publicly espoused belief in a sinister 'New World Order'
(Robertson; Pipes). The idea that secret societies of 'Illuminati' are
conspiring to establish a NWO stretch back to at least 1797, when John
Robinson's book Proofs of a Conspiracy against all the Religions and Governments
of Europe was published in Britain. Before the arrival of the web, this sector
appeared to be dominated in the Western world by the (American) Christian
Patriot16 movement and the Militia, the core of which formed in the 1970s. It
consists of right wing or Christian/cult groups preparing for Armageddon or
protecting themselves against the NWO, spurred by event conspiracies such as
the destruction of the Branch Davidian compound at Waco in 1993. The Militia's
popularity has peaked17 and the Patriot movement has grown:
The most distinctive feature of militia groups is that they are armed,
sometimes with war weapons. […] Their membership is overwhelmingly white,
Christian and predominantly male. […] the patriots, while including traditional
racist, anti-Semitic hate groups, have a much broader ideological constituency,
and this is exactly one of the reasons for their new success. Namely, the
ability to reach out across the ideological spectrum to unite all sources of
disaffection against the federal government. (Castells 91)
But as the web facilitates the spread of information, the Christian right may be losing any
monopoly it once might have held, or appeared to hold, over NWO theories. Web
videos of Louis Farrakhan addressing the Nation of Islam and Muammar Gaddafi
addressing the UN on conspiracist topics are easily accessible; Muslim18 and
Jewish19 NWO conspiracist web sites are springing up and other religions are
also represented.
Within much of this 'radical right' sector of conspiracy theory, New Age
spirituality is seen as a Satanic or 'Luciferic' threat.20 Recent areas of
concern include Oprah Winfrey's partnership publicising New Age teachings with
spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle:21 Tolle's pacific assertions that the global
situation arose from the collective mind's insanity enraged those who felt he
was promoting inaction in the face of the enemy22 and Winfrey's backing of
Obama confirmed to some that all three are Illuminati insiders.23 Longer
standing concerns include New Age channellers being demon-possessed or having
voices beamed into their heads by government mind-control projects.24
The Emergence of Conspirituality
Despite the shared views mentioned above that nothing happens by accident,
nothing is as it seems, and everything is connected (Barkun 4), the New Age and
conspiracy theory seem to have little in common. It is therefore a surprise to
discover that hybrid worldviews have developed and seem to be thriving. British
author and activist David Icke anticipated conspirituality in 1996:
When I meet people who are investigating the conspiracy but are not into the
spiritual, I find people full of paranoia, full of fear … because they can't
see the spiritual solutions… When I meet so many people in the New Age area … I
often find people who, so often, think that if you address the negative, then
that's really bad. You must only address the positive… But if you don't address
the negative, either the negative gets more negative or stays as it is. What
you don't do is change it.25
Conspirituality appears to be a means by which
political cynicism is tempered with spiritual optimism. It curbs the
belligerence of conspiracy theory and the self-absorption of the New Age. The
following examples illustrate this counterpoise. The first, taken from a 2007
online course in 'transformation', has a New Age weighting:
If you are not aware of the deep politics and hidden agendas taking place
behind the scenes on this planet, you may find parts of the educational
information to be somewhat disturbing. Please don't despair about this … even
the dark or negative forces out there are all a part of the cosmic dance. If we
ignore or abandon these forces, we reject a part of ourselves, as we are all
interconnected. The course provides lots of support and inspiration on how we
are already transforming these challenging places in our lives and world.26
The second is weighted towards conspiracy theory. It was taken from the Zeitgeist
Movement,27 a web site promoting global activism28 connected to Zeitgeist the
Movie,29 a 2007 web movie.30 Zeitgeist alleges, among other things, that
organised religion is about social control and that 9/11 was an inside job. The
producers claim that the movie has been viewed 100 million times.31
The elite power systems are little affected in the long run by traditional
protest and political movements. We must move beyond these 'establishment
rebellions' and work with a tool much more powerful: We will stop supporting
the system, while constantly advocating knowledge, peace, unity and compassion.
We cannot “fight the system”. Hate, anger and the 'war' mentality are failed
means for change, for they perpetuate the same tools the corrupt, established
power systems use to maintain control to begin with. […] This could be called a
'spiritual' awakening.32
Conspirituality appeared on the web in the mid 1990s. It
had offline precursors: some members of the 1960s33 and 1970s counter-culture,
the New Age, and other movements undoubtedly shared its two core convictions.
In 1987, the print-based NEXUS Magazine started publishing articles on
spirituality and conspiracist topics; the editor writes:
NEXUS recognises that humanity is undergoing a massive transformation. With
this in mind, NEXUS seeks to provide 'hard-to-get' information so as to assist
people through these changes. NEXUS is not linked to any religious,
philosophical or political ideology or organisation.34
Goodrick-Clarke cites NEXUS as an example of how “the 'alternative' movement, with its suspicion of
powerful government, big business and orthodox medicine, has proved susceptible
to conspiracy theories” (289). From NEXUS's statement, we may conclude that the
'alternative' movement, which Goodrick-Clarke defines as holding “alternative
concerns with health, environment and right livelihood” (289), has also proved
susceptible to ideas of a 'shift' and may thus be providing audiences for
conspirituality. We examine these audiences later.
The First Generation—before 2001
Conspirituality's formation divides into two stages or generations.
First-generation providers started work offline in the early to mid-1990s and
then moved online to develop web sites in parallel with offline activity.
Successful first-generation providers include David Icke, David Wilcock, and
Steven Greer.
David Icke's web site, registered in 1996, ranks in the top 10,00035 most
popular global sites (by comparison, according to Alexa, an independent web
monitoring service, in August 2009, Hello! magazine ranked 20,724, The Guardian
newspaper 278, and the UK Labour Party 186,270). Icke's 20 books blend
conspiracy theory with spirituality. He is notorious for alleging that a shadow
government harbours the bloodlines of an ancient race of reptilian
extraterrestrials. The solution is for audiences to raise their consciousness
and awaken to love as a unifying, transcendent force. Icke writes extensively
about his spiritual awakenings and says, “We are on the cusp of an incredible
global change” (x).
American David Wilcock, who established his web site in 1998, describes himself
as a “professional lecturer, filmmaker and researcher of ancient civilizations,
consciousness science and new paradigms of matter and energy”.36 Wilcock's web
video lecture, “The 2012 Enigma”, was rated Google's Number One Viewed in
December 200837 and his site ranks in the top 50,000 most popular global web
sites. He writes that the shadow government is losing its grip; audiences
should prepare for a mass awakening in 2012, after which the regime will
founder. Wilcock writes about his spiritual awakenings and contact with
extraterrestrials and says,
The energetic transformation of our entire solar system is now under way, and
we are already feeling the effects… I am amazed at how many people blatantly
worship the negative elite with their fear… As long as we hate, fear, loathe
and distrust them, we are ensuring they still have a job acting as the
projection of our own hatred, fear, loathing and distrust… of
ourselves.38
American UFO researcher Steven Greer claims to have reached “over a
billion people”39 via conventional media and that he has briefed the Obama
administration40 and others on the truth about UFOs. Greer organised the
Disclosure Project, a 2001 initiative presenting evidence of UFOs, ETs, and
'black projects'.41 He writes that a 'rabid dog' shadow government, keeping
secrets even from presidents and CIA directors, has suppressed free energy
technology. Greer talks about his spiritual awakening and contact with
extraterrestrials. In 2006, he wrote (42, 234):
We live in a world where people polarise around either an impractical New Age
spirituality and pacifism or a traditional “us versus them, let's kill
everybody we don't understand” mindset… A certain sinister manipulation is
evident to many people. I don't have the luxury of putting all that information
aside and thinking that it's a conspiracy theory. I know it to be true… These
covert special interests want to unite and control the world through fear,
rather than uniting the world through peace and hope… We live in a time of
these extremes: very dark and very bright. We live in the time of
transformative change.
Many factors influenced audience receptivity to
first-generation conspirituality. By 1998, 82% of Americans felt the need to
experience spiritual growth (Gallup and Lindsay), while “extremely large
numbers” (Barkun 91) had been exposed to New World Order conspiracy theories
and believed the government was withholding the truth about UFOs.
Conspirituality web radio stations such as News for the Soul (established in
1997) and Red Ice Creations (formed in 2001) had sprung up to publicise
providers. In the UK, journalists such as Jon Ronson were humanising conspiracy
theorists, New Agers, and other alternative thinkers with good-natured
documentaries.
The events of 11 September 2001 were pivotal to the uptake of conspirituality.
Many people who had never held conspiracist beliefs rationalised the tragedy as
an 'inside job' designed to propagate war: in 2003, one third of Germans under
thirty believed that the US government was behind 9/11 (Knight) and at least
one opinion poll in 2006 suggested that more than a third of Americans believed
the same.42 By 2007, Texas Congressman Ron Paul43 and film director Aaron
Russo44 were publicising the 'New World Order'. In 2008, Japanese MP Yukihisa
Fujita45 lobbied the Diet on this matter and in 2009, actor Charlie Sheen called
upon Obama to reopen the 9/11 investigations.46 Millions of people find sense in
these theories.
The Second Generation—from 2002
We identify 2002 as the year second-generation conspirituality started. This
was not just because the events of 9/11 and increasing political
disillusionment were generating extra demand: by 2002, the web and access to it
and its sub-cultures were sufficiently developed to accommodate
conspirituality's expansion. Web-site building had been simplified and the
blogosphere (the network of blogs on the internet) was growing.
The 2003 war in Iraq generated still more demand: worldwide, millions marched
'for peace' rather than 'against war'. By 2004, theories about apocalyptic
events in 2012 were spreading, further uniting New Agers anticipating a shift
with conspiracy theorists and others believing a variety of scenarios. In 2005,
more than 2,000 people attended a talk by David Icke in London. In November
2010, conspiracist radio presenter Alex Jones's site ranked in the top 500 most
popular websites.47 Providers now use Facebook, Twitter, and other social
networks. It is said that an Obama avatar was recently spotted wearing a New
World Order T-shirt in the web-based virtual world of Second Life. The web
continues to develop and support alternative viewpoints.
John Perkins is an example of a second-generation conspirituality provider. His
2004 autobiography Confessions of an Economic Hitman48 was on the NY Times
bestseller lists for 70 weeks.49 Perkins exposes the shadowy US 'elite
corporatocracy', for which he once worked to destabilise smaller countries
economically. He suggests that corporate networks could be transformed to
positive purposes, stressing that many shadow government employees are 'human,
with children and grandchildren' and, despite the financial rewards,
'desperate' for the excuses protestors offer to do the right thing.50 Perkins,
who experienced a 'personal epiphany' on visiting Ground Zero, states:
We have entered one of the most important periods in human history, the Time
of Prophecies. We have the opportunity to lift ourselves to new levels of
consciousness. This time was foretold over the past centuries around the world.
Now it is up to us—you and me—to make it happen.51
A shamanic practitioner, Perkins has written books on 'personal and global transformation'.52
Project Camelot,53 another second-generation provider, offers a platform for
shadow government whistle-blowers. Its site reports ten million unique hits
since it formed in 2006. Run by a two-person team consisting of Bill Ryan and
Kerry Cassidy, Project Camelot displays a collection of video interviews
offering different views on the shadow government and the shift, including
interviews with Icke, Wilcock, and Greer. More than 1,300 site visitors have
signed its 'pledge' to end secrecy;54 a brief count indicates a ratio of three
men to one woman. This probably reflects conspirituality's wider gender ratio.
Conspirituality has spread from being a scattering of single, first-generation
providers to a large chain. It is now part of the spiritual supermarket:
clients shop around, settling upon the outlets whose interpretations of the two
core convictions best suit their own opinions and tastes.
Key Themes
Change, or transformation, is a key theme conspirituality has adapted from its
parent sectors. Clients seek to expose—depose—a shadow government. Ideas that
others are becoming 'awake and aware', or shifting in consciousness, lend
encouragement. Humanity is shifting into a new paradigm. People are 'awakening
to the truth' (we are all connected); 'remembering who we really are'
(infinitely powerful spiritual beings); 'seeing the illusion' (our
projections); 'saying no to tyranny' (assuming personal responsibility—the
shadow government exists because we allow it to). Stories of spiritual
awakenings, some dramatic, others gradual or momentary, are commonplace. The
awakening process, being subjective, is impossible to define accurately, but
providers and clients agree that this is 'a time of transformation'.
Some awakenings—such as David Icke's55—involve 'seeing' the shadow government.
These can go through two stages:56 coming to terms with the situation and
realising one's responsibility to help change it. But the continuing existence
of war and inequality demonstrates that traditional means of change—via
political protest, for example—have proved ineffective. These, along with
denial of the truth (that things need to change) belong to the 'old paradigm'.
Central to the 'new paradigm' is 'becoming the change you wish to see in the
world' (a quotation by Mahatma Gandhi frequently encountered): the inner self
must change before the outer world can. 'Spiritually conscious' ideals include
self-responsibility and independent thought—detaching from the 'mind control
matrix' by giving up TV and chemical additives, rejecting consumerism, and
anticipating earth changes. Non-violent action includes spreading information,
engaging in non-cooperation and peaceful resistance.
The forms of non-violent activism are highly varied. A UK example specific to
conspirituality is 'The Love Police', a group that tours London with a
megaphone, drawing public attention to situations considered repressive and
hugging people as they are moved on. Videos are posted on YouTube. Another
example is 'The People's United Community' (TPUC), which advocates 'lawful
rebellion' on the basis of a clause in the Magna Carta allowing citizens to
ignore the law if they feel they are being unjustly governed. TPUC states that
it is neither for nor against politics or religion, it stands for “the truth of
love and the love of truth”.57
Unification is another key theme. Social networking sites such as Facebook are
used in conjunction with the global alternative and conventional media to
publicise campaigns. The New Age concept of 'Oneness' is frequently
encountered: Icke says that he loves the shadow government because “we are all
One” (490). Hip hop artist KRS-One raps,
You can love your neighbourhood without loving poverty … there's no reason to
fear the New World Order … but first you got to unify, stop this negativity,
control your creativity.58
Non-violent revolutions demand unity. Providers claim
safety in numbers—high public profiles confer protection. People must 'join the
dots to see the truth'—the shadow government is too well-hidden to see without
combined research.
Revealing 'truth' is an additional theme that runs through the movement.
Providers and audiences ascribe power to truth. They support whistle-blowers,
campaign for governments to end secrecy, and expose and publicise suppressed
evidence. KRS One says the shadow government “can't do nothing to a person who
stands with the truth … so stop the violence, stop hating yourself, seek peace,
restore women to their rightful place”.59
Matt Bellamy, lead singer of the internationally successful band 'Muse', is
influenced by Icke and other providers and is credited in turn as an
inspiration by best-selling author Stephenie Meyer. Bellamy says that
love-based resistance “in the Gandhi sense” is the most powerful, but having to
resist “kicking a few shop windows in” is frustrating.60 In interviews he says
he is an 'atheist'; nonetheless lyrics from his track Uprising, from Muse's
number one (September 2009) album The Resistance encapsulate conspirituality:
Interchanging mind control
Come let the revolution take its toll
If you could flick a switch and open your third eye
You'd see that
We should never be afraid to die
(so come on)
Criticisms of Conspirituality
Barkun (96) suggests that the radical right's NWO theories reached the
mainstream via UFO literature and expresses a concern that the left might adopt
them. Goodrick-Clarke, too, suggests that “The US militias, conspiracy cults,
and New Age cultural pessimism represent varied strands of popular radicalism
that are deeply hostile towards liberalism in modern politics and society”
(289). He writes, “The endemic spread of conspiracy theories in the New Age
milieu is a disturbing phenomenon” (299) and argues that the degeneration of
New Age “open anti-authoritarian egalitarian” outlooks into anxious myths “of
hostile elites and hidden threats” is down to “cultural pessimism” and
political disillusionment. This trend, he fears, could lead to neo-Nazism.
(ibid)
Conspirituality providers and audiences would argue that racism and
anti-Semitism are part of the old paradigm, not the new. David Icke says,
We need to drop the ludicrous, childish labels of Jew and Gentile and Muslim
and all this illusory crap and come together in the name of peace and justice
for all. There is not a Jewish injustice or a Palestinian injustice, there is
simply injustice.61Proponents of conspirituality might, however, admit to
cultural pessimism and political disillusionment. As public distaste at war
continues to grow—according to 2009 polls, two in three Britons want British
troops to leave Afghanistan and one in three want them out immediately62—for
many, mass consciousness seems to be shifting and non-violent new paradigm
solutions are the best way forward.
Conspirituality's Appeal
Conspirituality obviously appeals to clients who already believe in, or
suspect, the existence of a shadow government and a shift. As Goodrick-Clarke
suggests, some of these clients will originate from within the 'alternative'
movement. To build on his definition we may look to the notion of 'Cultural
Creatives' (Ray and Anderson)—people who are spiritually and politically
idealistic and imaginative. Ray and Anderson claim that 50 million American
adults fall into this category. Moreover,
60% of Americans identify with two or more themes of the new social movements:
Greens, Women's Lib, Civil Rights, Peace, Jobs and Social Justice, Gay Lib, the
Planetary problematique, Complementary and Alternative Medicine, etc. (Ray
56).63
Conspirituality could appeal to some Cultural Creatives.64 The
counter-culture of the 1960s and 1970s may be an attractive model: Icke
promotes music from that era on his web site and discusses his ayahuasca
awakening; KRS One lectures internationally about the history of the hip hop
movement; Wilcock writes about Woodstock. The extremes of conspirituality will
deter many, but the middle ground is extensive: mass audiences bought
Confessions of an Economic Hitman, downloaded Zeitgeist the Movie, and listen to
Muse.
Providers have credentials and appear credible to many, despite promoting
beliefs that often seem bizarre to non-subscribers. They are trustworthy
accomplices, having succeeded in acceptable 'real world' careers. David Icke
was a professional footballer, BBC sports commentator, and Green party
politician, while Bill Ryan of Project Camelot was a management consultant and
his counterpart Kerry Cassidy a film maker. Steven Greer worked as the director
of the A&E department of a North Carolina hospital. Jacques Fresco, inventor of
Zeitgeist the Movie and movement, is an architect. John Perkins was a government
official.
Conspirituality's wide and free subversive range accommodates many voices and
much of interest. A research paper about David Icke says:
Icke has tapped into the utopian longings of the masses in a potentially
liberatory way. Right-wing fanatics, leftist conspiracy buffs, New Agers,
college students, and an increasingly dissatisfied and questioning public the
world over have found something deeply provocative in Icke that cannot simply
be explained away as manifestations of a collective false-consciousness,
clinical paranoia, or, as Freud would say, group hypnosis. (Lewis and Kahn
70)
Conspirituality's success also lies in its flexibility. There is no
requirement to 'join'—involvement is free and user led: to listen to a
programme regularly, revisit a What's New page or attend a conference implies
affiliation—as loose or as committed as the client decides, to a wider group.
Providers extort people to do their own research. There is no pressure to do
anything but accept, reject or adapt information according to the client's
belief threshold. It accommodates all grades and shades of belief: David Icke
gives voice to anti-New Age writings and Jean Hudon, director of the Earth
Rainbow Network,65 promotes New Age channelling, yet both remain within the
conspirituality category. The flexibility of definition that surrounds its two
core convictions is such that most subscribers are able to agree—and to agree
to differ. Costs are minimal and the entertainment value is high, as the
possibilities of the web are maximised.
The events of 9/11 exposed many to conspirituality. As rumours that it was an
inside job undertaken to start a War on Terror spread via the web66—and
continue to spread—some will have found providers, such as Icke who received
publicity for his predictions that the shadow government would undertake a
'false flag' operation around 2001 to provoke a war with Islam, more appealing
than conventional political commentators or the radical right. Surfers would
have shopped around. Those who encountered conspirituality, but had not
previously held New Age beliefs in a shift, might have focused instead on
providers' political interpretations or transposed ideas of a shift into
concerns about 'earth changes' or 'waking up to what was going on'. They might
also have been attracted, at a time of crisis, by the optimism intrinsic to
core conviction 2 (concerning a mass shift in consciousness).
Conspiracist beliefs are now commonplace.67 Cynicism about the conventional
media has increased: 59% of Americans under thirty rely on the internet for
news rather than television68 and 64% of American internet news users believe
the mainstream is biased.69 Even so, the conventional media accommodate
conspiracism:70 Harper notes a growth in popular conspiracist literature.
Michael Moore's 'politically charged'71 2004 film Fahrenheit 9/11 went on
general release and won an award at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2009, Fox News
interviewed academics about the presence of nano-thermite in the dust at Ground
Zero,72 Guardian readers followed the harassment of a reporter covering the
Athens Bilderberg meeting,73 and reports of crop circles and declassified UFO
information were widely circulated.
Thus, with interest in conspiracist topics, web news, and spirituality growing,
the future looks bright for conspirituality. If the holistic milieu grows, this
sector is likely to benefit:
Many New Age authors are decidedly ambivalent about the role played by human
action in the coming of the New Age … many New Agers apparently realise that
this view may easily breed passivity, and therefore emphasize the importance of
the human contribution. (Hanegraaff 250)
Discussion
The formation of conspirituality offers much of theoretical interest. We
suggest some perspectives for further investigation. Barkun's notion of
'improvisational millennialist' belief systems may help explain how the New Age
and conspiracy sectors could merge:
Such odd conceptual structures are apt to contain elements from more than one
religious tradition, together with ideas from the New Age, occultism, science
and radical politics. These combinations do not appear “natural” since the
elements often come from seemingly unrelated domains, such as conspiracy
theories and fringe science, or from domains that appear to be in opposition,
such as fundamentalist religion and the New Age. (32)
Barkun quotes Stephen O'Leary, noting that “The discourses of conspiracy and apocalypse … are linked
by a common function: each develops symbolic resources that enable societies to
address and define the problem of evil” (10); millennialism describes the
mechanism for the defeat of evil which conspiracy theory has located.
Barkun extends Campbell's concept of the cultic milieu to include five
varieties of 'stigmatized knowledge' (forgotten, superseded, ignored, rejected,
suppressed) that, he suggests, constitute the appeal of conspiracy theory. They
might also constitute for some the appeal of certain sectors of the New Age—for
example, Theosophy—and all of conspirituality.
Conspirituality could be called a web movement, as the web is central to its
importation of political and spiritual ideology into the mainstream. Providers
such as Project Camelot and Zeitgeist the Movie originated on the web; their
presence outside it is only just starting to grow. The concept and dynamics of
a 'web movement' do not seem to have been explored by scholars, but it is clear
that the internet greatly assists the diffusion of innovation (Rogers).
Innovators have updated or simplified existing super-systemic conspiracy or New
Age models to be disseminated by opinion leaders. As web sites became easier
to access and build, transmission and adoption were facilitated. The virtual
social networks created by web users make it possible to spread ideas very
widely and very quickly.
When exploring religion online, Larsen talks about 'outsider' surfers who
particularly like to use the web, seeing themselves as a minority or having
experienced discrimination. Helland observes that “the Internet accommodates
those religions and groups who wish to be religious outside the control of an
organised religious institution” (23). Conspirituality might constitute a
genuine 'unofficial' online religion (Helland; McGuire), as opposed to religion
online. Its 'clergy' would abhor this definition, but mystery, revelation, and
prophecy are intrinsic to it.
Conspirituality could also be seen to fit into Wallis's 'world-accommodating'
category of religious movement: the world-affirming, cultic New Age and the
world-rejecting, sectarian conspiracy milieux have merged into a
world-accommodating—arguably mainstream—hybrid. Its providers display aspects
of charismatic authority (Weber), for example, claiming to have exclusive
access to secrets from whistle-blowers or through contact with
extraterrestrials.
In terms of social semiotics, language is a leveller. Terms such as 'NWO',
'oligarchy', 'shadow government', 'negative global elite', 'Illuminati',
'corporatocracy', 'military industrial complex', and so on are interchanged to
convey the user's view or taste. By virtue of the vocabulary they use, a
teenage rap musician interested in spirituality shares common ground with
someone who believes that 9/11 was an inside job. The multiple meanings of
these terms provide practical benefits: flexibility of definition confers
inclusiveness. For example, the terms 'shift' and 'waking up' can refer to
psycho-spiritual or socio-political processes, relative or objective.
Conspirituality unites its supporters despite their differences, permitting
self-determination within a wider movement.
Acknowledgements
Referees of the [i]Journal of Contemporary Religion offered valuable comments on an
earlier version of the paper. [/i]
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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It's very interesting that they 
We wouldn't want the 
