It would have been hard to have consumed mainstream press coverage during the 2020 race for the White House without hearing quite a bit about the impact of QAnon and other conspiracy theories on the most dedicated followers of Donald Trump. Conspiracy theories on the other side of American life? Not so much.
At the same time, for totally valid reasons, it was impossible to read about QAnon and other conspiracy theories without hearing about their impact in church pews, as well as blue-collar bars. In some media reports, QAnon was presented as an “evangelical” Christian movement, pure and simple.
Here at GetReligion, we have argued that the impact of QAnon in grassroots evangelical culture has been obvious and that this is an important story. (See this post, in particular: “Thinking about QAnon — Joe Carter sends strong warning to evangelicals about new heresy.”)
At the same time, it has been hard — so far — to argue that there is evidence that major institutions, denominations and leaders at the heart of evangelical culture have been sucked into this tragedy. (See this podcast and post, in particular: “New York Times says 'Christian nationalism' tied to white 'evangelical power'.”)
At this point, I am convinced that QAnon is, to use Joe Carter’s term, a “political cult” led by social-media activists who clearly know how to rattle the chains of evangelicals who are obsessed with speculating about the End Of All Things.
With all of that in mind, I was interested to dig into the recent New York Times multi-media feature that ran with this dramatic double-decker headline:
A QAnon ‘Digital Soldier’ Marches On, Undeterred by Theory’s Unraveling
Valerie Gilbert posts dozens of times a day in support of an unhinged conspiracy theory. The story of this “meme queen” hints at how hard it will be to bring people like her back to reality.
I assumed that this story would contain some religious content, if not clouds of speculation about evangelical involvement in QAnon.
So who is Gilbert? The language in the overture is interesting, to say the least:
Every morning, Valerie Gilbert, a Harvard-educated writer and actress, wakes up in her Upper East Side apartment; feeds her dog, Milo, and her cats, Marlena and Celeste; brews a cup of coffee; and sits down at her oval dining room table.
Then, she opens her laptop and begins fighting the global cabal.
Ms. Gilbert, 57, is a believer in QAnon, the pro-Trump conspiracy theory. Like all QAnon faithful, she is convinced that the world is run by a Satanic group of pedophiles that includes top Democrats and Hollywood elites, and that President Trump has spent years leading a top-secret mission to bring these evildoers to justice.
Were there any hard facts in that introduction that surprised you? Here’s a couple: “Harvard,” “actress” and the reference to her apartment on Manhattan’s “Upper East Side.” If you are assuming that she has strong ties to a major evangelical congregation (and there are a few in New York City), then you won’t find any clues to that in this report that is dominated by images of her social-media work.
There is, however, this bit of Gilbert biography:
Ms. Gilbert’s elite pedigree — she attended the Dalton School in Manhattan and worked on The Harvard Lampoon with Conan O’Brien in the 1980s — illustrates the wide range of people who have ended up in Q’s thrall.
I kept waiting for the religion shoe to drop.
Instead, I encountered some summary material that is remarkably broad and, frankly, strong. To cut to the chase, this is not the usual stack of conspiracy theory stereotypes that I have seen in way too many mainstream news stories.
Hang on, because this is good:
Like any movement its size — which is almost certainly in the millions, though it is impossible to quantify — QAnon contains a wide range of beliefs and tactics. Some “anons” are veteran conspiracists who have spent years exploring the theory’s many tributaries. Others are newer converts who have only a vague idea how it all connects. There are law-abiding keyboard warriors as well as violent, unhinged radicals.
There is no question that QAnon, which began in 2017 with a series of anonymous posts on the 4chan online message board by “Q,” a person purporting to be a high-ranking government insider, has outgrown its roots on the far-right fringes. It is now a big-tent conspiracy theory community that includes left-wing yoga moms, anti-lockdown libertarians and “Stop the Steal” Trumpists. QAnon believers are young and old, male and female, educated and not.
Now, I will ask a simple question: How many news features have you seen that address QAnon disciples who are in evangelical churches? Once again, this is a valid news angle. At the same time, let me ask if you have seen many news reports that address other camps — left-wing yoga moms, perhaps — within this conspiracy theory world?
What’s my point? This conspiracy theory age of ours is much bigger than the disturbing trends found in some — not all — evangelical pews. Will interest in this topic fade with Trump camped in Florida? Was this all about Trump in the first place.
Let me end with another note about Gilbert, the QAnon meme queen. As it turns out, she has talked about her religious worldview — in a FanGirlNation.com interview two years ago linked to her work in the entertainment industry. It never mentions QAnon.
Gilbert describes herself as a “healer, teacher and author” and a “New York City mystic.”
A key quote: “My parents raised me as a Theosophist. I don’t ascribe to any creed these days, but appreciate the Theosophical perspective.” She adds that she has been “a mystic my entire life”.
There’s more, drawing from Gilbert’s website, which appears to have been taken offline. She defines her vocation as “someone who brings comfort, insight, healing and release to both people, and places. … It is my pleasure and great delight to guide you to Your Inner Paradise.”
This doesn’t sound like mainstream evangelical thinking, to me. In fact, it sounds like it’s rather — to use a term from several decades ago — rather “New Age”?
Anyone else want to weigh in with an opinion on that?