The past several years have again been a time of unsettledness—of war, recession, the tumultuous Trump presidency, constant talk of planetary ecological ruination, and now a global pandemic—so no one should be surprised that fears of Satanic activity have once again sprouted up. To put it another way, it might not take much nowadays to convince a person that we are living in the end times.
One of the reasons why doomsday thinking is important to the promulgation of Satanic panics is how it complements a feeling of intensified persecution. On issues ranging from abortion to marriage to drugs to how history is taught, many conservative Christians feel like cultural walls are closing in on them—a feeling of persecution encouraged by talk radio, cable news, and online personalities. Liberals may disregard these concerns as overblown and progressives may consider them illegitimate, but many conservative political and religious figures find themselves hopeless or even panicked.
But if the rest of the world is sliding into damnation, QAnon’s supposed fight against Satan’s followers can be seen as pure, faithful, and defiant. QAnoners see themselves as heroes, the faithful remnant as spoken of in Revelation.
As historian John Fea has argued, the fear that America’s Christian identity is eroding can partly explain the appeal of Trump as a “fighter” trying to win back the country for conservative Christians. This perception of a Christian nation in religious freefall fits almost seamlessly with QAnon’s conviction that the United States is under spiritual assault.
So, if QAnon is less an anomaly than it is the next chapter in America’s horrified fascination with the devil, fitting within the Christian framework of apocalypticism, persecution, and demonology, what might we expect to come of it in the months and years ahead?
First, future incidents of violence should not surprise us. The “Pizzagate” conspiracy theory that was a precursor to QAnon nearly led to bloodshed, and among the January 6 rioters at the Capitol were QAnon true believers. When the stakes are believed to be so high—with children’s welfare and lives, not to mention the spiritual and temporal fate of the world, supposedly on the line—a resort to violence may seem not desperate but reasonable.
Second, the most novel aspect of this Satanic panic—the wide reach and rapid evolution of the conspiracy theories, made possible by to social media’s ability to rapidly spread misinformation—will continue to be a factor. There are all sorts of ways that these conspiracy theories can start to reach new mainstream audiences, as certain Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts create bridges between the most rabid participants and the uninitiated. One area to stay focused on is parental influencers, especially given the power of simplistic ideas that can be distilled in catchy hashtags like #SaveOurChildren.