As with the observation about nationalism, this observation about the role of conspiracy theories in both Nazi Germany and within sectors of American evangelicalism should be obvious.
Among the German Christians, the conspiracies were about monied, satan worshipping, Jewish elites. According to the The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a fabricated but highly influential piece of antisemitic propaganda in Nazi Germany, a shadowy cabal of Jews were believed to be taking over both Germany and the world. And many of the machinations described in the Protocols describe the very contemporary worries of American evangelicals.
For example, according to The Protocols a Jewish cabal plans to take over all media outlets. As the Protocols say, "The great force of today is the Press." And, "We shall absolutely control the Press, so that not a single announcement will ever reach the public without our control." And, "Our greatest weapon, which is already in our hands, is the Press."
Further, as described in the 17th Protocol, the goal of the cabal is for "the complete wrecking of that Christian religion."
Lastly, the cabal also plans to manipulate elections and politics to take over the state.
As should be clear, the conspiratorial worries of the German Christians--distrust of the mainstream media, the stealing of elections, and the destruction of Christianity--now characterize many beliefs among American evangelicals. And there's one last connection worth paying attention to: the harming of children.
One of the darkest antisemitic tropes in Germany involved the "blood libel" or "ritual murder libel", beliefs which depicted Jews as killing Christian children. As you likely know, similar "blood libel" beliefs are a part of the QAnon conspiracy theory, a theory endorsed by 25% of white evangelicals, which believes that wealthy Democrat and Hollywood elites are involved in satanic, cannibalistic, pedophile sex trafficking rings. To be clear, most evangelicals find QAnon unbelievable. But the "killing of children" belief is widespread among evangelicals due to their strong views about abortion being murder. Liberals might not be drinking the blood of babies, but they are killing children in their support of abortion.
Before moving on, it should be noted here that there is a connection between QAnon and The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. A 2021 poll found significant overlap between beliefs in QAnon and beliefs in a global Jewish conspiracy to take over the world. This is a similar sort of overlap that I noted in my first post about nationalism and the Alt-Right. But I'd like to continue to make the clarification that I don't think American evangelicals are, in the main, antisemitic. As mentioned in the last post, I think the pro-Israel dispensationalist theology of many evangelicals keeps many of them away from overt antisemitism. That said, I don't think many evangelicals are aware that conspiracies regarding George Soros and "Hollywood elites" is implicitly trafficking in antisemitism.
My point, however, is not to associate the conspiratorial beliefs among American evangelicals with antisemitism, even if you see it in some places. My point, rather, is to observe that the suite of conspiratorial worries found among the German Christians is similar to the suite of conspiratorial worries now characterizing segments of American evangelicalism. Trade "Jew" for "liberal" and The Protocols of the Elders of Zion becomes QAnon. Both conspiratorial systems share the same concerns, a shadowy, monied, global cabal involved in:
- Controlling the media
- Stealing elections
- Destroying Christianity
- Killing children
