‘Stand Against the Wiles of the Devil’: Interpreting QAnon as a Pseudo-Christian Extremist Movement-Reference-Cited by-同舟云学术

‘Stand Against the Wiles of the Devil’: Interpreting QAnon as a Pseudo-Christian Extremist Movement

Published:2024-01-30 Issue: Volume: Page:
ISSN:0896-9205
Container-title:Critical Sociology
language:en
Short-container-title:Critical Sociology

Author:

Miotto Nicolò¹,Droogan Julian¹^ORCID

Affiliation:

1. Macquarie University, Australia

Abstract

The religious dimensions of the QAnon movement and links with political violence have been noted by researchers. This paper furthers this scholarship by conducting an analysis of 121 religious images taken from QAnon Telegram channels over 18 months. Through adopting semiotic and hermeneutical theory, it is argued that QAnon religious imagery can be categorised into a series of types, all influenced by Christian theological themes. When interpreted in a Christian context, these images reveal a close relationship with US-based Christian evangelicalism and with Christian liberation theology movements. By presenting contemporary politics as an eschatological battle between the oppressed and oppressors, framed as the QAnon community versus the devil, the QAnon movement encourages political activism closely analogous to Christian liberation theology movements. This contributes to an explanatory framework for the connections between QAnon followers and anti-government protest and violence during the Covid-19 pandemic and the 6 January storming of the US Capitol.

Publisher

SAGE Publications

Subject

Sociology and Political Science

Link

http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/08969205241228744

Reference100 articles.

1. Visual Analysis of ISIS Discourse Strategies and Types in Dabiq and Rumiyah Online Magazines

2. Amarasingam A, Argentino M (2020) The QAnon conspiracy theory: a security threat in the making? CTC Sentinel 13(7): 37–44. Available at: https://ctc.usma.edu/the-qanon-conspiracy-theory-a-security-threat-in-the-making/

3. The Mystery of Cicada 3301: Constructing Gnosis in Cyberspace

4. Argentino M (2020a) In the name of the father, son, and Q: why it’s important to see QAnon as a ‘hyper-real’ religion. Religion Dispatches, 28 May. Available at: https://religiondispatches.org/in-the-name-of-the-father-son-and-q-why-its-important-to-see-qanon-as-a-hyper-real-religion/

5. Argentino M (2020b) The church of QAnon: will conspiracy theories form the basis of a new religious movement? The Conversation, 18 May. Available at: https://theconversation.com/the-church-of-qanon-will-conspiracy-theories-form-the-basis-of-a-new-religious-movement-137859