A Culture of Conspiracy. Michael Barkun

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A Culture of Conspiracy - Michael Barkun Comparative Studies in Religion and Society

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      A Culture of Conspiracy

      COMPARATIVE STUDIES IN RELIGION AND SOCIETY

      Mark Juergensmeyer, Editor

      1 Redemptive Encounters: Three Modern Styles in the Hindu Tradition, by Lawrence A. Babb

      2 Saints and Virtues, edited by John Stratton Hawley

      3 Utopias in Conflict: Religion and Nationalism in Modern India, by Ainslee T. Embree

      4 Mama Lola: A Vodou Priestess in Brooklyn, by Karen McCarthy Brown

      5 The New Cold War? Religious Nationalism Confronts the Secular State, by Mark Juergensmeyer

      6 Pious Passion: The Emergence of Modern Fundamentalism in the United States and Iran, by Martin Riesebrodt, translated by Don Reneau

      7 Devi: Goddess of India, edited by John Stratton Hawley and Donna Marie Wulff

      8 Absent Lord: Ascetics and Kings in a Jain Ritual Culture, by Lawrence A. Babb

      9 The Challenge of Fundamentalism: Political Islam and the New World Disorder, by Bassam Tibi

      10 Leveling Crowds: Ethno-Nationalist Conflicts and Collective Violence in South Asia, by Stanley J. Tambiah

      11 The Bridge Betrayed: Religion and Genocide in Bosnia, by Michael A. Sells

      12 China’s Catholics: Tragedy and Hope in an Emerging Civil Society, by Richard Madsen

      13 Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence, by Mark Juergensmeyer

      14 Imagining Karma: Ethical Transformation in Amerindian, Buddhist, and Greek Rebirth, by Gananath Obeyesekere

      15 A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic Visions in Contemporary America, by Michael Barkun

      16 Global Rebellion: Religious Challenges to the Secular State, from Christian Militias to al Qaeda, by Mark Juergensmeyer

      A Culture of Conspiracy

      Apocalyptic Visions

      in Contemporary America

      Second Edition

      Michael Barkun

      UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS

      Berkeley•Los Angeles•London

      University of California Press, one of the most distinguished university presses in the United States, enriches lives around the world by advancing scholarship in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Its activities are supported by the UC Press Foundation and by philanthropic contributions from individuals and institutions. For more information, visit www.ucpress.edu.

      University of California Press

      Berkeley and Los Angeles, California

      University of California Press, Ltd.

      London, England

      © 2013 by The Regents of the University of California

      Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

      Barkun, Michael.

      A culture of conspiracy: apocalyptic visions in contemporary America / Michael Barkun. — Second Edition.

      p. cm. — (Comparative studies in religion and society; 15)

      Includes bibliographical references and index.

      ISBN 978-0-520-27682-6 (pbk., alk. paper)

      eISBN 978-0-520-95652-0

      1. Millennialism—United States. 2. Conspiracies—United States. 3. Human-alien encounters—United States. I. Title.

      BL503.2.B372013

      306’.1—dc232012051215

      Manufactured in the United States of America

      22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13

      10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

      In keeping with its commitment to support environmentally responsible and sustainable printing practices, UC Press has printed this book on Cascades Enviro 100, a 100% post consumer waste, recycled, de-inked fiber. FSC recycled certified and processed chlorine free. It is acid free, Ecologo certified, and manufactured by BioGas energy.

      For Natalie Rose

      Contents

      Preface

      Preface to the First Edition

      1.The Nature of Conspiracy Belief

      2.Millennialism, Conspiracy, and Stigmatized Knowledge

      3.New World Order Conspiracies I: The New World Order and the Illuminati

      4.New World Order Conspiracies II: A World of Black Helicopters

      5.UFO Conspiracy Theories, 1975–1990

      6.UFOs Meet the New World Order: Jim Keith and David Icke

      7.Armageddon Below

      8.UFOs and the Search for Scapegoats I: Anti-Catholicism and Anti-Masonry

      9.UFOs and the Search for Scapegoats II: Anti-Semitism among the Aliens

      10.September 11 Conspiracies: The First Phase

      11.September 11 Conspiracies: The Second Phase

      12.Conspiracy Theories about Barack Obama

      13.Conspiracists and Violence

      14.Apocalyptic Expectations about the Year 2012

      15.Conclusion

      Notes

      Bibliography

      Index

      Preface

      The original manuscript of A Culture of Conspiracy was virtually complete in September 2001, when the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were attacked. In the time that remained before the manuscript had to be submitted, I added chapter 10 (along with interpolations of brief passages in some other chapters), which describes the reactions of what might be termed “professional” conspiracy theorists. But the book went to press well before the 9/11 conspiracy subculture had developed.

      That would not prove to be, of course, the only development on the conspiracy scene over the next decade or so. Rather, the following ten years witnessed conspiracism

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