satan

Top Five (Less Sensational, But More Dangerous) Things to Remember About Pat Robertson (1930-2023)

Mark Hulsether — Thu, 08 Jun 2023 05:27:59 EDT

Sure, it’s easy to poke fun at Pat Robertson for his 2,000-pound leg press claims or to scold him for his vile Haiti comments, but Robertson thrives on the ‘persecution.’ Our list spins the Robertson moral differently and shows just why he’s been a truly dangerous figure.

Hell in a Cell: 'The Pope's Exorcist' Reflects the Growing Belief That Cocksure Men Will Save Us in the Battle of Good v. Evil

Eric Harrelson, Joseph Laycock — Fri, 19 May 2023 12:46:29 EDT

Although it was a financial success, The Pope’s Exorcist , featuring a virile Russell Crowe as real-life exorcist Gabrielle Amorth, was panned by most Catholic reviewers, including the International Association of Exorcists (IAE), which Amorth founded. Critics objected to the…

From Elon to Elizabeth: The 7 Seals of the 2022 Apocalypse

Mary Rambaran-Olm — Fri, 23 Dec 2022 05:02:37 EST

It’s that time of year again. No, not the time for peace, joy, and love. It’s the time when we reflect on this year’s horrors and come to terms with the fact that an asteroid can’t find us fast enough…

Not Only is the Right Unapologetic For Violent Anti-LGBTQ+ Rhetoric — It's Doubling Down

Thomas Lecaque — Mon, 28 Nov 2022 04:42:37 EST

There was a mass murder. I know, this is America, so I have to be more specific. And since the one I’m thinking of, at Club Q in Colorado Springs, Colorado , we’ve had several more—mass shooting events are so…

Colorado Springs Massacre Captures the Christian Nationalist 'Monster In The Mirror'

Lucas Kwong — Tue, 22 Nov 2022 05:27:05 EST

Sometimes, the scholarly life means taking delight in unexpectedly relevant news items: a new adaptation of a book one has studied, an unearthed manuscript from one’s period of interest. Other times, it means being horrified when the objects of one’s…

What Did Kyrie Say That Was So Wrong? When Black Antisemitism Meets White Jewish Privilege

A. E. Brooks-Key — Tue, 08 Nov 2022 07:05:26 EST

So, let’s start with a joke. A Black nationalist female rabbi, a Black male womanist rabbi, and Black Jewish apostate walk into a bar… There’s been nonstop controversy since NBA star Kyrie Irving tweeted a link to a film, Hebrews…

Paranormal Vodka, Exorcists and a Demonic Doll: Welcome to Paracon, Based on the Work of the Demon-Hunters Who Inspired the 'Conjuring' Series

Eric Harrelson, Joseph Laycock — Mon, 07 Nov 2022 02:59:16 EST

I really didn’t know what to expect when Joseph Laycock and I bought our tickets for the New England Society for Psychic Research (NESPR) Seekers of the Supernatural Paracon as part of our research for our book The Exorcist Effect…

Putin's Violent Holy War Rhetoric Made it to the Christian Right Fringe — And There's Reason to Believe it'll Go Mainstream

Thomas Lecaque — Tue, 01 Nov 2022 05:30:57 EDT

It starts with a tweet: https://twitter.com/realRickWiles/status/1585375961033605120?s=20&t=DZQ… And it is, of course, not simply that. Shortly before, in support of Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin appointing a “chief exorcist” against Satanism, he said : “Can you think of anybody, in the…

Statement on NAR & Christian Nationalism Answers Few Questions But Exposes Growing Rifts in the Movement

Frederick Clarkson, André Gagné — Fri, 21 Oct 2022 06:16:39 EDT

Some of the leaders of the New Apostolic Reformation —the dynamic edge and fresh movement of much of neo-charismatic and Pentecostal Christianity in the 21st Century—have revealed their movement to be in disarray. Over 60 leaders have signed a statement…

La Carmina, Author of 'The Little Book of Satanism,' Talks 'Satanic Panic,' QAnon, Japanese Satanism, and More

Joseph Laycock — Thu, 20 Oct 2022 06:18:21 EDT

For most of its existence, religious Satanism has been regarded as either unfit for polite conversation or fodder for sensationalist tabloid media. In the 1990s, Anton LaVey complained, “Whenever I got on TV or the radio, I was given a…

Putin Escalates Ukraine Invasion to 'Cosmic War' — But There is Hope

Mark Juergensmeyer — Tue, 11 Oct 2022 04:38:10 EDT

When Vladimir Putin recently announced the annexation of four regions of Ukraine that were purported to have voted in favor of joining Russia, he did so in what’s been described as an “unhinged rant.” In this wide-ranging and often incoherent…

Inspired by the Anti-Abortion Movement and QAnon, Anti-Trans Rhetoric is a Blatant Call for Violence

Annika Brockschmidt, Thomas Lecaque — Fri, 23 Sep 2022 03:01:47 EDT

They care for trans children and teenagers—and they’re getting death threats. On August 30th, Boston Children’s Hospital was shut down due to a bomb threat , and shut down a second time on September 9th, the latest in a series…

DeSantis is a No-Show, the Right's 'Secret Sauce,' and Final Thoughts on Pray Vote Stand

PRA Staff — Fri, 16 Sep 2022 04:58:40 EDT

This is the final post of RD and PRA’s special coverage of the Pray Vote Stand Summit. All posts can be found here. - eds 9/16/2022 Afternoon The election reform panel is a study in fear mongering and misinformation. Jason…

Barna Plays God, School Board Boot Camp, and the Birth of the 'SAGECON': Day 3

PRA Staff — Fri, 16 Sep 2022 04:37:20 EDT

The following is part of RD and PRA’s special coverage of the Pray Vote Stand Summit. All posts can be found here. - eds 9/16/2022 Morning Attendance is down a bit this morning at Family Research Council’s Pray Vote Stand…

'It’s Time to Defend our Children Outside of the Womb': Pray Vote Stand Connects Anti-Abortion and Anti-Trans Messages

PRA Staff — Thu, 15 Sep 2022 12:53:27 EDT

The following is part of RD and PRA’s special coverage of the Pray Vote Stand Summit. All posts can be found here. - eds 9/15/2022 Morning First Baptist Atlanta is huge—a sprawling campus of parking lots and Grecian-revival entrances to…

The Vile Attack on Salman Rushdie Reminds Us of the Value of a Free Society — But is Our Outrage More About the Criminal Than the Crime?

Haroon Moghul — Wed, 17 Aug 2022 01:15:54 EDT

When it was published in 1988, The Satanic Verses wasn’t immediately controversial. But the charged politics of Islam and the West meant some kind of blowback to Salman Rushdie’s novel was likely: The Iran-Iraq War had just ended and the…

When Religious Freedom Means Freedom for Religious Violence

Frederick Clarkson — Thu, 07 Jul 2022 03:51:18 EDT

Religious freedom has long been a rallying cry of the religious and political right. In recent years, it’s been used to provide a rationale for exemptions from a variety of civil right laws. But at least since January 6 th…

Americans Must Stop Thinking of the United States Supreme Court as a Court of Law

Andrew L. Seidel — Thu, 30 Jun 2022 03:46:43 EDT

Americans must stop thinking of the United States Supreme Court as a court of law. It’s a court bent on giving political whims the force of law and on converting America into a Christian nation. Some of its most significant…

Embryo Men — Decades of Conspiracy, Christian Nationalism, and Fear Led Us to The End of Roe v. Wade

Carmen Celestini — Mon, 27 Jun 2022 02:18:42 EDT

This morning as we again awaken to the realization that American women have lost their bodily autonomy , that five individuals can decide that States’ rights can’t control guns, but that they do have the power to control women’s bodies…

It’s the Theology, Stupid: Why the Shocking SBC Report is Anything But Surprising

Chrissy Stroop, Jessica Johnson — Tue, 24 May 2022 05:22:59 EDT

On Sunday, an investigation firm called Guidepost Solutions released a 300-page report recounting a disturbingly familiar pattern of abuse and cover-up in the Southern Baptist Convention, the mostly white, evangelical Protestant denomination that accounts for over 5% of the adult…

The End of Roe and School Prayer: America is Not Ready to Be a Christian Nation

Andrew L. Seidel — Tue, 03 May 2022 05:28:49 EDT

Conservative Supreme Court justices are rewriting our Constitution . The leaked draft of Justice Alito’s majority opinion overturning Roe v. Wade radically alters American law and our understanding of constitutional rights . It isn’t the first consequential reversal from this…

Black Satanist Candidate Faces LA Sheriff Shakedown

Joseph Laycock — Mon, 02 May 2022 04:26:29 EDT

Steve Hill is a lot of things: A former marine, a former correctional officer, a stand-up comic, and a political candidate. And he’s a Black Satanist who’s spoken publicly about how Christianity is holding the Black community back. Hill also…

Conservative Judge Suing 'Daily Beast' for ‘QAnon-linked’ Headline Thought QAnon Pod Was ‘Aimed at Christian Audience’ — Spoiler: It Was

Chrissy Stroop — Wed, 27 Apr 2022 03:32:10 EDT

Paula Patrick, a conservative judge in Philadelphia perhaps best known for being on the wrong side of a Christopher Columbus statue controversy , objects to being called “ QAnon-linked .” In fact, she’s filed a false light suit (similar to…

'How Pentecostal Christianity Is Taking Over the World': An Interview with Author Elle Hardy

Katherine Stewart — Mon, 18 Apr 2022 04:44:55 EDT

Australian-born journalist Elle Hardy’s exposé of global Pentecostalism, released in November by an independent UK publisher, didn’t receive a tremendous amount of attention in the United States —one of the nations where the movement itself has flourished. In the following…

'Always Pray to the Father': Mormon Leader Calls Desire for Knowledge of Heavenly Mother 'Arrogant and Unproductive'

Holly Welker — Wed, 13 Apr 2022 03:25:54 EDT

In 1995, in a document called the Family Proclamation , leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints made explicit what had long been an oft-discussed but little documented element of Latter-day Saint belief: “All human beings—male and…