https://politicalresearch.org/ The latest research related to satanic panic en https://religiondispatches.org/2025/06/10/save-children-whom-americas-queer-satanic-panic “The Rainbow Beast Is Coming For Your Kids!” warned Indiana Lt. Gov Micah Beckwith last month, because somehow this is really happening . He cautioned the Nazis and bots still using X that this June would see a “more aggressive… Tue, 10 Jun 2025 10:21:49 EDT Emma Cieslik 41c3a38f-88c8-4b99-8495-e8794271e4bb https://religiondispatches.org/2023/02/07/rights-satanic-grammy-panic-isnt-about-devil-or-pfizer-or-even-scantily-clad-women-its When I need to know what’s wrong with the world and who to be outraged at I turn to the words of Ted Cruz , Marjorie Taylor Greene (MTG) or even Ben Shapiro . Why? Because they certainly give upstanding… Tue, 07 Feb 2023 05:30:55 EST Mary Rambaran-Olm 452aa4e6-16c3-498b-9209-bed85f00d402 https://religiondispatches.org/2022/10/20/la-carmina-author-little-book-satanism-talks-satanic-panic-qanon-japanese-satanism-and 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… Thu, 20 Oct 2022 06:18:21 EDT Joseph Laycock b66877cf-2067-4808-bc79-3f1dd436f1ac https://religiondispatches.org/2022/05/24/its-theology-stupid-why-shocking-sbc-report-anything-surprising 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… Tue, 24 May 2022 05:22:59 EDT Chrissy Stroop, Jessica Johnson 2c4cfa52-e3ce-47fa-aafd-0aeba8705786 https://religiondispatches.org/2022/04/27/conservative-judge-suing-daily-beast-qanon-linked-headline-thought-qanon-pod-was-aimed 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… Wed, 27 Apr 2022 03:32:10 EDT Chrissy Stroop 8352f854-4b0c-40ce-887e-d02672465ece https://religiondispatches.org/2022/04/05/demons-held-responsible-these-days-everything-covid-lgbtq-rights-take-visual-tour During our season of political madness , it took a lot to trigger a double-take, and yet a pro-Trump, Covid-denialist pediatrician named Stella Immanuel declaring that illness was caused by the semen of demons was an exemplary case. Dr. Immanuel… Tue, 05 Apr 2022 06:41:18 EDT Ed Simon b56f739c-c520-476b-9177-4d7c90f59b69 https://religiondispatches.org/2022/01/28/qanon-isnt-cult-problematic-term-michael-protzmans-q-adjacent-negative48-certainly QAnon isn’t a cult. I know we want it to be, as numerous pundits have argued . I know it would be comforting, to believe that it’s a weird fringe, in the grasp of charismatic leaders, that the people are… Fri, 28 Jan 2022 05:03:18 EST Thomas Lecaque 48c3056e-dd0f-44fc-a987-ca95d7cf886c https://religiondispatches.org/2021/07/01/will-conjuring-3-influence-real-life-events-exorcist-effect Have you heard rumors about a cult called The Disciples of the Ram? Ever hear of Katie Lincoln, the young girl from Danvers, Massachusetts, who was stabbed 22 times by her friend in a Satanic slaying? If you find yourself… Thu, 01 Jul 2021 01:40:59 EDT Eric Harrelson, Joseph Laycock d7c0ad15-1aa0-44fd-8564-c16eb71dcc57 https://religiondispatches.org/2020/10/15/what-does-satanism-have-do-qanon Outsiders to the QAnon conspiracy system evolving over the past few years may be confused by its references to Satanic rites in which children are supposedly abused. Of course, there’s never been the slightest evidence of murderous, child-abusing Satanic cults… Thu, 15 Oct 2020 03:35:44 EDT David Frankfurter 87936a51-29de-4ca0-9d1b-55d141450aef https://religiondispatches.org/2020/09/10/qanon-didnt-just-spring-forth-void-its-latest-familiar-movement If you’ve been online at any point in the past year—if not, welcome!—your aimless clicks and doomscrolling may have brought you glimpses of the “world” of QAnon : the conspiracy theory that argues that US President Donald Trump is in… Thu, 10 Sep 2020 12:48:22 EDT Adam Willems e1e6d379-a16e-45dd-ba44-7c60cb568f75 https://religiondispatches.org/2020/05/28/name-father-son-and-q-why-its-important-see-qanon-hyper-real-religion In a May 13 th article published in The Atlantic , Adrienne LaFrance offers her readers a deep dive into the QAnon movement. The article argues that when surveying QAnon, we’re not only examining a conspiracy theory, we’re observing the… Thu, 28 May 2020 11:09:25 EDT Marc-André Argentino a7118ead-befd-4e51-88f2-23f1c1f1738c https://religiondispatches.org/2018/10/17/does-religious-freedom-extend-child-endangerment-its-not-simple-it-seems There must be some middle ground—not between right and wrong, but between different understandings of what constitutes abuse. Wed, 17 Oct 2018 12:41:40 EDT Rebecca Moore 455ca783-11c7-46e3-8ced-610da7428206 https://religiondispatches.org/2017/03/20/satanists-take-aim-school-spanking There’s a connection between hitting children and cultural identity. Growing up in Austin, Texas, I remember going to summer camp and being shocked to meet kids who had been hit with paddles by their teachers. They were from small Texas… Mon, 20 Mar 2017 01:47:02 EDT Joseph Laycock 194a1d7d-1263-454e-b319-ea3e8c2be8d0 https://religiondispatches.org/2016/06/16/satanists-infiltrate-ritual-abuse-conference-oakland-your-guide-what-happened-and-why In April, a group of Satanists infiltrated a conference for people who believe they’re the victims of a Satanic conspiracy. RD contributor Joseph Laycock has answers to all of your burning questions. Wait, enough people believe that they’re victims of… Thu, 16 Jun 2016 07:23:19 EDT Joseph Laycock d7b5a53a-5f1c-4977-8921-3cd0eea22cc8 https://religiondispatches.org/2016/04/06/satanic-temple-protests-pseudoscientific-therapies-satanic-abuse-and-witchcraft If you happened to walk past San Francisco’s Parc 55 hotel this past weekend, you would have seen a most unusual sight: Two women bound on the sidewalk in chains as Satanists cover them in ashes and recited from the… Wed, 06 Apr 2016 03:15:06 EDT Joseph Laycock 1a52f1be-4bfd-4c4a-8986-3f0c9547e67b https://religiondispatches.org/2015/01/26/virgin-mary-housewife-queens-inside-seer-bayside Every June 18 for more than 25 years, Veronica Lueken—a Catholic housewife from Bayside, Queens—gathered followers for an all-night vigil beside the Unisphere in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. In a trance, Lueken transmitted apocalyptic messages from the Virgin Mary, whose visitations… Mon, 26 Jan 2015 02:43:35 EST Joseph Laycock 3a79b9c8-265d-4a5f-88b6-2d6c85296823 https://religiondispatches.org/2014/12/25/year-satanism 2014 was the year of the Satanist. In December 2013, The Satanic Temple announced plans to erect a statue of Baphomet on the grounds of the capital in Oklahoma City. This Baphomet statue was intended to challenge the constitutionality of… Thu, 25 Dec 2014 02:12:41 EST Joseph Laycock c5d95f6b-f7b0-46f8-b62a-c43c084c1663 https://religiondispatches.org/2014/06/10/another-slender-man-attack This weekend, a second attack by a knife-wielding teenage girl was attributed to the online Slender Man mythos. While the attack could be a copycat crime, the connection to Slender Man is speculative. The odds of a wave of meme-driven… Tue, 10 Jun 2014 09:06:59 EDT Joseph Laycock e16de319-1c52-4cb5-852c-663ffab7cf56 https://religiondispatches.org/2014/06/04/slender-man-murder-attempt-wasnt-media-or-madness This Internet is abuzz with speculation about a bizarre attempted murder in which two 12-year-old girls stabbed their classmate as an offering to “Slender Man”—a supernatural entity created for the website Something Awful in 2009. The story has made international… Wed, 04 Jun 2014 09:27:20 EDT Joseph Laycock 022a04b5-b6a5-4d4f-9ac3-2f427d39653c https://religiondispatches.org/2014/04/02/keep-these-satanists-out-congress When Republicans turn Satanic Panic on their own. Wed, 02 Apr 2014 02:56:37 EDT Joseph Laycock e459b383-964c-4c28-a26d-696d418c38af https://religiondispatches.org/2014/03/10/two-mythologies-behind-true-detective-come-crashing-down-finale A struggle between two modern and intertwined mythologies of evil, True Detective ultimately fell back on the easiest of formulas. Mon, 10 Mar 2014 04:24:15 EDT Joseph Laycock 638ed282-2e4d-4bfe-8f7f-9cdfb074e25c https://religiondispatches.org/2014/02/18/new-manson-family-or-teens-play Let’s not rush to blame a couple of recent murders on satanic activity. Tue, 18 Feb 2014 02:10:55 EST Joseph Laycock 069b0595-00aa-46d7-9834-65661f7deca0 https://religiondispatches.org/2014/01/08/satanist-behind-10-commandments-challenge-sincere An interview with “Lucien Greaves” the mastermind behind the proposal for a Satanic monument on the grounds of the Oklahoma capital. Wed, 08 Jan 2014 05:00:06 EST Joseph Laycock 37fc7079-d127-4583-8027-3a3c72539f48 https://religiondispatches.org/2012/08/03/olympics-opening-ceremony-satanic-ritual The bell of evil tolls for thee. Fri, 03 Aug 2012 05:17:55 EDT Joseph Laycock 4cdcf383-f4e3-407a-8bee-2890b3c2dc27 https://religiondispatches.org/2012/04/12/mexicos-own-satanic-panic Mexico may have experienced its own “Manson moment” last month when eight devotees of “ Santa Muerte” were arrested for the murder of three people, allegedly as human sacrifices. While the media has been fairly restrained in covering this event, these murders will likely have lasting consequences for alternative religion in North America. Like the Manson murders, the Santa Muerte murders present a concrete instance of violence that can be used to support much broader claims about the dangers of the religious and cultural Other. Thu, 12 Apr 2012 10:54:14 EDT Joseph Laycock 2c14e204-7d8e-40bc-b897-0140669d63ec