FOR MORE THAN a century, evangelical Christians in the United States have frequently and variously imagined an apocalyptic upheaval that would usher in a new world. Evangelicals have had no shortage of appetite for cataclysmic stories, though they have differing interpretations of the biblical texts that describe the “end times,” as demonstrated by the popular appeal of the Left Behind series in the early 2000s. This craving is evident in the way that Christian visions of a final battle between the forces of darkness and light have been woven together with the conspiratorial narratives of QAnon.
In the U.S., Australia, and elsewhere, the far-right conspiracy theory QAnon is growing rapidly among New Age adherents and anti-vaccination communities. However, as religion reporter Katelyn Beaty has noted, there is explicitly Christian-sounding language in QAnon messaging. Explicit examples of the blending of Christian apocalyptic language and the QAnon conspiracies can be found in web posts and books published in the wake of the alleged “revelations” of the anonymous web poster “Q.” In these texts, Donald Trump is often presented as God’s anointed, an equivalent to King Cyrus, battling the diabolical forces of the “Deep State” (a conspiracy theory that posits a hidden government working within the legitimately elected government). The Deep State—supposedly composed of individuals such as Hillary Clinton, Pope Francis, and well-known celebrities who are often described as demonically controlled—is said to be guilty of the most savage crimes, including child sex trafficking and using their victims’ blood to extend their own lives.
Incorporating older tropes from 18th-century European Illuminati narratives and “blood libel” legends common in historic Christian anti-Semitism, Q believers cling to the most common narrative motif of conspiracy theories: the belief that the evil conspirators will be defeated, in this case by “God’s chosen representative,” Trump. Q believers expected a violent conflict between Trump loyalists and the Deep State in which the latter would be overthrown, ushering in a new age for America and the world.
Even after Trump’s election loss, so-called Q Christians held out hope that God would reveal the full plan and that the Deep State would be struck down by extra-constitutional means. When Trump’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, many of them were confident this “cleansing” was underway. Arizonan Jacob Chansley, the infamous QAnon “shaman” with a horned headdress and Norse-inspired tattoos, led a small group in prayer while standing behind the president of the Senate’s desk, thanking “our Heavenly Father” for the “inspiration” to “get rid of the tyrants, the communists, and the globalists.”
As early-Christianity historian Elaine Pagels has explained, Christians can see more than violence and death in the narratives of Revelation and other apocalyptic scriptures. However, the prevalence of blood and wrath in these biblical visions, now resonant with QAnon, begs the question of Christians today: What visions do you revel in? Do you truly long for peace? Or is your hope for God’s reign merely an alibi that masks a delight in fantasies of the slaughter that supposedly must precede it?
The answers to these questions can reveal a deeper lesson about what Christians imagine the reign of God to be and what is required to establish it.
Damon T. Berry, author of Blood and Faith: Christianity in American White Nationalism, is assistant professor of religion at St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y.
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