QAnon has incited global media attention. This is due in large part to its massive disinformation campaign exhorting the public to “save the children” from a global cabal of evil Satanic pedophiles. As it penetrates into mainstream society, it’s become commonplace to characterize QAnon as a "cult" or even a "religion." What do these characterizations tell us about QAnon, contemporary religion, and the ways in which misinformation spreads? 

Join graduating Lang Religious Studies students Elliott Ryan and Stephanie Zamarripa for a wide-ranging discussion that will build upon their senior theses and offer their Religious Studies insights in order to better understand the relationship between conspiracy and religion in the United States today. 

Elliott Ryan is a Queer non-binary writer interested in Satanism, new religious movements, religion in media, and Queering religion. Their senior thesis is titled Satanic Panic: Broadcasting Outrage and Paranoia into America’s Living Room and looks at how The X-Files portrays Satanic panics. They are looking for gainful employment and will be applying to Divinity School in the Fall. 

Stephanie Zamarripa studies the intersection between religion, politics, and journalism. Her time at Eugene Lang has culminated in a senior thesis titled American Evangelicals’ Unholy Alliance with Politics and Media. She will be finishing her Master’s in Liberal Studies at the New School for Social Research in Spring of ‘22, with plans of pursuing a Master’s of Theological Studies thereafter. 

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