Why Do So Many Christians Fall For Conspiracy Theories?

This interview is part of The Reconstruct, a weekly newsletter from Sojourners. In a world where so much needs to change, Mitchell Atencio and Josiah R. Daniels interview people who have faith in a new future and are working toward repair. Subscribe here.

Conspiracy theories were fun once. It used to be fun to sit around and argue with your friends about New York City’s sewers being filled with lizard people, Tupac Shakur still being alive, or the government being controlled by a secret society. It was fun to have these conversations because it was assumed that everyone engaging in the argument understood that the theories were outrageous. But for the sake of the argument and in pursuit of a good laugh, you, your friends, and your family would spin an elaborate yarn explaining why a certain conspiracy theory could actually be reality.

But then our collective brains broke, and conspiracy theories became the exact opposite of fun, as people in positions of power intentionally blurred the lines between conspiracies and reality. The Jan. 6 Capitol protests were peaceful, and those who participated have been unjustly persecuted. Chattel slavery was kind of like an unpaid internship. Politicians are controlling the weather to win elections. Palestinians are faking the devastation they are experiencing due to Israel’s occupation. These are all demonstrably false theories; there’s really nothing fun when it comes to talking about or writing about these theories. Even less fun is the fact that many of these theories are promulgated by Christians who style themselves as “apostles” and “prophets.”

Many of us have (former?) friends and family who believe in some of these conspiracy theories, and you’ve tried just about everything to convince them to come back to reality. 

But have you tried wagering with them? Have you tried betting them that 10 of their predictions wouldn’t come true, to the tune of $1,000 per failed conspiracy? Did you then record your conversations with that person and turn them into one of the most ambitious podcasts of 2025? Zach Mack did.

In NPR’s Alternate Realities, Mack, who is a podcast producer and storyteller, hosts a three-part series about his father falling down the conspiracy rabbit hole and the effect it has on his family. After challenging his dad about his conspiratorial thinking, his father responded by suggesting they make a bet: He would make 10 predictions that he believed would come to pass before the end of 2024, and for each one he got right, Mack would pay him $1,000. For each one he got incorrect, he would pay his son $1,000. Mack’s dad, who is a Christian, was certain that his predictions were ironclad.

I interviewed Mack about what it was like to create the podcast, why it seems as though Christians are so susceptible to conspiratorial thinking, reality in the age of the internet, and a new wager he has made with his dad.

I still believe in Bigfoot. No one can stop me.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Josiah R. Daniels, Sojourners: I think the real genius of the Alternate Realities is how it examines what’s behind these conspiracy theories and what’s going to happen to your dad’s relationship with the rest of the family.

Zach Mack: It’s not about whether or not his predictions come to pass, it was pretty obvious that they were not going to come to pass. But what was compelling was the question of what’s gonna happen to this family and is this person going to be able to accept being wrong? How do you live with someone who exists in an alternate reality? The bet is really the catalyst and organizing principle around the show. It is organized around this yearlong bet, but we know the results of the bet immediately. It’s more about what happens and how he got here and what that impact on the family looks like. 

At this point, I think we all know someone who has lost touch with reality, who has gone deep down the conspiracy rabbit hole. I think everybody has at least a friend or an uncle who sends some weird emails. It’s happening so often and it’s, especially, unfortunately, happening a lot in the Christian spaces. American Christianity has just fully merged with right-wing conspiracies in a way that just feels like Christians who don’t believe in these right-wing conspiracies are fewer and fewer.

I really do think at this point in America, [Christians who resist conspiratorial thinking] might be the minority. 

I’m personally convinced by that articulation.

I’m curious if you have ideas about why you think these right-wing conspiracies are so synonymous with Christianity. Why Christians are seemingly so much more likely to believe than your average atheist or Jewish person. It just seems so much more aligned with Christianity.

I think one of the reasons that American Christianity, specifically, opens itself up to conspiracy theories is because there is this emphasis on things unseen and spirituality. Your dad talks about how he believes that he has been given eyes to see things in the spiritual realm that people like you and I cannot see. 

And I think in America there is such a connection between Christianity and conspiracy theories because we, Christians, have for so long convinced ourselves that we should be in power, that we should be controlling every facet of society. And sometimes, we use some pretty cynical tactics to accomplish that goal. 

I think you’re right with the secret knowledge, the appeal of you knowing something that other people don’t know. You’re taught to take things on faith and go with something that in your heart feels true. I think a lot of good conspiracies usually have some element of truth to it. So if there’s that space of you can’t fully answer the question then in that space of unknowing, you fill it with conspiracies.

I do also think right wing Christians are panicking about the rise of secularism. I really do think [Donald] Trump in a lot of ways has become their champion. And I think they’re like, “OK, yeah, he’s lewd and he’s a little bit gross, and disrespectful, but he’s putting conservative judges in there.” So it’s like the deal with the devil that Christians are willing to make because of the fear of secularism taking over.

There’s the misinformation and the algorithms that are coming for all of us, right? That’s not just Christians — everyone is getting red-pilled with misinformation, with disinformation, with algorithms that really reward more extreme content.

I also think Christians are taught to be skeptical of science because it is, sometimes, in direct conflict with their beliefs and then, the culture war of it all. I think all those things are contributing factors for why Christians are more likely to wind up in this place. 

Considering the fact that your dad is an evangelical Christian and your mom is Jewish, what were conversations about religion like when you were growing up?

My parents are interesting. They met in their mid-twenties and both of them were nonpracticing. My father had a Christian background and my mother had a Jewish background, and my mom pretty much is an atheist. Her relationship to Judaism is more about the community and upholding Jewish traditions as a way to maintain some attachment to her lineage. It’s not religious for her at all. Sometime shortly after I was born, my father started to get back into religion. Then for the last 30-something years, he’s gotten increasingly Christian, increasingly conservative.

One of the main tensions throughout my parents’ marriage for the last 30 years has been his increased interest in Christianity. My dad is afraid that my mom is gonna go to hell. I think he believes that she’s gonna go to hell, and that deeply concerns him and upsets him and has for years.

I do remember in high school it got a little contentious between he and I because, at that point, I wasn’t really interested in going to church anymore. And he was starting to force me. I was like a junior or senior. Now, I’m nonpracticing. I don’t go to church or temple and don’t really identify as a religious person. 

I think one of the other major reasons for Christians embracing conspiracy theories is this belief in prophecy. What role do you see self-styled prophets and apostles playing in the radicalization of people? 

I think they are a part of the ecosystem of radicalization. I don’t think they are a primary figure. I don’t think they’re the main driver.

But to branch it out, it’s not just within Christianity that you see this. Within Christianity, they’re called prophets. But then if you look at wellness “guru” space, there’s a lot of misinformation and conspiracies happening there. They wouldn’t call themselves prophets. They might call themselves “shamans” or “spiritual leaders” or just people who are a little more up on things.

Most people who are radicalized, they are getting their information from somewhere. There’s plenty of people being radicalized who are not Christian. But that is just the path my father took because I think, first and foremost, he is a Christian before he’s anything else. He doesn’t identify as a Republican. There’s so many things he’s not interested in, but he’s deeply interested in Christianity. So that’s how he got caught up.

Oftentimes, we Christians, say we don’t know everything, but we worship a God who does. What that is really saying is that in fact you do know everything. You have access to knowledge that other people simply do not because of your religion.

I think that is intoxicating for people: being that knowledge holder, being up on something, being able to tell people they’re wrong, and you’re right.

I remember years ago watching a documentary about — do you remember Westboro Baptist Church?

I remember they were interviewing one of this guy’s daughters and they were like, why do you think your dad is into this? And it seemed like he was a little bit disenchanted with his career and his status. And she was like, he has a huge ego and this is the way he gets to tell everyone else that they’re wrong and he’s right.

That made a lot of sense to me. And when I look at my father, I do see ego. I do see that he’s a bit of a contrarian. I think this all plays into why he believes what he believes and how he got to those beliefs. 

There’s a part of me when listening to the show that thinks, “I can’t believe that this guy has such a huge ego,” because he seems so humble and reasonable. He seems willing to engage in conversation, even if the conversation is painful. So the whole entire time I’m listening to the podcast, I’m like, OK, is this guy going to get it in the end?

I think that’s what makes him a compelling character in the show. Because if he was just this completely unreasonable person who was yelling and screaming and unable to have a conversation, I don’t think anyone would be compelled by that character. 

But what’s compelling about him is that he can sit down and have a really thoughtful conversation, and he can at least go through the motions of seeming like he’s listening or like he’s opening up to other points of views. I don’t think he ever actually was open to another point of view or the idea that he could be wrong. But he’s able to have a civil conversation. He’s able to be loving in those conversations. He’s not someone who’s gonna curse you out or call you names or get big and loud. He can show up in those conversations in a way that at least looks like self-awareness.

It gives me hope for him, but then in another sense, I just feel doomed about it.

I don’t like to think of myself as a pessimistic person, but I am looking around right now at the state of our country, and I am really losing faith that we’re gonna be able to turn it around. If you look at the state of AI, you look at what we’re doing to the environment, at the rate that we’re doing it to the environment, if you look at elements of our democracy being dismantled in real time, it is starting to it remind me of 1984 in that they’re starting to really look to control the narrative of history. I just saw something in Oklahoma: they’re gonna start teaching that the 2020 election was stolen.

You need to read Jia Tolentino’s piece on The New Yorker. I think the title of the story is “My Brain Finally Broke.” She gets it. Just the shared degradation of our reality and what that is doing to us. It’s really choose your own reality at this point. And, if you’re given a choice, you’re probably gonna choose the one that aligns most with your values or what you want to be true.

What do you think Christian publications like Sojourners should be doing in order to combat some of this misinformation?

I think Christians who don’t believe in a lot of these right-wing conspiracies must be in a tough spot. I can’t really imagine what that’s like.

I do have to imagine there are Christians who aren’t buying into this. Trump has become such a cult-like figure. It really does feel like Trump and God are equals in a lot of people’s eyes, [like] he is the physical manifestation of God, walking the earth. It’s just gotta be a tough spot for anyone who’s not buying into all this stuff.

I don’t know what you guys are supposed to do or how you’re supposed to fight it. Please fight it. Please do everything you can. Please fight the good fight. Please hold on to truth. We are seeing a war on truth take place in a way that I’ve never seen before.

I would say it seems un-Christian; except for my entire life, this has been the brand. Christianity has been anti-immigrant, pro-military, pro-billionaire, and it has been anti-woman. At some point, you have to look in the mirror and go, “OK, what are my values? And do these align more with the American corporate dream?” And that’s a question that I think Christians are going to have to answer for themselves. 

That’s a prophetic word. Tell your dad you are a prophet now.

I’ll let him know that I’m his new prophet.

Before I let you go, I have to ask, how is your family?

We’re doing all right. We’re in the process of healing. I think it’s a very transitional moment for my family right now, but generally I think people are OK. I think even my father and sister are starting a healing process. I’m still trying to fight the good fight and get him back to a version of reality that I recognize — a shared reality.

And he did challenge me to another bet that I accepted. Under the terms that at the end, if he goes oh-for-10 again — ’cause he proposed 10 new predictions — so if he goes oh-for-10 again, I get to pick his media diet moving forward. I get to eliminate things from his media diet and I get to select new things, and I think that might help, but we’ll see. I see it as a long-term project. One of the things that I learned through the process of making the show was to not emotionally attach myself to the result that I want. Maybe he comes around, maybe he doesn’t, but either way, I have to be OK with it and I just have to love him as he is. Obviously if we don’t share a reality, there are going to be limitations to the relationship that we can have. And that’s

But, I am rooting for Christians, I’m rooting for you guys. Prove us wrong. This is supposed to be about values, first and foremost. Values and love. And I would love to see more of that, and less of the shouting down or the forcing people to adhere to your standards.

I feel you, man.

There’s that famous quote in Apocalypse Now, where Kurtz says, “Are my methods unsound?” And Willard just looks at Kurtz and says, “I don’t see any method at all, sir.”

That’s what I feel when I think about mainstream Christianity in this current moment. And I want the best for you guys. I really do. 

People who were really instrumental in making me the man I am today were Christian. They just brought so much love and understanding and compassion and empathy into my life.

I’m thinking of two men I grew up with who are deeply Christian to this day. These two men meant everything to me. And they really showed me love in a way that I’m like, “OK, I understand Christianity if that’s what Christianity looks like.”