Keeping the Internet safe for the Normies
On April 17th I will be doing a Cathedral Chat, at Christ’s Church Cathedral in Hamilton, ON. The discussion will be live streamed on Youtube as well. We will be thinking about the role of Christian nationalism in Canada, our politics, and how conspiracy theories are used as a mobilizing force.
This week I was interviewed by the CBC to discuss the topic of violence in American elections. The rhetoric and name calling is causing some people to threat or swatting nominees or elected officials. This divide in the political realm is affecting the safety of nominees, politicians, and those who engage in civics in the nation.
After releasing a video of himself calling the Press line of the Prime Minister’s to inform Justin Trudeau that he was coming to Canada to “liberate” the country, Tucker Carlson shared a stage with Jordan Peterson and Premier Danielle Smith. Smith was questioned about her being on stage with a media personality who is known for his conspiracy theories, and toxic language and tonight I discussed this with CP24. The power of influencers, both domestic and foreign in the populist rhetoric is a powerful mobilizer when fear is at the base.
In May of 2023, I was part of a panel for the Interfaith Conference in Waterloo. The topic of the conference was finding common ground in a time of polarization, and I presented on conspiracy theories and religion, and the role of Christian nationalism leading to populism in North America. It was a great conference, and I was able to present with two of my favourite scholars, Dr. David Hofmann from New Brunswick University and Dr. Ahmed Al-Rawi from Simon Fraser University. The conference presentation was written into an article for Wilfrid Laurier University’s Concensus Journal.
Canadian far-right groups have adopted the use of liability forms, from the realm of Sovereign Citizens, in their continuing battle against SOGI (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity) inclusion in schools. In this interview with Xtra myself and other scholar discuss the sovereign citizen movement, and Canada4Action.
This morning I was interviewed by Global News Radio in Calgary this morning, as a follow up to the article in The Tyee, “A Day in the Life.” The morning hosts wanted to discuss conspiracy theories, why people believe in them, and what we can do to limit the spread. It was a fun conversation.
A few months ago the Senior Editor at the Tyee called to ask if they could do a “day in the life” article about me and my work. Honestly, I laughed pretty damn hard cause my life is pretty boring, and involves a lot of doom scrolling, wine, puppies, and only getting dressed to go on campus.
They insisted I could be interesting (HA HA HA) and asked for the interview. I have to say Andrea was so much fun to chat with. They had a HUGE interest in conspiracies and we had a very informal chat.
I was recently interviewed by Jordan Bonaparte for the Nighttime Podcast to discuss the religious beginnings of the self-declared Queen of Canada, Romana Didulo. The interview was based on the article Dr. Amarnath Amarasingam and I recently had published on our research into her religious connections to religious movements from the 1930s and 1940s.
Amarnath Amarasingam and I wrote a piece for Religion Dispatches on the conspiracy theories that affected our world in 2023, and how some may continue to have a role in 2024.
Studies in Religion has published my latest article on the self-proclaimed Queen of Canada, Romana Didulo. While much has been written about Didulo and her movement, her conspiracy theories, and anti-government approach, together with Dr. Amarnath Amarasingam, I examine the core of this movement and its religious pedigree, linking it to the Theosophical movement from the 1930s and 1940s.
Read the full article here.