Since the early twentieth century there has been a significant overlap between Christian fundamentalism and millennialism in the United States and belief in false conspiracy theories,^[1][2] primarily the New World Order conspiracy theory, QAnon, and COVID-19 conspiracy theories, which are frequently perceived to represent fulfilment of Christian eschatology.

In 1991, in the book The New World Order, American evangelical charismatic televangelist Pat Robertson claimed that a secret one-world government has existed in the world led by Freemasonry and the Illuminati, in collaboration with Jewish bankers.^[3] One of the recurring subjects of Christian fundamentalist conspiracy theorists is the accusation of homosexual people of a gay agenda and of being responsible for social problems.^[4] The QAnon conspiracy movement, which originated in 2017 found a loyal following among Christian fundamentalists particularly concerned with the search for signs of the end times.^{[5][6] [7]} Frank E. Peretti's 1986 novel This Present Darkness, which depicted New Age practices, modern feminism, and secular education as part of a conspiracy to overthrow Christianity, has been criticized as being a possible influence for QAnon.^[8][9][10]

Adherence to conspiracy theories is particularly important in fundamentalist evangelical churches.^[11][12] Some pastors have explained this phenomenon with the distrust of expertise, which encourages citizens to challenge established authority figures.^[13] Others have described the mechanism of faith as "[mutating] into vulnerability to conspiracy theories" as well as apocalyptic narratives and Christian nationalism playing roles.^[14]

According to a 2018 survey by LifeWay Research for the Wheaton College Billy Graham Center, 46% of self-identified evangelicals and 52% of evangelicals by belief believe that mainstream media spreads fake news.^[15] A 2022 study among Polish Roman Catholics found a positive correlation between religious fundamentalism and COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs.^[16]

Outlets such as Christianity Today and Religion News Service have covered the movement's impact among congregations.^[17][13]

In 2017, Ed Stetzer wrote that Christians should repent of spreading false conspiracy theories and fake news online, which he says "directly violates Scripture's prohibition from bearing false witness against our neighbors". He argued that "The Seth Rich conspiracy theory is a textbook example of false witness... Without seriously defending their claims, conservative Christians across the country accused their neighbor of murder."^[18]

• Barack Obama religion conspiracy theories
• Vaccines and religion
• Anti-intellectualism
• Blood libel

• Fenster, Mark (1999). Conspiracy Theories: Secrecy and Power in American Culture. University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 978-0-8166-3242-8.
• Wilcox, Clyde (1988). "The Christian Right in Twentieth Century America: Continuity and Change". The Review of Politics. 50 (4): 659–681. doi:10.1017/S0034670500041991. ISSN 0034-6705. JSTOR 1407358. S2CID 143220016.

• Barkun, Michael (2003). A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic Visions in Contemporary America. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-24812-0.
• Brekke, Torkel (2019). "Christianity Betrayed - Conspiracy Theory about a Leftist-Muslim Plot against Christianity in Norway". Journal of Religion and Society. 21: 1–15. ISSN 2684-852X.
• Dyrendal, Asbjørn; Robertson, David G.; Asprem, Egil, eds. (2018). Handbook of Conspiracy Theory and Contemporary Religion. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-38202-2.
• James, Nigel (2000). "Militias, the Patriot Movement, and the Internet: The Ideology of Conspiracism". The Sociological Review. 48 (2_suppl): 63–92. doi:10.1111/j.1467-954X.2000.tb03521.x. S2CID 145683605.
• Knight, Peter (ed.). Conspiracy Theories in American History: An Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-57607-812-9.
• Ruotsila, Markku (2004). "Mrs Webster's religion: conspiracist extremism on the Christian far right". Patterns of Prejudice. 38 (2): 109–126. doi:10.1080/00313220410001692321. S2CID 159905361.
• Thielman, Sam (11 August 2020). "When the news becomes religion". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved 21 August 2020.

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